Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion C 221/19
ANNEX IV
RESOLUTIONS AD OPTED
Page
—Challenges to the democratic accommodation  of ethnic, cultural an d religious diversity in  ACP and 
EU 
countries 
(ACP-EU/100.460/09/fin.) 19
—Economic
 Partnership
 Agreements
 (EPAs)
 and
 their impact on ACP States (ACP-
EU/100.463/09/fin.) 24
—The
 social an d
 environmental
 consequences
 of climate chan ge
 in the ACP coun tries
 (ACP-
EU/100.383/09/fin.) 31
—The 
role of the Coton ou 
Partnership 
Agreement 
in 
addressing 
the food an d 
financial 
crisis in 
ACP 
countries 
(ACP-EU/100.440/08/fin.) 38
—Establishing
 and
 promotin g
 peace, security, stab ility
 and
 governance
 in Somalia (ACP-
EU/100.569/09/fin.) 43
RESOLUTION
(1) Adopted b y the ACP-E U Joint Parliamen tary Assembly on 9  April 2009 in  Prague (Czech Repub lic). (1)
on challenges to the democratic accommodation of ethnic, cu ltural 
and religiou s 
diversity in ACP and 
EU countries
The 
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly,
—meeting 
in 
Prague 
(Czech Repub lic) 
from 6 to 9 April 2009, 
—having 
regard 
to Article17(1) of its Rules of Procedure, 
—having 
regard 
to the UNE SCO 
Convention 
on 
the Means 
of Prohibiting 
and 
Preventing 
the Illicit 
Import, 
Export 
and 
Transfer 
of Ownership 
of Cultural Property of 1970, 
—having 
regard 
to the American  
Convention 
on 
Human 
Rights 
of 1978, 
—having 
regard 
to the Charter of the Un ited 
Nations 
signed 
on 26 
June 
1945, and 
the establishment 
of the 
International 
Court of Justice, 
—having
 regard
 to the Un iversal
 Declaration of Human Rig hts
 adopted b y
 the UN Gen eral
 Assembly on
10 Decemb er 
1948, 
—having 
regard 
to the African  
(Banjul) 
Charter on  
Human 
and 
People’s Rig ht
s of 1985 an d 
the establish­
ment 
of the African  
Court on 
Human 
and 
Peoples’ Rig hts 
of 2004, 
—having 
regard 
to the UN Declaration  
on 
the Rights 
of Persons 
belonging 
to National 
or Ethnic, 
Religious 
and 
Linguistic 
Minorities 
adopted b y 
the General 
Assembly 
on 18 
December 
1992, 
—having 
regard 
to the Coun cil 
of Europe 
Framework  
Convention 
for the Protection  
of National 
Minorities 
of 1 
February 
1995, 
—having 
regard 
to Chapter I V 
of the Declaration  
of the XII 
Non-Aligned 
Movemen t 
Summit held in  
Dur­
ban, 
in 
1998,N E 9 0 0 2 . 9 . 4 1
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion 14.9.2009
—having reg ard to article 30 of the African  Union Constitutive Act of 2000, 
—having
 regard
 to Council
 Directive 2000/43/E C
 of 29 June
 2000 implemen ti
ng
 the principle
 of equal 
treatment 
between 
persons 
irrespective of racial or ethn ic 
origin
(1) OJ L 180, 19.7.2000, p. 22. (1), 
—having 
regard 
to the Un iversal 
Declaration  
on 
Cultural Diversity adopted b y 
the General 
Conference 
of 
UNESCO 
on 2 
November 
2001, 
—having 
regard 
to the 2001 World Con ference 
against 
Racism an d 
the 2002 World Summit on  
Sustain­
able 
Developmen t,
 
—having 
regard 
to the 2003 I ntangible 
Cultural Heritag e 
Convention,
 
—having 
regard 
to the Protocol of the African  
Court of Justice of 2003, 
—having
 regard
 to the Resolution on racism, racial discrimin ation,
 xenop
hobia
 and
 related in toleran
ce 
adopted b y 
the ACP-E U 
Joint 
Parliamen tary 
Assembly 
on 3 
April 2003 in  
Brazzaville, 
—having
 regard
 to its Resolution on the Intern ati
onal
 Criminal
 Court (ICC
) adopted on 3 April 2003  in 
Brazzaville
(2) OJ C 231, 26.9.2003, p. 20. (2), 
—having 
regard 
to the Dak ar 
Declaration  
on 
the Promotion  
of ACP cultures and cultural in dustries 
adopted 
on 20 
June 
2003 at the first meetin g 
of ACP Min isters 
of Culture, 
—having
 regard
 to Resolution 1334 of the Coun cil
 of Europe
 on positive experien ces
 of auton omous
 
