There has been a lot of questions and fear surrounding the recently publicized Samoa Agreement (the Agreement) which has made it important for people to understand what the Agreement is as well as its objectives.

In this article, we will attempt to demystify the Samoa Agreement by exploring its background, objectives, parties and implication. To avoid confusion, please note that the words “states” and “countries” will be used interchangeably. When discussing international law, “Countries” are usually referred to as “States”.

Background of the Samoa Agreement

The Samoa Agreement was signed on the 15th of November, 2023 in Apia, the capital city of the South Pacific island state of Samoa with the purpose of strengthening the capacity of the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries in order for them to address global challenges together.

The Samoa Agreement was preceded by the Cotonou Agreement of 2000 which was also preceded by the Lomé Agreement of 1975.

The Samoa Agreement is made up countries from the European Union and its Member States as well as 79 Countries comprising of; 48 African Countries, 16 Caribbean Countries and 15 Pacific Countries.

Parties to the Samoa Agreement

The Samoan Agreement is made up of two parties;

1. The European Union and its Member States which is made up of the following countries; Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden; and
2. The Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) which is made up of the following countries; Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, CapeVerde, Comoros, Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Cook Islands, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Republic of Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Organization of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS)

The OACPS is an organization made up of 79 members states totaling 2 billion people. It was created in 1975 and comprises of African, Caribbean and Pacific States i.e. countries of the world that united for the sustainable development of its Members and their progressive integration into the world economy.

Its objectives include the promotion of efforts of its Member States in order to eradicate poverty, achieve sustainable development and fully benefit from the advantages of trade, through their gradual and more effective participation in the world economy.

Objectives of the Samoa Agreement

The Agreement has 6 objectives which it intends to achieve together and they are;

1. Encourage and Promote Human Rights, Good Governance, Democracy and Gender Equality.
2. Build Peaceful and Resilient States.
3. Foster Human and Social Development to eradicate poverty and address inequality especially in Women and Girls.
4. Mobilise investment, support trade and foster private-sector development.
5. combat climate change, protect the environment and ensure the sustainable management of natural resources; and
6. implement a comprehensive and balanced approach to migration.

The African Regional Protocol

Due to the fact that the Agreement covers various continents and countries, there are protocols which have been set in place depending on the regions concerned.

The African Regional Protocol is the a 99 page document contained in the Agreement which outlines the following key areas covering Africa as a region;

1. Inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development;
2. Human and social development;
3. Environment, natural resources management and climate change;
4. Peace and security;
5. Human rights, democracy and governance; and
6. Migration and mobility.

These key areas were further broken down into articles in order to ensure that compliance is observed based on the areas explained.

Joint Institutions

The Agreement also created Joint Institutions under the Africa Regional Protocol and they are;

(a) the Africa-EU Council of Ministers;

(b) the Africa-EU Joint Committee;

(c) the Africa-EU Parliamentary Assembly.

Application

For an international agreement to be enforced, it needs to be signed and ratified i.e. passed into law, by countries that are signatories to such agreement.

A state is under no legal obligation to ratify a treaty, even one that it has signed. Ratification is discretionary with signatory states and may be withheld for any reason

The provisional implementation of the Samoa Agreement commenced on the 1st of January, 2024 and it will take effect once it has been signed by all EU Member States and at least 2/3rd majority of the OACPS for a 20 year period.

What is Provisional Application?

A Provisional application is one in which a treaty or certain parts of a treaty are applied on a provisional basis prior to its entry into force. It can also defined as a mechanism available to States and international organizations to give effect to all or some of the provisions of a treaty pending entry into force.

It can be seen as a sort of test run for states i.e. countries that want to partake in this provisional application. Once the provisional application has taken place, the entire treaty/ international agreement can then take effect.

To understand provisional application better, we can look at article 25 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties article on provisional application, which provides:

1. “A treaty or part of a treaty is applied provisionally pending its entry into force if:
   (a) the treaty itself so provides; or
   (b) the negotiating States have in some other manner so agreed.
2. Unless the treaty otherwise provides or the negotiating States have otherwise agreed, the provisional application of a treaty or a part of a treaty with respect to a State shall be terminated if that
   State notifies the other States between which the treaty is being applied provisionally of its intention not to become a party to the treaty.

That all negotiating states clearly understand how and when the provisional regime comes into effect and terminates, and what legal obligations are assumed by them during that phase, is an important element in avoiding later misunderstandings and frustrated expectations.”

Article 2(1)(a) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties defines a ‘treaty’ as “an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related instruments and whatever its particular designation”.

States that have opted for a provisional application of the Samoa Agreement will determine how long they want it to run before the entire Agreement comes into force.

Conclusion

The Samoa Agreement is one that aims to foster economic, health, environmental and social growth and development.

It is important to mention that just a few days after the Agreement was signed by some Member States, most states, especially African and Caribbean States expressed strong hesitation towards signing the Samoa Agreement as they wanted to make sure it did not have any compatibility with their legal order, notably as regards same-sex relations and sexual health and rights.

In the European Parliament’s Briefing, they explained that the Samoa Agreement “…includes the possibility for the signatories to make interpretative declarations or reservations…”. This essentially means that “…the parties shall strive to work out common positions, to deploy their best efforts to overcome any possible differences, there is no obligation to come to an agreement on all matters.” here

There were mentions of sexuality education based on UNESCO’s International technical guidance on sexuality education, however, this catered more towards understanding sex and its emotional, physical, mental etc. implications.

If the Agreement is favouring any particular side, it is women and girl’s rights regarding gender bias and like was stated earlier in the European Parliament’s Briefing, “… there is no obligation to come to an agreement on all matters.”.