Brussels, 14/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - The calls made by the EU to the Gambian authorities to respect human rights have led Banjul to suspend, until further notice, political dialogue with its European partners, a situation regretted by the EU and which could lead to restrictive measures under the Cotonou agreement. In a statement published on Friday 11 January, the spokesperson to High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said that “the High Representative regrets” this state of affairs, adding that “the EU underlines its continuing availability to discuss with the Gambian authorities on all aspects of EU-Gambia relations in a constructive dialogue based on shared commitments made under the Cotonou Agreement” which connects the EU to 79 countries of the ACP group (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific).
Ashton remains concerned about the deterioration of the human rights situation in the Gambia, including what is happening to Imam Baba Leigh, and urges the ACP country to respect its international commitments. “The EU attaches importance to its partnership with the Gambia and hopes that the government will allow the resumption of the political dialogue as soon as possible. If it is not possible to discuss the issues with the Gambian authorities, there are other provisions of the Cotonou Agreement, which apply to situations where dialogue on important commitments is no longer possible”, the statement warns.
Article 96 of the Cotonou agreement provides for this political dialogue in order to seek to remedy the situation in the event of violation of one or more essential elements - such as the respect of human rights - in the absence of which, the partial or total suspension of cooperation may be decided upon.
On 12 January, Gambians demonstrated against the European Union in their thousands in Banjul, repeating accusations made by the Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, who claims that the EU is attempting to destabilise the country. (AN/transl.fl)