Christian advocacy group, the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS), has raised concerns over Jamaica’s pending ratification of the Samoa Agreement, which they believe contains several clauses that threaten to undermine the country’s sovereignty and existing fundamental human rights.

The African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)- EU Agreement, otherwise known as the Samoa agreement, is described by the group as a 20-year binding agreement that will “reintroduce the rejected Comprehensive Sexuality Education Curriculum back into Jamaican classrooms and undermine Jamaicans’ fundamental rights and freedoms”.

The agreement, which will be signed on November 15 at the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)-EU Ministerial meeting in Samoa, has received strong pushback from advocacy groups across the globe who warn of the dangers of the agreement.

“The agreement will bind Jamaica to undefined human rights obligations tied to trade sanctions, reintroduce Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) back into schools despite parents’ outrage in 2012 with regards to CSE’s sexualizing content, trap the nation in yet-to-be-negotiated international instruments, and demand the acceptance of terms that directly threaten citizens’ freedom of conscience and speech,” said the JCHS in a release on Friday.

Government silent

According to the advocacy group, for more than two years, they have petitioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, warning them of the threats the agreement can have on Jamaica’s sovereignty.

Legal counsel of the JCHS, Shirley Richards, said the group and other non-governmental organisations have grown frustrated in their efforts to hold dialogue with the Government.

“At the Office of the Prime Minister’s Education Townhall in September 2022, Minister Kamina Johnson-Smith promised the nation that Jamaica was not going to be party to any agreement that would be detrimental to our children. We subsequently wrote, asking how she would keep this promise. It’s now more than one year later, and she has not answered this question. At the same town hall meeting, the Minister of Education invited concerned parents to meet with her. However, attempts to set up a meeting went unanswered by that ministry,” said Richards.

JCHS chairman Dr Wayne West shared that the group is among many advocacy bodies who are warning their governments about the dangers of the agreement.

He shared that this week, the Government of Namibia pulled out of signing the agreement.

“They cited similar concerns to the Jamaican non-government organisations, as well as their suspicion of the alleged removal by the EU, after negotiations were closed, of a provision allowing reservations by countries. This questionable action needs to be explained and challenged,” said West.

The JCHS noted that Prime Minister Andrew Holness has stated his commitment to preserving the national values and sovereignty of Jamaica. However, they believe that “the security of Jamaica’s laws are in peril as signing an agreement without knowledge of its true scope is in effect signing a binding blind commitment.”

The advocacy group says it stands strong in its intention to publicly defend their human rights and freedoms. They are calling on other concerned Jamaicans to make their voices heard.