Blog the Debt

Jubilee Act in the House!

jubileeusa — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:32:14 -0500

The Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation (HR 4405) was introduced yesterday in the House of Representatives!

The bill already shows strong bi-partisan support with original co-sponsors by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), along with Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA), Ranking Member Spencer Bachus (R-AL), and seven more Republican and Democrat members of Congress. The Jubilee Act would give 22 impoverished countries left out of previous debt relief deals the debt cancellation they need. The Act also calls for an end to harmful economic conditions and an audit of past odious and illegitimate debts.

This important moment comes after almost a year of hard work here in Washington, DC and around the country. In Jubilee’s DC office we have been busily strategizing, meeting with Representatives and Senators, and helping grassroots supporters around the country organize to take action and build momentum in their communities. Supporters have already sent in 10,000 Change, Not Chains postcards to pass the Jubilee Act. This fall they organized 90 Stand Up Take Action events across the country to fight global poverty. Now, Jubilee groups, congregations, and supporters are hosting Jubilee Action Parties in their communities to plan actions to pressure Congress to pass the Jubilee Act.

To get more involved, click here

The events of this past year make the Jubilee Act’s passage in 2010 even more critical. The economic crisis has pushed millions into poverty. Dozens of impoverished countries now face a new debt crisis.

With just 40 cents, every American can cancel the debt of the world's poorest countries to the US. Debt cancellation has already led to more education, health care and vital social services for many countries.

In 2008, the Jubilee Act passed in the House with a two-thirds majority and passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but ran out of time to pass the entire Congress. Now is our chance to see it through.

Please ask your Representative to cosponsor the Jubilee Act today.

Gambling on Hunger

jubileeusa — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:39:58 -0500

Market deregulation. Commodity speculation.

When you read these words, do they catch your eye? Make you want to take action?

Probably not. But maybe they will after watching this new video by our partners at the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns.

Stop Gambling on Hunger looks deeper into the food and fuel crises to see that their causes were not natural, but resulted from the casino economy created over many years on Wall St. and in Washington DC.

We have seen the devastating impact of the food crisis on a country like Haiti, who last year was struck by food riots when global food prices rose 70% in four months. At that time, the country was continuing to pay millions a month in debt service while people starved.

Over 450 organizations have come together to work to stop excessive food speculation. Legislator are making decisions as you read on this issue, so the time to act is now. Click here to send a message to your Members of Congress today.

As said in the video, investors should never get rich off of people getting hungry.

Learn more on the website stopgamblingonhunger.com

Coping With Climate Debt in Copenhagen

jubileeusa — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:57:31 -0500

By Julia Dowling

This week I have been keeping a close eye on the Copenhagen Climate Summit that began on Monday, bringing with it delegates from around the world including President Barack Obama. I’ve been reading up on discussions surrounding one of the major controversies being debated at Copenhagen: the idea that industrialized nations owe impoverished nations who suffer most from climate change financial compensation.

The fact of the matter is that the North has largely created the climate change crisis, starting from the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The United States alone has emitted 25% of global carbon emissions while the US is only 5% of the world’s population. Despite our responsibility for the crisis, it’s the poor citizens of the South that are literally feeling the heat.

Indirect consequences of climate change are close on the horizon for the poorest of the South; an estimated 182 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa could die from an increase in disease directly attributed to climate change. When the rains finally fell after two years of drought in Ethiopia, 400 people died as a result of the river bursting over its parched banks. Even more disconcerting is the instability states will experience from the massive amount of displacement we’re likely to see in the coming years thanks to climate change—between 25 million and 1 billion people in total. According to a study by the International Organization for Migration, regions and countries most likely to have massive amounts of Internally Displaced Persons due to climate change include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, most of Central America, West Africa, and South East Asia. The common thread between these countries: poor or developing Southern countries that historically have contributed little to the high levels of carbon leading to this climate catastrophe.

This concept, known as the Climate Debt, has been highlighted as a Copenhagen controversy in several publications, including the New York Times’ article from the opening day of the summit. I knew we were really onto something with Climate Debt when the research assistant of Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine, contacted me about an in-depth article she was writing for Rolling Stone. In “Climate Rage” Ms. Klein highlights the disparities between those who have caused the climate crisis, who are most affected by it, and visionary voices urging for climate reparations to be committed to the South on the global stage of Copenhagen.
A friend of mine recently said that African countries were shooting themselves in the foot by demanding reparations from the North to finance efforts to reverse or neutralize environmental degradation throughout the continent. While African protesters storming the halls of the summit chanting “2-degree suicide” has a certain shock value to it, it does get to the very heart of a desperate situation: citizens from across Africa and the rest of the South are in jeopardy of losing their livelihoods and lives thanks to the effects of climate change. The Climate debt is not just about receiving monetary support to combat the root causes of climate change in the South, though it is critical that this be done. It is a matter of addressing this injustice that has been perpetuated from the North to the South—Copenhagen should be a decisive step in righting those wrongs.

