Jubilee & the Year 2000
This issue of international debt is quickly becoming a top priority for the as we approach the Year 2000. USCC International Justice & Peace is gearing up for several new endeavors made possible by a grant from the Raskob Foundation and by collaboration with Catholic Relief Services (CRS.) Through CRS, USCC is working with Caritas Internationalis and CIDSE, two networks representing Catholic relief and development agencies around the world.
Meanwhile, the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative – the World Bank/International Monetary Fund plan to provide debt relief for the most impoverished countries of the world – is languishing just a year after it was approved.
HIPC Initiative
The Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) was widely regarded as a way for the poorest countries, mostly located in sub-Saharan Africa, to eliminate a portion of their debt owed to other governments, such as the US, and to international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. In about 40 countries, interest payments on the debt consume on average 40% of GNP, and in some cases more than 100% of GNP! These payments divert valuable resources away from needed expenditures on health and education.
Negotiations for debt relief under the HIPC Initiative are complete for Uganda and Bolivia and underway for Mozambique. The example of the first two, however, offers little promise for other countries eligible for relief. As the one country most eligible for maximum relief in the shortest time possible, Uganda received a modest amount of relief (about 20% of its total debt stock) which was then delayed by one year. According to the Ugandan government, this delay will result in a loss of $200 million which will force the country to put on hold its plan to provide free primary school education for up to four children per family by the year 2000.
Bolivia – a country in which 70% of the total population is impoverished and the level of infant mortality, illiteracy, and life expectancy is well below the average for Latin America – will also receive a relatively small amount of relief (about 10%) after a one-year delay. The reason for such modest relief is that the Inter-American Development Bank; Bolivia’s largest creditor, is dominated by the governments of Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. They persuaded the Bank’s board to minimize relief to Bolivia so that the financial resources could be put to other uses that would benefit more members (presumably them).
USCC Initiatives
With funds from the Raskob Foundation, we are planning to sponsor a conference on ethics and international debt in 1998. We hope to work with a few Justice and Peace Commissions of national or regional bishops’ conferences in Africa to support local campaigns on debt. Meanwhile, CRS is preparing to carry out a few day-long workshops in Africa to begin to identify one or two countries where CRS can finance a long term project on debt. And our office along with CRS continues to work together with CRS’ European partners. We have developed a joint position paper and advocacy guide on debt that will be distributed widely among Catholic relief and development agencies in Africa, Latin America, the US and Europe. Still in draft form, you’re welcome to review it now or request a copy when it’s published early next year. (Contact Barbara Kohnen for a draft)
News from USCC
Vatican meeting. In June, Archbishop McCarrick/Chairman of the International Policy Committee and Fr. Drew Christiansen/IJP joined Archbishop Rodriguez, the head of the Latin American regional bishops’ conference, and the heads of the World Bank, IMF, and the Inter-American Development Bank for a high level meeting sponsored by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace. The purpose was to bring together Church leaders and leaders of the creditor institutions to discuss economic issues in Latin America with a special emphasis on debt. Participants said it was a very positive step in an emerging dialogue between the Church and the international financial institutions about issues of common concern.
IMF meeting. In May, the Managing Director of the IMF, Michel Camdessue, met with about 30 religious leaders representing the USCC, Maryknoll, Lutheran World Relief, American Friends Service Committee, United Methodist Church, Mennonite Central Committee, American Baptist Churches, and others, in Washington to discuss debt and structural adjustment. Fr. Bryan Hehir/Catholic Relief Services, gave the luncheon speech. (For a transcript contact Barbara Kohnen)
Jubilee 2000 USA
The much awaited Jubilee 2000 USA campaign was launched at the G-7 Summit in June and is picking up steam. Housed at the Religious Working Group on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington – at least for now – the campaign seeks to convince policymakers to reduce or cancel the external debt of the poorest countries by the year 2000. It also seeks to educate Americans about the problem of debt and possible solutions. Right now, its membership is primarily faith-based organizations with offices in DC. We hope it will quickly expand to other parts of the country and capture the attention of a broad range of both religious and secular organizations. But the campaign’s specific goals and policies still need to be sorted out.
The campaign is collecting signatures twice a year until 2000 to present at major international for a such as the G-7 Economic Summit. For more information, contact the J2000 USA headquarters at email address coord@j2000usa.org; see website also.
Jubilee 2000 Around the World
Jubilee campaigns for debt forgiveness are emerging all over the world. If you’d like more information, contact Barbara Kohnen. Here are just a few highlights:
Austria. The Austrian Jubilee 2000 Campaign has collected 56,000 petition signatures and convinced the Austrian Parliament to cancel a large portion of debt. They’re officially launching their campaign on October 23, 800 days to the year 2000. Also, in June, at the historic European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz, participants signed on to a statement supporting cancellation of the unpayable debt by the year 2000.
Canada. Will launch its campaign in fall 1997. The Social Justice Committee in Montreal is promoting a Global Day of Freedom from Debt on September 22nd as a starting point.
Germany. Erlasjahr 2000 is the name of Germany’s debt campaign to be launched in September. They announced the campaign at the Protestant Churches Kirchentag attended by 150,000 people.
Italy. The Sedos World Debt Working Group is sending Jubilee 2000 petitions to various Catholic congregations.
Spain. Manos Unidas, which owrks with Catholic Relief Services, is preparing materials for a campaign on Jubilee 2000 in 1998 and 1999.
Sweden. Their Jubilee 2000 Campaign is a coalition of a large trade union, the Church of Sweden, and two solidarity movements.
UK. Possibly the largest and most organized campaign to date, Jubilee 2000 is a coalition made up of all the major church denominations and organizations such as CRS’ counterpart CAFOD, Christian Aid, Osfam, UNICEF, Tear Fund, World Vision, YWCA, the National Black Alliance, Mothers Union, National Federation of Women’s Institutes, and Reform Judaism. They’re planning now for next June’s G-7 summit which will take place in Birmingham and for a July 1998 meeting that takes place every ten years for all the world’s Episcopalian bishops. They’re going to continue lobbying the world Bank, IMF, and governments for much greater debt relief. And on the lighter side, they’ve installed a giant clock on Trafalgar Square in London that counts down to the Year 2000 and shows the level of debt of the world’s poorest countries.
For more information, contact Barbara Kohnen, tel (202) 541-3153; fax (202) 541-3339; email: bkohnen@nccbuscc.org.
For parish education materials go to http://www.nccbuscc.org/sdwp/international/ccdebt/index.htm