The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU (COMECE) and the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), joined by four regional Catholic charitable and development organizations, have released a joint statement, “For a partnership that brings justice for the African people.”
The statement’s first three sections are entitled “From extractivist energy deals to fair partnerships and democratic energy systems,” “From industrial food production to agroecology,” and “From excessive consumption to joyful sobriety.”
“Concrete steps from the EU’s side regarding local value-addition, democratic energy systems, promoting agroecological principles and practices, as well as debt resolution, are all key to address the root causes of poverty and inequality in Africa—neither aid, nor investments with suffice—and they are all part of a process of addressing historical injustices,” the EU and African bishops’ organizations concluded.