Jubilee 2000 - 2000 January & December

The Parish Church of St James
St. James's Road, Hampton Hill, TW12 1DQ (Parish Office 020 8941 6003)

PAST EVENTS AT St. JAMES'S IN 2000
Section Contents: Go to the PAST EVENTS AT St. JAMES'S Home Page to see all the events

Jubilee 2000 UK

"How do things look at the start of the last year of the Jubilee 2000 campaign?

The Good News
• At the 1999 G8 Summit in Cologne, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) was enhanced to allow for debt cancellation of $l00 billion.

• Bill Clinton announced last September that the USA would act unilaterally to cancel 100% of the debts owed to the USA (up from the 90% agreed via enhanced HIPC in Cologne). This was a clear statement that the Cologne deal was not enough and that other nations should do likewise.
• Our own UK government has been reluctant to make any unilateral cancellation of debt, preferring to work through the multilateral framework of the G8. There are growing signs they may match Clinton's action on debts owed directly to the UK. Perhaps even by the time you read this update?
• Jubilee 2000 has often criticised the conditions imposed on debtor countries by the IMF - ESAFs for those of you in the know! But things are changing at the IMF, not least their Managing Director. Last September they announced a new Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility to replace ESAF. This is potentially a breakthrough which, if actions live up to words, could integrate debt relief to the achievement of the 2015 poverty reduction targets. But the jury is still out...
• During a talk last November, Stephen Pound MP (Ealing North) said how extraordinarily refreshing it was to receive so many letters from constituents over an issue with no self interest. As individuals we can make a difference - our voice can be heard. Please help to make a difference.

The Not So Good News
• Enhanced HIPC (agreed in June 1999) covers under half of the debt that the Jubilee 2000 campaign says needs to be cancelled to really make a difference. Further enhancement is essential.
• The HIPC process is too slow. Since its inception in 1996, HIPC debt relief has only gone to - Uganda, Mozambique. Bolivia and Guyana. Last September the Pope said: "We have to ask why progress in resolving the debt problem is still so slow. Why the difficulty in providing the funds needed even for the already agreed initiatives? It is the poor who pay the cost of indecision and delay."
• In November 1999 Congress approved funding for the 100% cancellation of debt owed to the USA, but has backed down on the $600 million Clinton pledged for the HIPC Trust Fund as part of the deal agreed in Cologne. The implication is that the USA is making political capital out of the headline figures of 100% write-off putting this ahead of, and at the expense of, the Cologne deal.

The Road Ahead
23rd July 2000 is the last day of the Millennium G8 Summit in Okinawa, Japan, the day on which our world leaders can show the world they are truly committed to debt relief that makes a difference. The last year of the campaign will be a busy one as it pushes for agreement on a fully comprehensive, fully funded debt relief initiative. It's not over yet."

Source: Ann Peterken, The Spire Magazine - 2000 January

Jubilee 2000 - What Happens Now?
"The year 2000 has witnessed a lack of vision from the G7 leaders in Okinawa and the international financial institutions. But some very good news came in late October when Congress finally approved America's contribution to the fund that will finance the debt relief pledges made at Cologne in 1999. See what one of the main opponents, Republican Senator Phil Gramm, had to say:
"I do not think since Constantine the Great caled his ecumenical council in Nicaea there has been a larger gathering of holy people in one place than the people who came to see me about supporting debt forgiveness."

We must remember the Cologne pledges will only cancel about $100bn of debt and it will take until at least 2005 for this to be delivered, as eligible countries proceed through the process. Jubilee 2000 says at least $350bn must be cancelled to make a real difference and that at least another thirty countries, excluded from the current process, need urgent debt relief. There is clearly more work to be done.

In addition to achieving some debt cancellation, Jubilee 2000 has revealed some very important lessons. Firstly, that if advocacy on development issues is to be effective, it must be co-ordinated globally, between civil society in the north and south. Secondly, that working together in a coalition has achieved much more than lots of individual efforts. Just see what President Clinton said in September:

"It's given us a coalition that I would give anything to see formed around other issues, and issues here at home - anything. It could change the nature of the whole political debate in America because of something they did together that they all believe so deeply in."

A third important lesson is that ordinary people can grasp and lobby elites on complex financial issues. Jubilee 2000's approach and work, based on the respect and expectation that ordinary people can understand these issues, has been ground-breaking and must be built on.

Jubilee 2000 was designed as a short-life campaign, with a clear objective and deadline - the cancellation of the unpayable debts of the poorest countries by the year 2000. This clarity of purpose has given the campaign a particular dynamic, urgency and energy. The deadline is now nearly with us and the Jubilee 2000 Coalition is ending, with a final public rally in Westminster on 2 December.

But debt campaigning will continue - the baton is being passed on. Here is how.

Jubilee Plus
Under the umbrella of the New Economics Foundation, Ann Pettifor, Director of Jubilee 2000, and two colleagues will research the international financial system, re-design strategies and plan a fresh challenge. They will be listening to people from the South and maintaining the international co-ordination work of Jubilee 2000. Remember that campaigns in other countries, especially in Latin America and Africa, have been growing in strength and taking courage from the strong lead by northern campaigners. These southern campaigns continue.

Drop the Debt
Adrian Lovett, deputy director of Jubilee 2000, is planning a short-term campaign to maximise pressure on the G7 before and during the Genoa summit in Italy next July. There have been strong indications that the Italian government want to bring forward a new initiative on debt.

Debt Network
Christian Aid are proposing a network employing one person full-time to ensure co-ordination of the ongoing UK work on debt. Many other agencies that were part of the Jubilee 2000 Coalition will continue to campaign on debt cancellation, at least until the next G7 Summit."

Source: Ann Peterken, The Spire Magazine - 2000 December

Further Information
	Associated pages on this website: Campaigns

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