What a Difference the Debt Makes

Climate Debt protest today outside Bella Center

2009-12-14T16:38:00.003Z

Klimaforum Sunday

2009-12-13T22:28:00.000Z

Pictures from the Copenhagen march

2009-12-12T23:10:00.007Z

We've arrived!

2009-12-10T23:26:00.001Z

Well only a day or so after we intended (but minus the link-up with the Social and Climate Justice Caravan, we’ve arrived in Copenhagen. First impressions? Beyond the rain and the terrible exchange rate, the first thing that struck me was the adverts.

Every global corporation worth its salt wants to position itself as a green guardian of our collective future here, and there seems to be no escape. The first bus shelter we saw when we walked out of the station was carrying a Coca-Cola 'Hopenhagen' advert extolling you to buy ‘A bottle of hope’. I’m sure the folks at Coke Justice resisting Coca-Cola’s threats to local water supplies in India and elsewhere would have a few things to say about that. Then when we changed buses we found ourselves next to the global advertising industry’s massive outdoor Hopenhagen exhibition.

With so much hope in the air, and Obama due to jet back in next week, it’s a wonder a deal hasn’t already been reached.

One big disappointment about the bus breaking down was that we missed today’s standout session at the Klimaforum - the two-week civil society counter-conference taking place in the centre of Copenhagen - a panel discussion on Ecological Debt and Climate Justice featuring the Bolivian Ambassador to the UN, Angela Navarro, Canadian author Naomi Klein, as well as Lidy Nacpil from Jubilee South, and Ricardo Navarro from Friends of the Earth El Salvador. There’s a follow-on session tomorrow, though, so I’ll see if I can catch up then.

Without the bus our accommodation plans have been somewhat scuppered. So tonight we made our way to a converted warehouse at the north end of the city centre. Converted, that is, into crashpad accommodation for the hundreds of people who have turned up in Copenhagen without a place to stay (all the hotels were booked up months ago), but featuring that most essential Copenhagen home comfort – electric heaters. After grabbing a vegan dinner from the People’s Kitchen (several have been set up by Danish activists at ‘convergence centres’ around the city) we hit the floors in preparation for our first day proper.

Time to abandon ship

2009-12-06T18:10:00.001Z

Well it's been a valiant effort, and Matt has captured the whole thing on film so there's a disaster movie coming soon to cinemas near you, but we've had to abandon ship (or bus).

After two days of heroic efforts from Norman our driver and Ian the bus's owner on a phone from Shropshire, we've had to admit defeat. We tracked down a Routemaster specialist in South Coulsden who had the spare parts we needed. He gave us the inverter and the belts, we fitted them, then we whisked the bus off to Bexley Heath bus garage for a once-over from some proper bus mechanics and a bit of spring cleaning, and hit the road again. But this time we only made it as far as Maidstone Services before the bus ground to a halt again! Norman thinks it could make it as far as Dover, and possibly all the way to Copenhagen, at 15mph, but we wouldn't get there til it's all over. So tragically the Climate Debt Bus is no more. It's being towed back to Shropshire this evening.

We're now looking into alternative routes to Denmark - it's looking like a ferry is the next greenest (and cheapest) option, aside from flying, but the next one isn't for two days. Let's hope our breakdown isn't a premonition for the fate of the Copenhagen talks.

Having a Good Time?

2009-12-05T18:53:00.000Z

One of the passengers on our bus is Theo - a singer-songerwriter and activist who's written a special song for Copenhagen.

When people buy the song, all the money raised goes to Treesponsibility to help plant fruit trees in Yorkshire. It's called Having A Good Time. We're not having that good a time at the moment as the bus is still broken, but Theo's keeping us entertained! Here's the video...

Theo Bard - Having A Good Time from TAPE REC on Vimeo.

Theo says: "It's just a humble little song but it's had a lot of time and effort poured into it, from scrawling out words and making them rhyme, to trying to get it perfect in front of a microphone, and then hotfooting around london trying to shoot the video on a tiny budget.

If you like the song, you can buy it. To buy the song with minimum cash being lost to online commissions, please click this link. You can also buy it through all online music retailers."

