EIGHT citizens groups which in 2023 capped 27 months of advocacy by urging the Jamaican Government to reconsider “the glaring danger of multiple clauses” before signing the new African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)-EU agreement — the Samoa Agreement — on Wednesday praised the Administration for the route taken.

Head of the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS) Dr Wayne West, in a statement issued to the media on Wednesday, on behalf of the eight NGOs — the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society, Love March Movement, Lawyers Christian Fellowship Jamaica, Chosen to G.L.O.W. Ministries, Jamaica CAUSE, Hear the Children’s Cry, Christians United for Truth and Justice, and Christians United for Life — acknowledged the signing of the new binding 20-year trade agreement with the European Union (EU) in December 2023, accompanied by an ‘Interpretive Declaration’.

“The NGOs commend the Government for listening to the electorate and welcome the text of the Interpretative Declaration as a recognition by the Government of Jamaica of the validity of the NGOs’ concerns regarding Jamaica’s sovereignty and the rights of future generations,” West said.

“The JCHS sincerely thanks the thousands of Jamaicans at home and abroad who joined in voicing support for preserving national freedoms,” he added.

The agreement, which had been scheduled to be signed in Samoa at the 2023 ACP-EU Ministerial, had been described by the JCHS as a “comprehensive new, binding 20-year agreement with the EU that will reintroduce the rejected comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) curriculum back into Jamaican classrooms and undermine Jamaicans’ fundamental rights and freedoms”.

The JCHS had feared that if the country had signed the agreement in its original form without more, it would “bind Jamaica to undefined human rights obligations tied to trade sanctions; reintroduce CSE back into schools despite parents’ outrage in 2012 with regard to CSE’s sexualising content; trap the nation in yet-to-be-negotiated international instruments; and demand the acceptance of terms that directly threaten citizens’ freedom of conscience and speech, among other alarming concerns”.

The obligations referenced by the JCHS are contained in articles 101(7) General Pact; 48(7), Caribbean Pact; 36(2) General Pact; 9(2) and 20(1) General Pact of the Agreement.

The Jamaican Government, after delaying the signage due to the advocacy from various quarters, inked the declaration, but with the Reservation which was campaigned for.

That Reservation, a copy of which was seen by the Jamaica Observer, says “the Constitution of Jamaica entrenches and guarantees to every person in Jamaica the fundamental rights and freedoms to which they are entitled by virtue of their inherent dignity as persons and as citizens of a free and democratic society. The Constitution prescribes judicial processes to be observed in the event of the violation of any of these rights whether by the State or by a private individual. Neither signature, provisional application nor ratification of the Samoa Agreement by Jamaica implies the acceptance of obligations going beyond the constitutional limits”.

“The agreement includes some terms which do not have a universally agreed definition, or whose usage is not agreed as amongst the parties hereto. The Government of Jamaica therefore understands that the Samoa Agreement will be interpreted and implemented by Jamaica in a manner consistent with Jamaica’s domestic legal and policy frameworks,” the Reservation said further.

“Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Jamaica understands that Article 29 (5) does not impose an obligation on Jamaica to legalise or decriminalise abortion. Further, the Government of Jamaica understands that, in relation to Jamaica, references to ‘sexual and reproductive health’ and ‘family planning services’ do not include a reference to abortion other than where the termination of a pregnancy is made lawful under its domestic law. The Government of Jamaica also declares that it understands that the Samoa Agreement does not alter the interpretation of or create new legally-binding obligations under international law in respect of any other instrument, including any treaty, declaration or resolution,” it continued.

“Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Government of Jamaica further declares that, while it is committed to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), it does not consider the last sentence of Article 9 of the Samoa Agreement as creating binding obligations as to the interpretation or implementation of the UNDRIP. In this regard, it is recalled that the UNDRIP is not a legally binding instrument,” the Government declared further.

— Alicia Dunkley-Willis