 330px|thumb|acp states 300px|thumb|        the cotonou agreement is a treaty between the european union and the african, caribbean and pacific group of states ("acp countries"). it was signed in june 2000 in cotonou, benin's largest city, by 78 acp countrieshttp://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/acp/overview/cotonou-agreement/index_en.htm (cuba did not sign) and the then fifteen member states of the european union. it entered into force in 2003 and was subsequently revised in 2005 and 2010. ==aims== the cotonou agreement is aimed at the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty while contributing to sustainable development and to the gradual integration of acp countries into the world economy. the revised cotonou agreement is also concerned with the fight against impunity and promotion of criminal justice through the international criminal court. ==main principles== the cotonou agreement replaced the lomÃ© convention, which had been the basis for acp-eu development cooperation since 1975. the cotonou agreement, however, is much broader in scope than any previous arrangement has ever been. it is designed to last for a period of 20 years and is based on four main principles: *equality of partners and ownership of development strategies. in principle, it is up to acp states to determine how their societies and their economies should develop. *participation. in addition to the central government as the main actor, partnership under the cotonou agreement is open to other actors (e.g., civil society, the private sector, and local governments). *dialogue and mutual obligations. the cotonou agreement is not merely a pot of money. the signatories have assumed mutual obligations (e.g., respect for human rights) which will be monitored through continuing dialogue and evaluation. *differentiation and regionalisation. cooperation agreements will vary according to each partner's level of development, needs, performance and long-term development strategy. special treatment will be given to countries that are considered least developed or vulnerable (landlocked or island states). ==political dimension== the cotonou agreement wishes to give a stronger political foundation to acp-eu development cooperation. therefore, political dialogue is one of the key aspects of the arrangements and addresses new issues which have previous
ACPaEuropean_Union_relations Cotonou Treaties_concluded_in_2000 Treaties_entered_into_force_in_2003 Treaties_of_Angola Treaties_of_Antigua_and_Barbuda Treaties_of_Barbados Treaties_of_Belize Treaties_of_Benin Treaties_of_Botswana Treaties_of_Burkina_Faso Treaties_of_Burundi Treaties_of_Cameroon Treaties_of_Cape_Verde Treaties_of_Chad Treaties_of_Comoros Treaties_of_Djibouti Treaties_of_Dominica Treaties_of_East_Timor Treaties_of_Equatorial_Guinea Treaties_of_Eritrea Treaties_of_Ethiopia Treaties_of_Fiji Treaties_of_Gabon Treaties_of_Ghana Treaties_of_Guinea Treaties_of_Guinea-Bissau Treaties_of_Guyana Treaties_of_Haiti Treaties_of_Ivory_Coast Treaties_of_Jamaica Treaties_of_Kenya Treaties_of_Kiribati Treaties_of_Lesotho Treaties_of_Liberia Treaties_of_Madagascar Treaties_of_Malawi Treaties_of_Mali Treaties_of_Mauritania Treaties_of_Mauritius Treaties_of_Mozambique Treaties_of_Namibia Treaties_of_Nauru Treaties_of_Niger Treaties_of_Nigeria Treaties_of_Niue Treaties_of_Palau Treaties_of_Papua_New_Guinea Treaties_of_Rwanda Treaties_of_Saint_Kitts_and_Nevis Treaties_of_Saint_Lucia Treaties_of_Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines Treaties_of_Samoa Treaties_of_Senegal Treaties_of_Seychelles Treaties_of_Sierra_Leone Treaties_of_South_Africa Treaties_of_Suriname Treaties_of_Swaziland Treaties_of_SAPSo_TomA(c)_and_PrAncipe Treaties_of_Tanzania Treaties_of_Togo Treaties_of_Tonga Treaties_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago Treaties_of_Tuvalu Treaties_of_Uganda Treaties_of_Vanuatu Treaties_of_Zambia Treaties_of_Zimbabwe Treaties_of_the_Bahamas Treaties_of_the_Central_African_Republic Treaties_of_the_Cook_Islands Treaties_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo Treaties_of_the_Dominican_Republic Treaties_of_the_European_Union_with_third_countries Treaties_of_the_Federated_States_of_Micronesia Treaties_of_the_Gambia Treaties_of_the_Marshall_Islands Treaties_of_the_Republic_of_the_Congo Treaties_of_the_Republic_of_the_Sudan_(1985a2011) Treaties_of_the_Solomon_Islands Treaties_of_the_Transitional_National_Government_of_Somalia