The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is a group of

countries A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

, and the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

that was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. Formerly known as African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), the organisation's main objectives are sustainable development and

poverty reduction Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics ...

within its member states, as well as their greater integration into the world's economy. All of the member states, except

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

, are signatories to the

Cotonou Agreement The Cotonou Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States ("ACP countries"). It was signed in June 2000 in Cotonou, Benin's largest city, by 78 ACP countries (Cuba did not sign) and the t ...

with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. The

(signed in

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

, in June 2000) is the successor to the

Lomé Convention The Lomé Convention is a trade and aid agreement between the European Economic Community (EEC) and 71 African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, first signed in February 1975 in Lomé, Togo. History The first Lomé Convention (Lomé I) ...

s. One of the major differences from the Lomé Convention is that the partnership is extended to new actors such as civil society, private sector, trade unions and local authorities. These will be involved in consultations and planning of national development strategies, provided with access to financial resources and involved in the implementation of programmes. Many small island developing states are OACPS states; the fourth Lomé Convention was revised in 1995 in

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

and gives special attention to island countries in this agreement. Combined the EU and the members of the OACPS represent over 1.5 billion people and more than half of the seats at the United Nations.

States

Africa

The African OACPS countries negotiate in five Economic Partnership Agreements groups (West Africa,

CEMAC The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; french: Communauté Économique des États de l'Afrique Centrale, CEEAC; es, Comunidad Económica de los Estados de África Central, CEEAC; pt, Comunidade Económica dos Estados da Áfr ...

Southern Africa Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coope ...

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Buru ...

, Eastern and Southern Africa) with the EU.

Caribbean

All countries of the

Caribbean Community The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) throughout the Caribbean. They have primary objectives to promote eco ...

plus

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

group negotiate in the

CARIFORUM The Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) is a subgroup of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and serves as a base for economic dialogue with the European Union. It was established in 1992. Its membership comprises the 15 Caribbean ...

Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the

(EU).

Pacific

All developing member states of the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

group and Timor-Leste negotiate in the Pacific EPA with the EU.

North Atlantic

In this region are located the EU overseas countries and territories (OCTs) of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

and

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

, but there are no OACPS states.OCT regional groups

South Atlantic

In this region are located the EU OCTs of

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...

and

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

, but there are no OACPS states. Nevertheless, Saint Helena is developing links with the SADC EPA group.

Uninhabited territories

The uninhabited EU OCTs do not participate in regional integration and do not receive development funding from the EU. *

British Indian Ocean Territory The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1, ...

, located in the Indian Ocean * French Southern and Antarctic Territories, located in the Indian Ocean * South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, located in the South Atlantic, thus in a group with the inhabited OCTs there *

British Antarctic Territory The British Antarctic Territory (BAT) is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories, of which it is by far the largest by area. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and between ...

, located near the South Atlantic, thus in a group with the inhabited OCTs there

Special designations

The Cotonou agreement recognises the specific challenges faced by less developed countries, land-locked countries, and islands in their economic development. Therefore, those countries are granted a more favourable treatment than other OACPS member countries. The text of the Cotonou agreement has been updated in 2005 and 2010, but the lists have not, despite the fact that the actual list of LDCs as defined by the United Nations has changed:

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

has graduated from LDC status in December 2007, while

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

has acquired the status in 2001 and Timor-Leste in 2003. The following lists should thus not be considered as the actual lists of OACPS LDCs and islands (a few islands are also not listed). Annex VI of the Cotonou agreement lists the following designations:

Least-developed OACPS states

*Angola *Benin *Burkina Faso *Burundi *Cape Verde * the Central African Republic *Chad *Comoros * the Democratic Republic of the Congo *Djibouti *Equatorial Guinea *Eritrea *Ethiopia *Gambia *Guinea *Guinea-Bissau *Haiti *Kiribati *Lesotho *Liberia *Madagascar *Malawi *Mali *Mauritania *Mozambique *Niger *Rwanda *Samoa *São Tomé and Príncipe *Sierra Leone *Solomon Islands *Somalia *Sudan *Tanzania *Tuvalu *Togo *Uganda *Vanuatu *Zambia The Least developed OCTs are the following: Anguilla, Mayotte, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, Wallis and Futuna, Saint Pierre and Miquelon.Overseas Association Decision, Annex I B
/ref>

Landlocked OACPS states

*Botswana *Burkina Faso *Burundi *Central African Republic *Chad *Ethiopia *Lesotho *Malawi *Mali *Niger *Rwanda *Eswatini *Uganda *Zambia *Zimbabwe

Island OACPS states

*Antigua and Barbuda *Bahamas *Barbados *Cape Verde *Comoros *Cuba *Dominica *Dominican Republic *Fiji *Grenada *Haiti *Jamaica *Kiribati *Madagascar *Mauritius *Nauru *Papua New Guinea *Saint Kitts and Nevis *Saint Lucia *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *Samoa *São Tomé and Príncipe *Seychelles *Solomon Islands *Tonga *Trinidad and Tobago *Tuvalu *Vanuatu

References

External links

Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of StatesACP-EU cooperation dossier of EuforicAfrican Voices: About EC Aid to AfricaThe Courier - The Magazine of Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and European Union cooperation and relations CTA's magazine on agriculture in ACP countries
''Spore''
Website on EU cooperation for ACP countries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States . International organizations based in Africa International organizations based in Oceania International organizations based in the Caribbean International economic organizations International trade organizations Trade blocs Economy of Africa Economy of Oceania Economy of the Caribbean Foreign relations of the Caribbean Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty Organizations established in 1975 1975 establishments in Africa 1981 establishments in Oceania 1970s establishments in the Caribbean 1975 establishments in North America 1975 establishments in South America Politics of Africa Politics of Oceania Politics of the Caribbean United Nations General Assembly observers