Mirjam van Reisen
Tilburg University
Paper for the 13th EUSA Conference
Baltimore, 11 May 2013

As the Cotonou Agreement expires in 2020, both the ACP and EU side need to start looking towards future options. This paper examines what common denominators might be emerging between the ACP and the EU on their common future, if any. Observations are also presented on which may be the key questions to consider in a frank and open examination of the future potential of the ACP – EU special relationship.

Girls and boys are treated differently in most of the developing world, with girls suffering far worse than their male counterparts in a variety of spheres of life, which include their access to nutrition, to basic health care and education.  There are 250 million girls living in poverty in the developing world with limited means to change or control the decisions that affect them. Girls are often taken out of school and forced to marry at an early age; they also bear the heaviest burden of domestic chores and are regularly engaged in unpaid and hazardous labour practices.

The EPF report with contribution from EEPA explores the social and economic situation of girl worldwide while also investigating the EU’s attention to the issue of girl through its Official Development Assistance (ODA).

Authors: Georgina Hrabovszki and Joyce Haarbrink, EEPA.

Children and young people are highly vulnerable to and disproportionately affected by the effects of conflict, state fragility and war. They make up the majority of population in conflict affected countries, with around 1 billion children estimated to currently live in conflict affected zones.

The present report investigates commissioned by War Child Holland and War Child UK, provides an overview and assessment of the European Union’s actions on the CAAC (Children Affected by Armed Conflict) issue, while also giving suggestions on how such action could be improved.

Report by Mirjam van Reisen, Meron Estefanos and Conny Rijken.

This report describes the horrific situation of trafficking of refugees in the Sinai desert, a crisis that started in 2009. The refugees include men, women, children and accompanying infants fleeing from already desperate circumstances in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan. An estimated 95% of the refugees held as hostages in the Sinai are Eritreans. Smuggled across borders by middlemen, or kidnapped from refugee camps in Ethiopia and the Sudan as well as their surrounding areas, and then captured or sold, the refugees are held hostage close to the Israeli border in inhumane conditions and tortured for ransoms of up to USD 50,000. A large number of the refugees have died, either while being held hostage or after their release — often even after their ransom has been paid. A large number of refugees simply ‘disappear’, killed while being held or after release.

A summary is available here.

Can you think of a group of almost half of the countries in the world that delivers crucial commodities and does not have a real say in global governance? Well, it exists. And the group now wants to be heard.

The future of the largest inter-regional cooperation between the EU and the ACP states in the world remains incertain; The EU is like an old man sailing uncertain seas, is sending signals that it might not extend The ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement. However,  schemes of international cooperation are changing rapidly and the question is not necessarily whether the EU wants to extend the treaty but whether the ACP really needs the EU.Trading with non-EU countries might prove more tempting than receiving aid from Europe. And being more independent, ACP countries feel, strengthens their presence in global governance.

In the Special Report published by the Broker entitled "The old man and the seas-The future of EU-ACP relations"', Prof Mirjam van Reisen, EU External Policy Expert, discusses the future of the ACP and its relationship with the European Union.

Within the report, Prof van Reisen explores and examines the future of the ACP-EU relationship in the context of the ACP’s effort to establish a presence in global governance; the ACP's opportunities to become a stronger, more independent group; and the new relationships the ACP is building with the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and other emerging economies.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the application of the Right to Development criteria for the evaluation of global partnerships for development in the context of MDG 8 to the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between EU and ACP countries. This report has been commissioned by the High-level Task Force on the implementation of the right to development of the Human Rights Council.

Report of the Conference 'Joining up EU and US Policy towards Eritrea and the Horn for the Promotion of Democracy and Human Rights', held in Brussels, 9-10 November 2009.

A report by Alliance2015 Stop Child Labour Campaign

Lost between "Ownership", "Division of Labour" and Mainstreaming

2015-Watch - Scorecard 2007

The EU's contribution to the Millennium Development Goals Halfway to 2015: Mid-term Review

An unhealthy prognosis? The EC's development funding for health

Nepal: Looking beyond Kathmandu "Challenges and Opportunities for Peace-Building from Below"

Expert Meeting: Measuring the contribution of General Budget Support to social sectors (Summary Report)

Lasting peace in Aceh? Strenghtening civil society as an active mediator for peace

A study on effective EU advocacy strategies, looking at CONCORD’s role in these, involving 24 interviews and an assessment of five campaigns.

The EU's contribution to the Millennium Development Goals Special focus: Education

Owning Development: Promoting Gender Equality in New Aid Modalities and Partnerships

The Millennium Development Goals: A comparative performance of six EU Member States and the EC aid programme

Women's empowerment in an expanding Europe

Gender equality in a partnership for poverty eradication

The European Union's response to Child Trafficking

The EU's contribution to the Millennium Development Goals Special focus: HIV/AIDS

Towards Integration of Children's Rights in EU and Member States' Development Co-operation Policies

The North-South Policy of the European Union