As the European Union Ministers prepare to meet in Brussels on May 21, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) together with the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) have issued a powerful joint statement urging a fundamental shift in how Europe engages with Africa.
Rejecting the long-standing approach of charity, the Catholic Bishops call for justice, mutual respect, and genuine partnership grounded in humanity and environmental care. “Africa does not need charity; rather, it requires justice and a partnership grounded in mutual respect, environmental stewardship, and the centrality of human dignity,” the statement emphasizes.
The Bishops lament that the once-promising relationship between Europe and Africa, which held potential for strengthening multilateral cooperation, has deteriorated. They note a troubling shift toward narrow geopolitical and economic interests that prioritize European corporate and strategic goals over the real needs and aspirations of African peoples.
This shift, according to the Bishops, has commodified Africa’s most basic resources land, water, seeds, and minerals treating them as mere profit opportunities rather than essential foundations for life. They express particular concern about projects marketed as green energy initiatives that actually risk Africa’s ecosystems and communities, often to serve Europe’s decarbonization efforts. Additionally, they condemn the burden placed on African countries through the export of toxic industrial agriculture inputs and waste.
A critical call from the Catholic leaders is the immediate ban on the export and use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Africa. They highlight the injustice of chemicals banned in Europe being sold and used across African farms, endangering health and food sovereignty. Protecting farmer-managed seed systems is essential, the Bishops insist, to uphold African communities’ rights to control their food sources.
Urging European Union ministers to put the dignity of African peoples at the core of the Africa-EU partnership, the Catholic Bishops advocate for a relationship based on justice, not charity one that respects human dignity, promotes ecological care, and supports Africa’s true development aspirations.