For more information on the North’s Climate Debt to the South, check out our resource, Who Owes Whom?

Also, look our for a special event with Naomi Klein, coming January 15th, at Washington D.C.’s Busboys and Poets, in which she discusses these ideas and more!

Picture Courtesy of United Nations Climate Change Official Website

Debt Relief Does Work

jubileeusa — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:28:11 -0500

By Jennifer Schuster

Because of debt relief, 50% more Tanzanian children have been able to attend school for the 1st time.

Because of debt relief, 91% of Ghanaian children were enrolled in school.

In 1996, the IMF and World Bank introduced the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative that was aimed to alleviate unsustainable debts held by many impoverished nations in the Global South. Through the tireless efforts of Jubilee and many of our partners worldwide, increased debt cancellation was given through the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative in 2005. Though this debt cancellation has been limited in its scope, it has done amazing things for many of the recipient nations.

Jubilee has just released an updated resource highlighting some of the benefits of debt cancellation. Check it out here: http://www.jubileeusa.org/?id=115

Debt relief has helped many countries get closer to reaching the Millennium Development Goals and has given new generations a chance to be free of the chains of debt.

According to the World Bank and IMF countries that received debt cancellation have increased their social expenditures by 75%. Because of debt cancellation that has allowed them to build more health centers in rural areas as well as recruit more teachers and build more schools allowing for more children to go to school Other countries have focused their attention on reducing child mortality rates and increasing maternal healthcare. Many recipient countries are also on track to meet their MDG for Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases.

These victories in the fight against extreme poverty have been tremendously important, but are still not enough. So far, debt cancellation has not been comprehensive enough to make a big enough dent in eradicating extreme poverty. More can and needs to be done. But proof is in the pudding, and debt relief does work!

Vultures Feast on Liberia this Thanksgiving

jubileeusa — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:10:04 -0500

By Julia Dowling

The Vultures have struck again!

Their latest prey: Liberia, a country that ranks in the bottom 15 for basic living standards. With life expectancy at a shocking average of 45 years, the country's democratic government has been making concerted efforts to address the legacy of the civil war and crushing poverty.

This morally reprehensible news is even more shocking in the context of Liberia’s recent victory in April, when the country reached an agreement canceling $1.2 billion of its commercial debt. This past weekend, while Americans enjoyed their turkey and mashed potatoes, Liberia had little to be thankful for when news hit that two Vulture Funds were awarded $20 million from a 30 year old loan and that was originally only worth $6 million. The UK Court’s settlement of $20 million represents all of Liberia’s 2008/2009 education budget and 150% of the funds allocated for health expenditures. In total, 25% of Liberia’s poverty reduction spending will go to two Vultures located in tax havens.

The media coverage of this upsetting news includes stories from the BBC, The UK Independent, The UK Guardian, and Bloomberg. It is clear that urgent action is needed! To learn more go to our Stop the Vulture Culture Campaign site, and make sure to visit our Take Action Page to ask your Representative to co-sponsor the Stop VULTURE Funds Act, H.R.2932. We need to protect poor countries from paying hedge funds the money needed to fight poverty. Pass the Stop VULTURE Funds Act to stop this behavior once and for all.

From Georgia: Jubilee at the School of the Americas

jubileeusa — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:46:07 -0500

By Hayley Hathaway

Last weekend I traveled to Columbus, Georgia for the annual School of the Americas vigil. I had been last year, and was looking forward to the great energy and spirit of the event. Unlike many protests, the vigil balances celebration and mourning, mixed with a hint of spontaneity.

For more than a decade, activists have been traveling to Fort Benning from around the country to protest the military school that trains Latin American soldiers. Many of the school’s graduates have returned to their countries to participate in coups and paramilitary efforts, including the most recent coup in Honduras. The protest has a tradition of resistance; each year people decide to “cross the line” onto the fence at the main gate, guarantying themselves arrest - and publicity. Over the years, the fence has gotten stronger and higher and the security tighter.