regions 
as a source of in spiration 
for conflict 
resolution  
in 
Europe 
adopted on  24 
June 
2003, 
—having
 regard
 to the UNDP Human Developmen t
 Report 2004 on ‘Cultural lib e
rty in today’s diverse 
world’, 
—having 
regard 
to the UNE SCO 
Convention 
on 
the Protection  
and 
Promotion  
of the Diversity of Cultural 
Expressions 
2005, 
—having 
regard 
to the European 
Parliamen t 
Resolution  
of 8 June 
2005 on ‘
Protection  
of minorities 
and 
anti-
discrimination 
policies in  
an 
enlarged 
Europe
’
(3) OJ C 124 E , 25.5.2006, p. 405. (3), 
—having
 regard
 to the Coton ou
 Agreement
 signed in Jun e
 2000 in Coton ou
(4) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3. (4) and revised in Luxem­
bourg
(5) OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 27. (5) in June 2005, in particular to article 33 ‘ Institutional developmen t and capacity b uilding ’ which 
calls for ‘full respect for diversity within  
and 
among 
societies’, 
—having 
regard 
to the African  
Charter on  
Democracy, E lections 
and 
Governa
nce 
adopted b y 
the African  
Union 
in 
Addis Ababa 
on 30 
January 
2007, 
—having 
regard 
to the Declaration  
on 
the Rights 
of Indigenous 
Peoples adopted b y 
the UN Gen eral 
Assem­
bly 
on 13 
September 
2007, 
—having 
regard 
to the Con ventions 
of the International 
Labour 
Organizati
on,
 
—having 
regard 
to the African  
Union’s 
2003 Maputo Summit decision  
to inclu
de the African  
Diaspora as 
its 6th Reg ion,
 
—having 
regard 
to the report b y 
the Committee on  
Political Affairs (ACP-E U
/100.460/09/fin .),N E 0 2 / 1 2 2 C
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion C 221/21
A. whereas the world’s n early 200 coun tries are home to some 5 000 ethn ic gro ups and two thirds have at 
least one 
substantial 
ethnic 
or religious 
minority,
B. whereas, 
therefore, all democracies n eed 
to design 
policies that explicitly recog nise 
cultural differen ces, 
while 
ensuring 
inclusion 
and 
furthering 
common 
bonds 
and 
a sense 
of solidarity, which are n ecessary 
for 
the functioning 
of democratic society,
C. whereas a leg al 
framework  
recognising 
the equal rig hts 
of ethnic, 
religious an d 
linguistic 
groups 
is essen­
tial
 for promotin g
 democratic g overnance,
 designing
 multicultural policies an d
 fostering
 human 
developmen t,
D.
 whereas cultural diversity has b een
 an established feature of most ACP an d
 EU
 countries
 and
 has been
 
