European, African bishops demand end to land grabs, exploitation
Some of Southern Africa's Bishops attending an IMBISA meeting. (Photo: Vatican News)
By Jonathan Luxmoore, OSV News
Catholic bishops from Europe and Africa have issued a strong joint statement warning that Africa is once again becoming a "battleground for external interests" -- particularly over land, resources and Europe's climate agenda.
"We have witnessed a profound shift in European priorities -- away from solidarity with the most fragile regions and communities, and from development cooperation aimed at eradicating poverty and hunger, towards a more narrowly defined set of geopolitical and economic interests," the Brussels-based Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union, known as COMECE, said in a joint statement with the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, known as SECAM.
"Africa is being asked to sacrifice its ecosystems and communities to help Europe meet its decarbonization goals -- whether through massive land deals for so-called 'green' energy projects, the expansion of carbon offset plantations, or the outsourcing of industrial agriculture's toxic inputs and waste. This is not partnership. This is not justice."
The statement was issued ahead of the May 21 meeting of EU and African Union foreign ministers, called to review multilateral aims and achievements since a previous summit in February 2022.
COMECE's spokesman, Alessandro Di Maio, told OSV News the bishops' statement had gained "positive reactions" from European Commission and Parliament officials, adding that COMECE and SECAM would continue "advocacy work" at upcoming EU-AU consultations on agriculture, food chain supplies, security and other issues.
He said COMECE's five-member presidency, headed by Italian Bishop Mariano Crociata, would discuss related issues at a May 23 audience with Pope Leo XIV, and were confident the pontiff's missionary background would "serve him well in promoting fair and just relations with Africa."
COMECE and SECAM bishops said they spoke with "a voice formed by the lived realities of people," and hoped leaders from both continents would "rise to the moment," and reestablish a partnership "that listens to the cries of the earth and the cries of the poor."
They added, however, that the EU's current Global Gateway project, which will release $169 billion of investment in Africa, appeared to be replicating "extractive patterns of the past" -- privileging "European corporate and strategic aims over the real needs and aspirations of African people."
"Land, water, seeds and minerals -- the very foundations of life -- seem to be once again treated as commodities for foreign profit rather than as common goods stewarded with care," said the COMECE-SECAM statement.
Leaders of the Catholic Church have repeatedly urged fairer treatment of African populations in international investment deals, in the face of worsening climate and environmental degradation.
An EU communique said the foreign ministers' meeting, opening May 21, would celebrate the "enduring and unique partnership" between European and African governments, bearing the "voices, hopes and dreams of more than 1.9 billion people."
However, the bishops said the meeting should reexamine "the very nature of the partnership," and protect local economic systems, which were "not backward or inefficient," but "resilient, rooted in tradition and adapted to local ecologies."
Among recommendations, they said governments should end Africa's dependency on imported fertilizers and genetically modified seeds, adding that it was a "grave injustice" that hazardous pesticides banned in Europe were still being marketed to African farmers.
They also urged investment in agroecology, which was "validated by science," and demanded decisive action to end land grabbing, which spurred "conflict and forced migration."
The bishops said they were "particularly disturbed" by the growing use of African territory for Europe's "resource needs and climate ambitions," adding that it was "ethically untenable to demand that Africa become the dumping ground for Europe's green transition."
"Africa does not need charity, nor to be a battleground for external interests. What it needs is justice. What it needs is a partnership grounded in mutual respect, environmental stewardship, and the centrality of human dignity," COMECE and SECAM said.
COMECE's Di Maio said: "Not only does the Catholic Church have a strong African presence -- it is also an integral part of the continent, providing spiritual and social support to numerous communities."
He told OSV News: "This position, rooted in grassroots engagement, enables the church to gain deep insight into the often challenging realities faced in the region. We hope European and African foreign ministers will have the foresight to take into account the input and contributions coming from the church."--ucanews.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
IMF reaches deal with Argentina to unlock US$2 billion tranche
WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday announced a deal with the Argentine government as part of the first review of a US$20 billion loan programme, paving the way for a US$2 billion disbursement. This second loan tranche is still subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, which is due to meet by the end of the month. It would bring the total amount available to Argentina under the programme announced in April to around US$14 billion. "The programme has had a strong start, underpinned by the continued implementation of tight macroeconomic policies, including a strong fiscal anchor and a tight monetary stance," the IMF said in a statement. It highlighted an exchange rate managed at expected levels and an easing of inflation, which reached 39.40 per cent year-on-year at the end of June, compared with 117.80 per cent at the end of 2024. The IMF noted continuing economic growth and a decline in poverty rates, which had topped 50 per cent at one point before falling back to 38.10 per cent at the end of 2024, around the level before budget-slashing libertarian Javier Milei became president. The Washington-based fund also cited Argentina's return to international financial markets after Moody's upgraded its rating earlier this month, from Caa3 to Caa1, although it remains in the speculative category. The IMF loan was part of a US$42 billion bailout that also included funding from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Milei was elected in December 2023 on the promise of reviving the South American country's crisis-hit economy, which achieved its first budget surplus in 14 years in 2024 thanks to austerity measures and sweeping public sector cuts. Argentina, which has a track record of economic crises and hyperinflation, is the IMF's biggest debtor, ahead even of war-torn Ukraine. It owes the IMF US$44 billion under a 2018 loan agreement — the lender's biggest ever — on which it has since renegotiated the repayment terms.
