Brussels, 7 April 2015/ ACP: The Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group), Dr. Patrick I. Gomes wishes to express his utmost distress and shock regarding the vicious and cowardly attack perpetrated by Al-Shabaab militants, on Garissa University, Kenya, on 2 April 2015.

The Secretary-General wishes to underscore that such an act highlights the heinous nature of these terrorists, who by attacking a beacon of knowledge and open-mindedness, have yet again demonstrated their rejection of democracy and their contempt for human life.

On behalf of the ACP Group, the Secretary-General pays tribute to the victims assassinated in cold blood and expresses his sympathy for the survivors and bereaved families. He reiterates the firm determination of the ACP Group to remain resolute alongside the Kenyan people and all peoples subjected to these types of threats, in order to defend social values and the ideals of freedom, that every person has the freedom to choose.

The ACP Group pledges to lend its full support to the Kenyan authorities to ensure that those behind this despicable act are arrested and brought before the relevant courts.

Secretary-General Gomes reiterates the ACP Group’s commitment to work towards finding a global and integrated solution to the threat of terrorism and to double efforts to combat poverty and social exclusion, which are breeding grounds for radicalism and extremism.