growing 
in 
the last decades as a con sequence 
of the forces of g lobalisation
; whereas the accommodation  
of 
additional 
cultures, relig ions 
and 
languages 
poses a new 
challenge 
for many 
societies, n otably 
in 
Europe 
and 
the ACP world,
E. whereas 
in 
a globalised 
world, respect for diversity b ecomes 
even 
more vital, b oth 
for states an d 
the inter­
national 
community, 
in 
order to preven t 
social, ethn ic 
and 
religious 
conf
licts,
Political and legal aspects
1. Stresses the importan ce 
of respect for an d 
adherence 
to regional 
and 
int
er-regional 
legal 
instruments 
and 
structures 
and 
the importan t 
role of human  
rights 
courts, as well as of the In ternational 
Criminal 
Court;
2. Acknowledges 
the key 
role of the Un iversal 
Declaration  
of Human  
Rights 
(UDHR) in  
the protection  
of 
the rights 
of all peoples an d 
the elimin ation 
of discrimin ation 
of all kind
s;
3. Calls on 
all EU 
and 
ACP memb er 
states to ratify an d 
implemen t 
internation
al and 
regional 
human 
rights 
conventions, 
including 
the specific leg al 
instruments 
for the protection  
of minority 
rights, 
and 
to develop 
effective an ti-discrimination 
legislation 
aligned 
with these in ternat
ional 
conventions; 
draws atten tion, 
in 
this 
context, 
to the plig ht 
of groups 
of persons 
in 
need, 
such as person s 
inf
ected with HI V/AIDS, 
albinos, 
internally 
displaced person s, 
refugees 
and 
migrant 
workers;
4. Acknowledges 
the role of the I nternational 
Labour 
Organization 
in 
the protection  
of the rights 
and 
the 
elimination 
of discrimin ation 
against 
all labourers 
and 
calls on 
the ACP an d 
EU 
member 
states to uphold 
these rights,
5. Calls 
on 
all EU 
and 
ACP states to ratify as a matter of urg ency 
Internation
al Labour 
Organization 
Con­
vention 
169 concerning 
Indigenous 
and 
Tribal 
Peoples;
6. Believes that, where diversity has resulted in  
violent 
conflicts 
or threaten s 
to do so, stan ding 
mediation  
mechanisms 
should be 
established 
which can  
tackle 
conflicts 
before 
escalation ;
7. Calls 
on 
EU 
and 
ACP governments 
to involve 
civil society org anisations, 
including 
those represen ting 
mar­
ginalised
 and
 minority
 groups,
 in the political dialog ue,
 in accordan ce
 with article 8 of the Cotonou 
Agreement;
8. Believes 
that developmen t 
cooperation  
between 
regional 
and 
local actors is particularly suited to exchan g­
ing 
best 
practices on  
the accommodation  
of diversity an d 
to responding 
to specific n eeds 
of certain 
com­
munities; 
therefore in vites 
EU 
and 
ACP governments 
to support join t 
developmen t 
initiatives 
at local an d 
regional
 level and
 provide them with the n e
cessary political space to flourish in dependently
 from gov
­
ernmental 
cooperation ;N E 9 0 0 2 . 9 . 4 1
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion 14.9.2009
9. Believes that a multilateral peer review, similar to the African  Peer Review Mechan ism Process, could b e 
undertaken
 to assess con ditions
 in states an d
 set down b enchmarks
 for democratic accommodation of 
diversity;
10. Underlines 
the fact that democratic represen tation 
of minority 
group
s, as well as their ab ility 
to partici­
pate in 
political, social an d 
cultural deb ates, 
are a central 
necessity 
to ensure 
the implemen tation 
of good 
governance 
principles;
11. Stresses 
that it is n ot 
necessary 
for a citizen  
to be 
a member 
of a religio
us group 
in 
order to b e 
granted 
full 
civil and 
social rights;
The 
cultural 
dimension
12. Acknowledges 
that there are differen t 
policies an d 
constitutional 
solutions 
for accommodatin g 
cultural 
diversity; b elieves, 
however, that desig ning 
multicultural policies requires, first an d 
foremost, a leg al 
frame­
work 
recognising 
the equal rig hts 
of ethnic, 
religious 
and 
linguistic 
gro
ups, and 
protecting 
citizens 
from 
any 
form of discrimin ation;
13.
 Stresses, in particular, that all ACP and E U
 states must respect freedom of relig ion,
 as enshrined
 in 
article 18 UDHR, articles 1 an d 
2 of the UN Declaration  
on 
the Rights 
of Persons 
belonging 
to Nation al 
or
 Ethnic,
 Religious
 and
 Linguistic
 Minorities
 (Minorities
 Declaration) an d
 other international
 human 
rights 
treaties;
14. Underlines 
that cultural an d 
religious 
practices themselves have to adhere to in ternational 
human 
rights 
standards, 
including 
the rights 
of minorities, 
women’s 
rights 
and 
the rights of children , 
as advocated, for 
example, in  
articles 5 an d 
16(2) UDHR an d 
4(2) of the Min orities 
Declaration , 
and 
that freedom of choice 
of the memb ers 
of religious 
or cultural commun ities 
must be 
ensured;
15. Stresses 
that tradition al, 
cultural or relig ious 
rights 
of a group 
cannot 
undermine 
internationally 
agreed 
human 
rights 
standards 
available 
to all person s;
16.
 Recalls that relig ious
 practice is a personal choice pertain ing
 to the private sphere an d
 believes
 that in 
diverse societies relig ious 
organisations 
and 
state institutions 
should remain  
clearly separate;
17. Calls on 
all ACP an d 
EU 
countries 
to ensure 
that the rig ht 
of all min ority 
linguistic 
groups 
to use their 
mother ton gues 
is respected, in  
accordance 
with article 2 UDHR; recalls the ob ligation 
of states, un der 
article 
4(3) of the Min orities 
Declaration , 
to take 
appropriate measures so that, wherever possib le, 
per­
sons 
belonging 
to minority 
groups 
have adequate opportun ities 
to learn 
their mother ton gue 
or to have 
instruction 
in 
their mother ton gue 
and 
to ensure 
that separation  
in 
education al 
systems alon g 
ethnic, 
reli­
gious 
or linguistic 
lines 
is avoided; stresses the n ecessity 
also to promote an d 
to ensure 
learning 
of other 
languages;
18.
 Encourages
 ACP and
 EU
 countries
 to inv
est in their education systems, as education is a fun damental
 
