Samoa Agreement will not force SVG to change laws – PM

The 400-page Samoa Agreement, signed last week by St Vincent and the Grenadines, does not commit the country to changing any of its laws unless so decided by The Parliament.

This is the assurance given by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who spoke following alarm among some Vincentians, over the assumed “threat” that the country will be forced to amend its laws on abortion, same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights.

The agreement, which succeeds the Cotonou Agreement was signed by 106 countries at the 46th session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers last Wednesday in Samoa, and was heralded by member countries, in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

But days later, following an interview with a Trinidad-based clergyman carried in a local media outlet, public criticism of the agreement increased significantly.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop was quoted as saying that in the agreement, the European Union was imposing an “ideology that is not ours”.

And while there is uproar about regional countries signing onto the Agreement, from as far back as December 2022, the agreement had been getting backlash. The Executive Director of the Christian Council International, Henk Jan van Schothorst, a Netherlands-based religious organization, had said that the Samoa Agreement/Post-Cotonou Agreement goes against the “traditional moral values” of the 79-member states.

Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, speaking twice on the issue this week, stated flatly that there are no commitments to changing any of the country’s laws unless so decided by The Parliament.

“St Vincent and the Grenadines has not signed onto any matter which demands of us that we alter our legislative provisions related to issues such as same-sex marriages regarding transgender. There is no commitment for us to change our laws in relation to any of these matters.”

The Prime Minister acknowledged the sentiment expressed by Executive Director Jan van Schothorost saying that the agenda of the European Union “is well known”.

He pointed to Article 9, Section 2 of the Agreement which states in part:”The Parties shall commit to the promotion of universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without discrimination based on any ground including sex, ethnic or social origin, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, disability, age, or other status.”

He noted that “other status” may present room for matters relating to LGBTQ rights to be inserted.

“I suspect that formulation of ‘other status’, they may wish to bring in the issue of sexual orientation, but it isn’t said here. This paragraph it doesn’t mention sexual orientation… they may think that what’s included, but it is not there because there would have been objections to putting it explicitly and they will try to push their values which are not ours.”

But even so, Gonsalves noted laws can only be changed through the legislative process.

He referenced the court case, Sean MacLeish and Javid Johnson versus the Attorney General of St Vincent and the Grenadines, challenging the country’s homosexuality laws as an attempt to change the status quo. He also highlighted that other Caribbean islands including Barbados, have ruled said laws to be unconstitutional.

While the Prime Minister spoke to the homophobic attitudes of some Vincentians towards, what he has highlighted as, the growing number of gays and lesbians in SVG, he stressed that the country’s constitution already offers protection from discrimination of this group.

“You can’t go and assault them and beat them up… or deny them certain opportunities.”

He urged Vincentians to read the Samoa Agreement in full and not “take some prelate’s position out of Trinidad or United States or somewhere else”.

Equal Rights Access and Opportunities SVG (ERAO SVG) stepped in to offer clarity on the agreement, posting a statement which said definitively that the Samoa Agreement does not mention the legalisation of abortion same-sex relations or transgender rights.

While backing the view expressed by the Prime Minister, ERAO SVG said they encourage “the state to implement measures necessary for the protection of the human rights of women and LGBTQIA+ persons in SVG”.