Cooperation between the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) and the European Union (EU) dates back to 1957 with the signature of the first Yaoundé Agreement. Later the Lomé Conventions came into force and since 2000 ACP-EU relations are managed by the Cotonou Partnership Agreement. This agreement, which is due to expire in 2020, covers cooperation between the EU and 78 ACP countries. It is based on three complementary pillars: development cooperation, economic and trade cooperation, and the political dimension.
Currently, the follow-up of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA) is becoming the subject of discussion and both the EU and ACP are defining their positions for the upcoming negotiations. Although the CPA’s objectives were sound (poverty eradication and sustainable development) and it stressed a number of interesting principles (for example civil society participation), the results were not as good as one could have hoped for and challenges remain.
With its position ‘Future ACP-EU relations: Promoting the rights of persons with disabilities’ the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) wants to offer a number of concrete recommendations to ensure that in all future ACP-EU relations, whatever form they will take, the rights of people with disabilities are included.
In order to promote an inclusive ACP and EU partnership in the future, IDDC and Lumos, an international organisation working to end the institutionalisation of children, have sent a joint letter to the key actors in the process, including the EU Member States, the European Commission and the ACP Secretariat.
Read IDDC position ‘Future ACP-EU relations: Promoting the rights of persons with disabilities’