human 
right 
(article 26 UDHR) an d 
provides on e 
of the most effective tools for promotin g 
tolerance 
and 
integration
 (article 4(4) Min orities
 Declaration );
 calls in this con tex
t on the E uropean
 Commission to 
respect its commitmen t
 to allocate at least 20 % of fun ds
 under
 the Developmen t
 Cooperation I nstru
­
ment’s 
geographic 
programmes 
to health an d 
education , 
and 
invites 
it to exten d 
this commitmen t 
to the 
European 
Developmen t 
Fund;
19. Calls 
on 
all ACP an d 
EU 
governments 
to ensure 
that, in 
line 
with article 19 UDHR, all citizen s 
have access 
to media so as to fully express their ethn ic, 
religious 
or linguistic 
ident
ity, including 
targeted 
support to 
minority 
language 
media and 
fair and 
balanced 
representation 
of all group
s within 
society; diverse voices 
should be 
able 
to exercise these rig hts 
through 
adequate represen tation 
in 
the media an d 
through 
access 
to the media as a b enefit 
of living 
in 
a democratic state; un derlines 
the importan ce 
of widespread access 
to nationwide 
media in 
order to secure a certain  
level of in formation;N E 2 2 / 1 2 2 C
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion C 221/23
20. Believes that where exclusion  and prejudices pose a major prob lem, ACP-EU cooperation  should support 
specific prog rammes 
in 
the media an d 
education  
sectors to promote tolerance an d 
understanding;
21. Calls 
on 
ACP and 
EU 
countries 
to adopt proactive policies to promote the fair represen tation 
of differen t 
ethnic, 
cultural an d 
linguistic 
groups 
in 
public 
offices, electoral systems, admin istration, 
the police an d 
security
 sector, b y
 fighting
 any
 form of discrimin at
ion and
 developin g
 targeted
 recruitmen t
 policies, 
including, 
where appropriate, affirmative action ;
22. Invites 
the ACP an d 
EU 
countries 
to consider 
re-designing 
their electoral systems so as to en courage 
fair 
representation 
of minority 
interests, 
while preven ting 
ethnicity 
from becomin g 
the main 
point 
of cleavage;
23. Calls on 
ACP and 
EU 
countries 
to promote appropriate I ntellectual 
Property laws – as prescrib ed 
by 
rec­
ognised
 international
 bodies
 such as the World I ntellectual
 Property Organ ization
 - in relation to the 
exchange 
and 
transfer 
of cultural property or cultural an d 
natural 
heritage 
resources;
Social and economic issu es
24.
 Calls on ACP an d
 EU
 countries
 to recognise
 the importan ce
 of economic
 diversification an d
 to imple­
ment 
policies to that en d, 
given 
that socio-econ omic 
factors can  
generate 
or exacerb ate 
ethnic 
and 
cul­
tural tensions, 
as well as to promote reg ional 
integration 
in 
the interest 
of developmen t;
25. Calls 
on 
the ACP an d 
EU 
countries 
to promote the social in clusion 
of mino
rities and 
to adopt active poli­
cies to ensure 
equal access to employmen t, 
education  
and 
social services;
26. Calls on the E U
 member
 states to fulfil their commitmen ts
 to assist the ACP coun tries
 in their task of 
achieving 
the Millen nium 
Developmen t 
Goals;
27. Recognises 
that factors such as g lobalisation, 
conflict 
over natural 
resources or climate chan ge 
are likely 
to 
produce further mig ration 
flows and 
considers 
that migration 
within 
the ACP g roup 
and 
between 
ACP 
and 
EU 
countries 
should not 
only 
be 
viewed from an  
economic 
perspective b ut 
should also tak e 
account 
of 
political, social an d 
cultural exchan ge; 
firmly believes 
that it is essen tial 
to respect fully the rig hts 
and 
dignity 
of all mig rants;
28. Insists 
that reven ues 
from natural 
resources of ACP an d 
EU 
countries 
should be 
used to the b enefit 
of the 
developmen t 
of all sectors of society within  
those coun tries; 
calls on 
gov
ernments 
to ensure 
that all com­
munities 
are consulted 
so that they may b enefit 
from any 
commercial reven u
e and 
that environmental 
and 
cultural con cerns 
are taken 
into 
account; 
recognises 
the need 
to create mechan isms 
in 
order to secure 
the distrib ution 
of these b enefits;
International 
and regional cooperation and development policy
29. Calls on 
the EU 
and 
the ACP g overnments 
to analyse, 
when 
drawing 
up and 
reviewing 
country 
and 
regional 
strategy 
papers, prob lems 
relating 
to the inclusion 
and 
equality of ethn ic, 
cultural, relig ious 
and 
emerging 
minorities, 
and 
to involve 
representatives 
of the groups 
concer
ned 
in 
the consultation 
process; 
stresses that specific prog rammes 
should be 
designed 
and 
funded 
which promote equal access to social 
services an d 
political participation ;
30. Calls 
on 
the EU 
member 
states and 
the Commission  
to ensure 
that the rig ht
s of minorities, 
including 
indig­
enous 
peoples an d 
emerging 
minorities, 
are mainstreamed 
in 
all programme
s and 
projects, specifically in  
the 
human 
rights, 
democracy an d 
governance 
sector;N E 9 0 0 2 . 9 . 4 1
Official Journ alof the EuropeanUnion 14.9.2009
31. Recalls the E U’s positive experien ce regarding the protection  of mino rity rights and the peaceful solution  
of 
border 
conflicts;
32. Calls 
on 
ACP and 
EU 
countries 
to recognise 
the positive impact of the African  
Union 
Constitutive 
Act 
which stipulates that g overnments
 which come to power throug h
 unconstitu
tional
 means
 shall not
 be
 
