Catholic Bishops from Africa and the European Union concluded a two-day seminar in Lisbon today with a call for a new partnership of solidarity betweeen their continents
The seminar on 27-28 February 2003 was co-organised by the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), the Symposium of Bishops' Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and the Portuguese Bishops' Conference. The theme was "Africa and the European Union: Partners in Solidarity - Contribution of the Church". The seminar was opened by Mr Jorge SAMPAIO, the President of the Portuguese Republic.

The purpose of the discussions was to provide a basis for a new co-operation founded on justice and respect for human dignity and the dignity of the peoples and cultures of the two continents, which are linked by historical, political and economic relations. The seminar also expressed the support of the Church in both continents for NEPAD, a partnership developed by and for Africa, and formulated recommendations to the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) in view of greater solidarity in Africa's development.

The participants heard from leading political figures from both continents on the current state of relations between Africa and Europe. The speakers included:
- Mr Edem KODJO, former Prime Minister of Togo and former Secretary General of the Organisation for African Unity
- Mr Michel CAMDESSUS, Special Envoy of the French President for Africa and former Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- Mr Friedrich HAMBURGER, Chief Advisor of the European Commission for Development Policy
- Mr Kadré Désiré OUEDRAOGO, Ambassador of Burkina Faso to the EU and WTO and former Prime Minister

At the end of the seminar, the Bishops presented the following recommendations, among others, to the Portuguese Foreign Minister, Mr António MARTINS DA CRUZ:
- The EU and its member states should demand restructuring of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) mechanism to ensure that "sustainability" means that the poorest countries must first spend available resources on meeting social needs, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, before servicing external debt.
- The AU and its member states, to assure improved internal governance, should guarantee transparent and participative mechanisms for the management of debt relief in order to promote poverty eradication and for the accountable contraction of new debt.
- The AU and EU should include the debate on cultural, spiritual and religious values, which form part of the identity of the peoples of our continents, in their economic and political dialogue. They should also recognise religious and cultural freedom in order to enable each person and community to express their identity wherever they reside.
- The AU and EU should consider the impact of the exploitation of natural resources, such as diamonds and oil, on conflicts in Africa, and apply more restrictive rules on the exportation of arms from Europe to Africa.
- The EU should support international efforts within the WTO to improve access to medicines and treatment for all diseases, especially HIV/AIDS.
- The AU and the leaders of its member states must accept the gravity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. They should increase resources for healthcare in general and consistently support HIV/AIDS programmes and activities.
- The AU and EU should provide for a structured dialogue with the Churches and religious communities on all the issues on the agenda of the Africa-Europe partnership.

The participants also proposed the following elements for consideration by COMECE and SECAM as bases for future co-operation in order to meet the challenges of the partnership between the regional economic and political structures in Africa and Europe:
- COMECE and SECAM should establish a method for exchanging information on conflict situations in view of contributing to policy-making and implementation by the EU and the AU.
- COMECE and SECAM should renew their commitment to the preferential option for the poor by promoting effective and equitable debt cancellation for Africa's poorest and most highly-indebted countries by gathering adequate information, evaluating this in light of the Church's social teaching and contributing to policy-making through the structures of the EU, AU and NEPAD.
- The Church in Africa and Europe should use its organisational and spiritual advantages to help remove cultural misconceptions which adversely affect health and the spread of HIV/AIDS, to develop a spirit of compassion and destigmatisation, to stress the dignity of life and to discourage abortion as a means of family planning.
- The Church, as a meeting-point of cultures, should promote spaces for multi-culturality through its education institutions. Conscious of the difficulties of inter-religious dialogue, the Church should engage with other religious communities in development and health projects and the struggle against AIDS. She should also espouse the cause of the stranger and the displaced person, welcome them and uphold their dignity as human persons.

The participants of the seminar also adopted a statement on the threat of war in Iraq:

"WAR IS A DEFEAT FOR HUMANITY"
Echoing these recent words of Pope John Paul II, we join with religious leaders around the world in calling for a peaceful settlement of the current dispute with Iraq. As we have considered the strong ties between Europe and Africa in a partenership of solidarity, we realise what tragic consequences a war would inflict upon the poor of Africa and Europe.

Therefore we call upon:
1. Our faithful in Europe and Africa to follow Pope John Paul II's call to commit themselves to a day of prayer and fasting on 5 March (Ash Wednesday) to beg God for peace.
2. Iraq to cooperate fully with UN weapons inspectors to move toward disarmament.
3. The major powers of the world to step back from threats of military action.

Participants from African countries and European countries, assembled for a conference on "Partners in Solidarity: Contribution of the Church," Lisbon 27-28 February 2003