BRUSSELS, March 23 2016 – The Secretary-General of the ACP Group of States, Dr. Patrick Gomes, says he has learnt with deep shock and sadness the terrorist attacks perpetrated in Brussels on March 22.
The Secretary-General condemns these heinous and cowardly acts, and reiterates the ACP Group’s unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and its conviction that acts of terrorism can never be justified on any ground, whether political, racial, or religious.
The Secretary-General extends condolences and sympathies to the families and close associates of those that have lost their lives and others that have been injured in these despicable attacks, and expresses the solidarity of the ACP Group with the Government and people of Belgium in these trying times.
The Secretary-General recalls that the ACP Group has at various occasions expressed its deep concern at the escalation of these terrorist acts in European Union and ACP Member States, particularly in Africa, and their destabilizing effects on the citizens’ economic, social and political lives.
The ACP Group believes that terrorism is a threat to global peace, security and stability and, and for ACP states, seriously compromises their efforts towards the attainment of sustainable development.