The Europe External Programme with Africa and Europe External Policy Advisors, both called EEPA, are two closely associated Belgian-based

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

that aim to encourage 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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

's involvement in

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

in general (EEPA/Advisors) and, in particular, in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

and North Africa (EEPA/Africa).

Creation and history

''Europe External Policy Advisors'' (EEPA/Advisors) states that it was created in 2003. It was registered with the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

in July 2015 with ID number 719135118053-50, as an international Belgian-based non-governmental organization (AISBL). ''Europe External Programme with Africa'' (EEPA/Africa) was registered with the

in January 2018 with ID number 574620429651-88. In 2020, the two organisations shared their street address, website and the EEPA acronym.

Leadership and structure

Mirjam van Reisen, an international relations and human rights professor at

Tilburg University Tilburg University is a Catholic research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg, Netherlands. Tilburg has a student population of about 19,1 ...

, is stated by EEPA/Advisors to have been its founding director in 2003. In 2020, van Reisen continued to be the director of EEPA/Advisors and was the secretary-general of EEPA/Africa. , EEPA/Africa's president was Julia Duncan-Cassell. In May 2020, EEPA/Advisors had three part-time employees and in January 2021, EEPA/Africa had seven part-time employees. Neither had persons accredited to access the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

(EP). Eritrean human rights lawyer Daniel Mekonnen states that he worked for EEPA/Africa during 2016–2018.

Aims

EEPA/Advisors describes its aims as influencing European foreign policy supporting development and human rights. EEPA/Africa describes it aims as using research and distribution of information to promote

and justice in Africa, especially in the

and North Africa, and by influencing

(EU) actions and policy towards Africa.

Actions

EEPA/Africa published daily ''situation reports'' on the Tigray War starting on 17 December 2020. Its 18 December report stated that the Negash mosque had been "first bombed and later looted by Ethiopian and Eritrean troops".

References

External links

* {{official website Horn of Africa Organisations based in Brussels