European, African bishops demand end to land grabs and exploitation

(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."