It's a powerful thing to be with thousands of other activists and US citizens who care so deeply about creating a more just world. On Saturday morning my compatriots and I awoke early and went to the gates of Fort Benning to set up the Jubilee USA table. I set up my registered table with Jubilee brochures, postcards, and information about the organization. My neighbors were a youth spoken word team from Atlanta on one side and a seller of Catholic books on the other. Other Jubilee friends were also tabling or in the crowd. Many of our Jubilee partners are regulars, such as the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, and many members of our Jubilee Congregations make the trip down.

I worked to get as many people to sign our Change, Not Chains postcards as possible, talking up our new campaign to anyone who looked mildly interested and even those who didn't. Thankfully, I didn’t need to do much convincing to get passerbys interested in our work and willing to sign our postcard campaign to pass the Jubilee Act.

Saturday night I packed up the gear and headed to the nearby convention center where I gave a workshop on the debt crisis in Latin America. The School of the Americas (now known as WHINSEC) has a violent military history. In my presentation, I worked to bring economics into the mix. I talked about the economic violence felt by the region - the neoliberal policies that turned the 1980's in Latin America into the "lost decade" and from which the region is still paying back massive debts. The participants were excited to learn about debt cancellation and some of our recent achievements, like Haiti’s debt cancellation and Ecuador’s debt audits.

On Sunday, the weather was gloomy, drizzling on and off. It set the tone for the day. While Saturday is a reunion and a celebration, Sunday is solemn ceremony. All the activists congregated near the main stage with the fort’s gates in the background. I held a white cross with the name of a young boy, Jose Romero, who was murdered. Our sea of white crosses was just a small sample of those who have been murdered or disappeared over the years. As the names of the victims were read over the loudspeaker, thousands of us honored their memories by announcing "Presente". We marched in procession, accompanied by puppets, banners, and memories, and placed our crosses on the tall fence barring our way into the fort. The metal wire barrier was transformed into a symbol of life and death and a commitment to continue to work for peace and justice.

Though only two days a year, the School of the Americas vigil represents a lifelong struggle for many. Instead of being frustrating, it is motivating. Although the fight to close the school has been difficult, it is still hopeful - and certainly we at Jubilee have learned a lesson or two over the years about patience, persistence, and faith.

From Geneva: A Challenge to Illegitimate Debt

jubileeusa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:47:45 -0500

By Neil Watkins

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva about how the global economic crisis is affecting developing countries’ debt situations.

The conference brought together more than 350 participants from 100 governments, representatives of civil society like me as well as representatives from other official institutions including the IMF and World Bank.

One of the main themes of the conference was that the global economic crisis is hitting the poorest the hardest. As Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan with the Ministry of Finance in Bangladesh pointed out, “This crisis was born in the advanced market economies but has major consequences in developing countries. Poor countries are the victims of developed countries’ mistakes.”

The crisis is also endangering some of the gains we have made as debt campaign. With markets for poor country exports down, governments have less income to pay for debts and to finance their government budgets.

As UNCTAD’s Secretary General Supachai Panitchpakdi pointed out: “Developing countries face a Hobson’s choice: Pursue debt sustainability or huge new borrowing. Both options are bad. Full debt cancellation and large increase in aid are needed instead.”
But the conference also addressed another key issue: how to address the problem of odious debt and the need for new lending and borrowing to be just and responsible. Countries need resources – and they need them fast – but these resources should be of high quality and not simply repetitive of past mistakes which have led to a large accumulation of illegitimate debts.

I was at this same conference two years ago, and the difference this year was that there was much more engagement and participation by developing country governments on this topic. Whereas in the past, developing countries seemed reluctant to speak up out of fear of displeasing rich country donors in attendance, this time that caution seemed gone. Perhaps the crisis has emboldened developing countries to speak their minds with less caution as funds dry up and donors turn inwards.

Government representatives from DRC to Rwanda to Nicaragua to Zimbabwe described much of their own debts as odious. As Senator Obert Gutu from the MDC party in Zimbabwe pointed out, “Without auditing the debt, we might end up paying a debt that entrenched a dictatorship. This is like people paying for getting punished. The overwhelming majority of Zimbabwe’s debt is odious in law, and thus should not be enforceable.”

With the gravity of the problem clear, the UNCTAD conference concluded on a hopeful note, with the launch of a new initiative to establish a set of guidelines for responsible lending and borrowing. The goal is to set in place commonly agreed practices of responsibility, thus avoiding the build up of new odious and/or illegitimate debts.

Following the main gathering, I represented Jubilee USA at the first meeting of the Experts Group which UNCTAD set up to draft the guidelines. Meanwhile, a dozen governments have expressed interest or support for the project and have joined a parallel Advisory Group, which will ultimately approve the proposed guidelines.

