Joint Civil Society Political Statement to AU and EU Heads of State and Government 7th AU-EU Summit in Luanda, Angola, 24-25 November 20

African and European civil society organisations call on AU and EU Heads of States and Governments to use the Luanda Summit as a decisive moment to reset the Africa-Europe partnership on the basis of justice, equity, and shared prosperity. This Summit must strengthen a people-centred partnership grounded in human rights, democratic governance, ecological sustainability, and meaningful civil-society participation.

Since the last AU-EU Summit in 2022, civil society and youth actors have convened, consulted, and built common positions. Yet civic space continues to shrink, inequalities deepen, and policy choices increasingly prioritise commercial interests over community needs. A new approach is urgently required—one that addresses structural causes of instability, transforms unequal economic relations, and protects the rights and dignity of all.

The following priority recommendations are presented:

1. Protect Rights, Civic Space, and Human Development

Human rights violations, democratic backsliding, gender-based violence, and attacks on civic freedoms continue to threaten stability and public trust in both regions. AU and EU leaders are urged to reaffirm human rights and the rule of law as the foundation of all cooperation.

Calls on Heads of State and Government to:

* Guarantee fundamental freedoms and ensure protection for human rights defenders, journalists, women activists, minority groups, people with disabilities, and environmental defenders.

* Institutionalise civil-society participation in all AU-EU processes, using the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (CSEM) as a basis.

* Mobilize public investment in universal, sustainable, and high-quality public services: health, education, social protection systems, youth skills, and decent work.

* Advance gender equality and fully implement CEDAW, the Maputo Protocol, and rights-based health policies, including SRHR and the elimination of FGM.

* Ensure migration governance prioritises people, not borders—expanding safe mobility pathways, reducing restrictive visa regimes, stopping externalisation policies that trap migrants in harm's way, and taking decisive action against the root causes of migration including conflict.

2. Advance Structural Transformation for a Just and Sustainable Future

Both continents face intertwined crises of climate change, ecological degradation, food insecurity, and unequal economic relations. Current responses too often prioritise extractive "green" investments, corporate-driven agriculture, and trade frameworks that undermine African sovereignty, integration, and local economies.

Calls on Heads of State and Government to:

* Pivot away from industrial, input-intensive agriculture and instead support resilient, locally rooted food systems led by small-scale producers, including territorial markets and supply management, and farmer-managed seed systems.

* Prioritize agroecology which offers proven pathways for resilient food systems, biodiversity protection, youth employment, and climate adaptation.

* Urgently accelerate 1.5^{\circ}C-aligned climate action, phase-out of fossil fuels, and scaled-up renewable energy investment.

* Ban the export to and importation within Africa of highly hazardous pesticides banned in Europe.

* Put a halt to land and ocean grabbing by enforcing full protection of land rights, transparent governance and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

* Boost investment in technology transfer, local value addition and manufacturing, and fair participation in supply chains, ensuring Africa's natural resources fuel local development, not new extractive models.

* Focus Global Gateway Investments on the needs and aspirations of the partner countries, engage with and advance the collective well-being of local communities and grassroot populations, and ensure they contribute to advancing sustainable development goals.

* Jointly develop data and digitalisation governance based on equity, rights, and public interest.

* Accelerate investment in public digital infrastructure, rural connectivity, data protection, and African-led youth innovation.

* Ensure all trade and investment agreements are just and mutually beneficial, uphold African sovereignty, fair taxation, human and labour rights, and environmental standards and do not leave any one country or region overly dependent on another.

* Critically review and adjust Economic Partnership Agreements to ensure they do not undermine the The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and regional integration.

3. Reform Global Finance and Ensure Fair, Transparent Development Funding

The international financial system continues to place Africa at a structural disadvantage. High debt burdens, expensive borrowing, and declining grant-based assistance undermine public investment and deepen inequalities.

Calls on Heads of State and Government to:

* Protect and increase predictable, grant-based finance for climate, social sectors, and public services.

* Support a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation and a UN-led sovereign debt resolution mechanism.

* Triple public climate finance by 2035 and ensure direct access for African communities, local organisations, and governments by implementation of the Baku to Belém Roadmap, which seeks to mobilise $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for climate financing for especially least developed countries.

* Enhance transparency in all AU-EU cooperation, including open contracting, public disclosure of financing agreements, and civil-society participation in monitoring investments under the Global Gateway.

* Champion increased African representation and voting power in global governance institutions, including UN Security Council reform and democratization of IMF and World Bank governance.

A Partnership that Delivers for People and Planet

The Luanda Summit must mark a turning point. A genuine Africa-Europe partnership can only be built on mutual accountability, fair economic relations, climate justice, and the full participation of civil society and youth. AU and EU Heads of State are urged to seize this moment to show bold political leadership and take decisive action that places human rights, dignity, and ecological integrity at the centre of the relationship between the two continents.

Would you like me to compare these recommendations with the more detailed Joint Africa-Europe Civil Society Recommendations from the first document?