allowed to participate in  
the activities of the African  
Union;
33. Believes 
that the African  
Peer Review Mechan ism 
effectively en hances 
democratic in stitutions 
which fos­
ter diversity an d 
responsible 
governance; 
urges 
ACP regional 
and 
subregi
onal 
organisations 
to give 
greater 
consideration 
to minority 
issues in 
such framework s;
34. Instructs 
its Co-Presiden ts 
to forward this resolution  
to the ACP-E U 
Council 
of Ministers, 
the Commis­
sion 
of the African  
Union, 
the Pan-African 
Parliamen t 
and 
national 
and 
regional 
parliamen ts, 
the Euro­
pean 
Commission , 
the UN an d 
regional 
organisations, 
and 
the EU 
and 
African 
Union 
Presidencies.
RESOLUTION
(1) Adopted b y the ACP-E U Joint Parliamen tary Assembly on 9 April in  Prague (Czech Repub lic) (1)
on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and their impact on ACP States
The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly,
—meeting in Prague (Czech Repub lic) from 6 to 9 April 2009, 
—having reg ard to Article 17(1) of its Rules of Procedure, 
—having 
regard 
to Article 178 of the Treaty estab lishing 
the European 
Community,
 
—having 
regard 
to the Partn ership 
Agreement 
between 
the memb ers 
of the African , 
Caribbean 
and 
Pacific 
Group of States of the on e 
part, and 
the European 
Community 
and 
its Member 
States, of the other part, 
signed 
in 
Cotonou 
on 23 
June 
2000 (the Coton ou 
Agreement)
(2) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3. (2), 
—having 
regard 
to the Decision
(3) AU/Dec. 197(XI ) (3) of the Eleventh ordinary session of the African  Union Assembly of Heads 
of 
State and 
Government, 
meeting 
in 
Sharm El-Sheik, 
Egypt, 
from 30 June
 to 1 July 2008, on  
the report 
on 
Economic 
Partnership 
Agreements,
 
—having 
regard 
to the Declaration  
of the Ten th 
ordinary 
session 
of the African  
Union 
Assembly 
of Heads 
of State an d 
Government, 
meeting 
in 
Addis Ababa, 
from 31 January
 to 2 Februa
ry 2008, on  
Economic 
Partnership 
Agreements,
 
—having 
regard 
to the ‘Accra Declaration ’ adopted on  3 
October 
2008 at the 6th Summit of the ACP Heads 
of State an d 
Government
(4) ACP/28/025/08 (4), 
—having 
regard 
to the Commun ication 
from the Commission  
to the Coun cil, 
the European 
Parliamen t 
and 
the 
Economic 
and 
Social Committee of 12 April 2005 on  
Policy Coheren ce 
for Developmen t 
– Acceler­
ating 
progress 
towards attain ing 
the Millen nium 
Developmen t 
Goals
(5) COM(2005) 134 fin al (5),N E 4 2 / 1 2 2 C