It was encouraging to know that after 10 years of Jubilee USA and other civil society groups raising issues of illegitimate debt and the need for more responsible lending, that these issues have finally found their place in the discussion on the international policy-making stage. Jubilee USA will be participating in and following closely the new initiative and efforts to create the new guidelines, and we’ll be keeping you posted!

Can I Get a Witness? Faith Community Gathers to Support Climate Justice

jubileeusa — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:51:11 -0500

Yesterday was a glorious day.

A sunny, bright, crisp fall day in Washington DC.

But don’t be distracted by the beautiful weather, said Rev. John McCullough, Executive Director and CEO of Church World Service. The climate change crisis is real, warned the Reverend as he spoke to a group gathered on the US Capitol’s northeast lawn for the Climate Witness and Day for People of Conscience.

Sponsored by a host of Jubilee Network Council members, including United Methodist Women, Church World Service, and the Unitarian Universalist Association, the event on this lovely day was both a practical call to action and a step in strengthening the faith community’s voice on the climate issue.

Climate change is a justice issue that affects not only our neighbors in the US, but our neighbors abroad. Citizens in the world’s most impoverished countries are the most impacted by climate change, yet has the least to due wish causing the crisis.

As people of faith, it is our duty to bear witness – and take action – to curb the devastating effects of climate change. The message of climate justice was lifted up throughout the morning by other speakers like Harriett Jane Olson, Deputy General Secretary of the United Methodist Women, and the General Secretary Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon of the National Council of Churches. Music from local DC residents Alicia Gill and Gordon Kent filled the crisp fall air and lifted our spirits.

The event was not just song and speech, though. The day culminated in the delivery of over 30,000 postcards to US Senators and constituent meetings with key decision makers on the need for a stronger climate change bill all leading up to the climate meetings in Copenhagen in December.

Trick or Treating with a Vulture Fund

jubileeusa — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:48:06 -0500

By Devon Davidson

Looking for an attention-getting addition to your work to stop Vulture Funds? The recent Jubilee Network meeting gave me an idea for a Halloween costume. I dressed as a Vulture Fund!

I transformed myself into a fierce vulture with a black robe with a hood. I made a beak from construction paper and attached play money to the end. Then I pinned a black shawl to the back by the neck and to the tip of the arms for wings. I carried a sign that said, “I’m a Vulture Fund. Give me a poor, indebted country to eat.” Then I carried a handful of money to throw around.

I’m sure you could add touches of your own to make an even more realistic and frightening vulture. Then, at the party, I explained Vulture Funds to my friends. But don't wait for next Halloween--use it to attract attention at a demonstration!

Tell Congress to stop what's really scary this Halloween

Click here to download Jubilee's newest Vulture Fund factsheet

Stand Up & Be Counted

jubileeusa — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:01:58 -0400

By Hayley Hathaway

Stand up. Get up from your chair, your sofa, the floor, or your bed right now.

Now imagine 117 million people all around the world, on every continent, standing up at the same time. This weekend, that’s what’s going to happen.

More than one hundred million people are taking a stand this weekend against global poverty as part of the Stand Up and Take Action Days. While many of us work on poverty issues everyday, talk about it at home and in our communities, once a year we have the opportunity to literally stand in solidarity with people across the world at the same time – all people who care about ending poverty once and for all.

Almost 10 years ago, world leaders committed to a bold roadmap to end global poverty and its root causes – beginning with achieving the Millennium Development Goals which include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, improving maternal health and ensuring environmental sustainability by 2015. This weekend we are all coming together because we know that despite the gains we’ve made, the global economic crisis is threatening our progress.

At Jubilee USA Network, our almost 100 Stand Up events across the country are focusing on one part of the poverty puzzle: debt cancellation and responsible lending. Without debt cancellation, we will not reach the Millennium Development Goals in time. Right now the world’s poorest countries pay rich creditors more than $100 million in debt payments everyday. Can you imagine if this money went toward shelter, education and health care?

We know that it is possible. Debt cancellation has already brought increased education, healthcare and vital social services for many countries in Africa and Latin America. But too many needy countries have been left out.

This weekend, churches, synagogues and community groups will by taking the Stand Up Pledge to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. They’ll also urging Congress to support the Jubilee Act, a bill which calls for expanded debt cancellation to help all the poor countries that need it to reach the MDGs.

This weekend, all over the world we are going to pledge our commitments to fighting global poverty. Let's continue to work to break the chains of international debt.

To learn more about Stand Up and to find out how YOU can stand up, visit www.jubileeusa.org