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
US prepares to allow limited oil operations in Venezuela, starting with Chevron, sources say
HOUSTON/WASHINGTON: The United States is preparing to grant new authorisations to key partners of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, starting with Chevron, to allow them to operate with limitations in the sanctioned OPEC nation and swap oil, five sources close to the matter said on Thursday. If granted, the authorisations to the US oil major, and possibly also to PDVSA's European partners, would mark a policy shift from a pressure strategy Washington adopted this year on Venezuela's energy industry, under US sanctions since 2019. President Donald Trump's administration might now allow the energy companies to pay oilfield contractors and make necessary imports to secure operational continuity. Some imports could be swapped for Venezuelan oil, as authorised in previous licences, three of the sources said. A senior State Department official said in a statement they could not speak about any specific licences to PDVSA's partners, but added the United States would not allow President Nicolas Maduro's government to profit from the sale of oil. A source in touch with US and Venezuelan officials said it was difficult to understand how Maduro's government would not benefit from cargoes Chevron can sell to the US, and later on Thursday Maduro hailed work done to keep Chevron in the country. "There are already working groups so that Chevron can re-incorporate its functions," Maduro told an interview with Telesur, adding that Chevron's top leadership had already been informed of licences so it can keep operating in Venezuela. Chevron shares touched US$155.93 on Thursday, their highest level since April 3, according to LSEG data. "Chevron conducts its business globally in compliance with laws and regulations applicable to its business, as well as the sanctions frameworks provided for by the US government, including in Venezuela," a company spokesperson said. The move to ease some restrictions on Venezuela's oil sector follows a prisoner swap this month in which Maduro released 10 American detainees while accepting the return of more than 200 Venezuelans who had been deported from the US and held in an El Salvador prison. Relations between the two countries have been tense for years, and the Trump administration has publicly supported opposition leaders who say their candidate won last year's election, not Maduro. Trump in February announced the cancellation of a handful of energy licences in Venezuela, including Chevron's, and gave until late May to wind down all transactions. The move left all operations in oil and gas joint ventures with Chevron and other partners in PDVSA's hands, but the companies were authorised to preserve their stakes and output remained almost unchanged. The US State Department, which in May blocked a move by special presidential envoy Richard Grenell to extend the licences, is this time imposing conditions on any authorisation modifications, so that no cash reaches Maduro's coffers, the three sources said. In the past, US officials have promised no money would reach Maduro from oil proceeds despite licences. But it did because PDVSA demands tax and royalties to be paid before granting export permits. Even if parties agree to oil swaps, those arrangements save PDVSA, and ultimately Maduro's government, millions of dollars per year in imports. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not expected this time to ban the authorisations, but is negotiating their scope, they added. It was not immediately clear if the terms of the licence that could be granted to Chevron would be reproduced for other foreign companies in Venezuela, including Italy's Eni and Spain's Repsol, which have been asking the US to allow them to swap fuel supplies for Venezuelan oil. The authorisations might remain private, one of the sources said. The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. WHERE WILL THE OIL GO? Following the cancellation of Chevron's licence earlier this year, Trump announced the imposition of secondary tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan oil. But the measure, expected to severely hit Venezuela's main crude buyer China, has not been enforced, allowing the South American country to divert to Asia crude grades that were previously sold to US and European refiners through PDVSA's joint-venture partners. The reshuffle, which has maintained Venezuela's oil output and exports close to the levels they were at before the licence cancellations, has been criticised by politicians in Washington and was discussed as part of talks for the new authorisations, the sources said. During former US President Joe Biden's administration, targeted licences to PDVSA's partners allowed Western refiners to regain access to Venezuelan supplies, but they also granted a stable source of cash to Maduro's administration as the companies were required by Venezuela to pay royalties and taxes.
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Copper prices ease as traders brace for US tariffs
SINGAPORE: Copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) eased, as traders held back ahead of an Aug 1 deadline when trade duties, including a 50 per cent metal import tariff, are set to start between the US and its trading partners. Three-month copper on the LME was down 0.10 per cent at US$9,867.50 a tonne, as of 0101 GMT on Friday. Still, the contract has climbed 0.92 per cent so far this week and is poised for a second weekly gain. The most-traded copper contract on SHFE receded 0.69 per cent to 79,290 yuan (US$11,083.16) a tonne, but might end the week on a positive note with a 1.16 per cent climb so far. "Market is just quietly waiting for Aug 1 when all the trade tariffs and US copper import tariffs are supposed to roll out, and some missing details may be available by then," a Beijing-based metals analyst at a futures company said. The European Commission said on Thursday a negotiated trade solution with the United States is within reach – while EU members voted to approve counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros (US$109 billion) of US goods in case the talks collapse, and US President Donald Trump would impose 30 per cent tariffs on the EU on August 1. China's Vice Premier He Lifeng will visit Sweden from July 27–30 for a new round of economic and trade talks with US officials, when the deadline on Aug 12 between the two countries may be extended. The premium of COMEX over LME copper stabilised at 29 per cent on Thursday, remaining below the 50 per cent import tariff planned by Trump, as the market awaited confirmation of the August 1 deadline and a list of the copper products to which the levy would apply. LME zinc fell 0.25 per cent to US$2,836.50 a tonne, nickel edged 0.06 per cent lower to US$15,455, while aluminium edged 0.06 per cent higher to US$2,648.50, and tin climbed 0.16 per cent to US$34,680. SHFE tin fell nearly 1.00 per cent to 271,210 yuan a tonne, nickel dropped 0.71 per cent to 123,160 yuan, zinc ebbed 0.70 per cent to 22,820 yuan, while aluminium edged up 0.05 per cent to 20,745 yuan.
