Brussels, 27/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - In the name of the European Union, Catherine Ashton, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has condemned in the strongest terms the executions that have taken place in The Gambia, and is brandishing the threat of sanctions on cooperation and development if the Gambian authorities don't put an end to the executions.
“I strongly condemn the executions which have reportedly taken place on Thursday 23 August following President Jammeh's stated intention to carry out all death penalties before mid-September. I demand the immediate halt of the executions”, Ashton said on 26 August.
The high representative reminds the Gambian government of its commitments on human rights as recorded in the Cotonou Agreement linking the EU to the ACP (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific) group - of which The Gambia is a member, and warns that “in the light of these executions, the EU will urgently consider an appropriate response”. The Cotonou Agreement provides in Article 96 that in case of breach of one of its essential elements (respect for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law) by one of the parties, political dialogue may be conducted to remedy the situation, before the partial suspension of cooperation, and indeed as a last recourse, the total suspension of cooperation. (AN/transl.fl)