THE ORGANISATION OF AFRICAN,
CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC STATES

OACPS > Bodies

Principal Organs

The Organs and functions of the OACPS are delineated in the revised Georgetown Agreement [ACP/27/005/18 Rev.13]. The Organs of the OACPS are:

Secretariat

The Secretariat of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is an organ of the OACPS, which was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. The Secretariat of the OACPS is located in Brussels, Belgium and it functions as the Headquarters of the OACPS. The Secretariat of the OACPS is charged with:

  • implementing the decisions of all Organs of the OACPS;
  • implementing, as appropriate, agreements concluded with development partners;
  • providing services to the Organs of the OACPS and, as appropriate, the joint institutions established with all external parties.

Secretary-General

H.E. Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti was elected as the new Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), formerly the ACP Group of States at the 110th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, on 7 December 2019. Secretary-General Chikoti has devoted the majority of his professional career to diplomacy and international relations.

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Chief of Staff

Andrew Bradley was appointed Chief of Staff in the Office of the Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) on 1 March 2020.

During 2019, he advised Governments and International Organisations on governance, development and democracy. Mr. Bradley headed the Office of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) to the European Union (EU) in Brussels, Belgium from 2012 to 2018. He was stationed at the Headquarters of International IDEA in Stockholm, Sweden, from 2010 to 2011, where he led the Global Programmes Division of the Institute.

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A South African native, Mr. Bradley served as the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Human Development of the OACPS (formerly the ACP Group of States) from 2005 to 2010. Prior to that, he served as a diplomat in South African Embassies and Missions in Canada, Switzerland and Belgium, respectively. In this capacity, he contributed to the negotiations for South Africa’s accession to the ACP Group and the Lomé Convention (now Cotonou Agreement), and was a member of the South African Negotiating Team for the South Africa-EU Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA). In service to the ACP Group, Mr. Bradley participated in the first phase (all ACP) of negotiations for ACP-EU Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), contributed to the successful 2005 revision of the Cotonou Agreement, and coordinated the 2010 revision of the Agreement for the OACPS Secretariat.

In 2019, Mr. Bradley joined the Institut d’études européennes of the Université libre de Bruxelles (IEE-ULB) as a Scientific Collaborator, and the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) as a Research Fellow. Previous professional affiliations include membership of the Results Management Council (RMC) and Consultative Group (GC) of the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), Scientific Committee Member of the 2008 International Conference on Migration and Vulnerability of the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) from 2006 to 2008, and a Member of the Friends of the Forum of the United Nations Global Forum on Migration and Development (2008-2010).

The new Chief of Staff has authored and contributed to numerous articles and publications. His academic qualifications include graduate and post-graduate degrees and diplomas in Political Sciences, Strategic Studies, International Marketing and International Politics.