Mechanical work still going on. We'll keep you updated.

Bus breaks down in Peckham!

2009-12-04T23:02:00.001Z

Well we haven't got very far! Just as we reach our top speed of 40mph on the way out of London, the bus has come to a halt on the hard shoulder. Matt the filmmaker loves the drama, but for the rest of us it's not a good start. After a bit of looking under the bus, it seems we have a serious problem - the inverter has gone and two out of three belts have snapped. My mechanical skills are not up to much, but spare parts for Routemasters are not available in your average Co-op. Plus it's raining. As it happens, Norman our bus driver has access to an empty house up the road in Bexley Heath, so we limp the bus there and set up camp for the night.

Climate Debt Bus in central London

2009-12-04T19:51:00.000Z

The bus has made it to London and we’ve been touring the town – handing in a ‘climate invoice’ to Gordon Brown and ‘climate cheques’ to representatives of developing world countries.

In recent weeks our supporters have completed thousands of petitions telling the British government to pay its climate debt and standing united with developing countries in their determination to ensure economic justice is at the centre of a deal on climate change.

The petitions demand that the UK pay £17 billion each year to developing countries as compensation for the climate change that the UK has caused. Our petition was accepted by our own Gordon Brown, as the real one refused to come out. Gordon was then off on a tour of embassies to repay the debt.

We met ambassadors and representatives of the Indian, Philippine, Bolivian and Bangladeshi embassies. We left a strong impression and kept the pressure on the Government to agree a just and equitable agreement at Copenhagen, as well as encouraging poorer nations to stick to their demands in the face of strong opposition.

This event took place at the start of a fortnight of action in the UK, including the Wave which will take place on Saturday and is to be the biggest climate change demonstration in UK history.

Now our bus – running on recycled chip-fat- is off to catch the ferry to Calais on the first leg of our journey to Copenhagen. It will travel through Belgium, France and Germany, and stop off at Brussels (where we will take part in a demonstration) and Cologne and Hamburg (where we will meet the climate caravan) before settling outside the Klimaforum, the activist counterpart to the UN conference.

Climate Debt Bus, leaving Friday 4 December from London

2009-12-02T17:50:00.001Z

Rioters in Istanbul call for IMF to get out

2009-10-06T12:25:00.004+01:00

As the World Bank and IMF continue to meet in the $220 million bunker of a conference centre in Istanbul, protestors have taken to the streets to show their anger and hostility towards the international financial institutions, which have imposed harsh and undemocratic conditions on Turkey as part of a typical neo-liberal restructuring process.

While some of us were sitting in an office downtown, strategising over how to campaign on issues like debt, conditions, and the need for global economic transformation, the rioters outside were making their point more directly. We could smell the tear gas and hear the smoke bombs the police used to disperse the protestors, and later walked through streets covered in broken glass and puddles left by water cannons.

The eruption of protest here in Turkey goes to the heart of the matter: the Bank and Fund are meeting here to congratulate themselves on averting global meltdown, and discuss some minor tweeks and requests for more funding, which will allow them to continue to direct and dominate the global economy. Meanwhile the people of Turkey, and of international civil society more widely, are demanding much more radical changes - the end of the hegemony of these institutions and the ideology they represent. The challenge for us in the North is how we can best stand in solidarity with their demands, and work together to see genuine transformation in the way the world economy is managed.

Debt relief – will this time be different?

2009-10-05T09:30:00.004+01:00

This was the question being asked by World Bank staff and other ‘experts’ on a panel at the Annual Meetings. The event marked the launch of a new Bank book, Debt relief and beyond, which assesses progress under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) and other challenges on the debt issue, including a section on odious and illegitimate debt. The focus on debt is welcome, especially as the issue is quite marginalised in these meetings otherwise.

Countries that have had debt relief have seen increases in social spending, and in some cases indicators such as child mortality have improved. Plus the better debt situation of countries after HIPC and MDRI means they were better able to face the global financial crisis.

However the tone of the discussion looking forward was alarming. Now, a new debt crisis doesn’t seem likely, we were told, although many poor countries are vulnerable, a dozen or more are in severe debt distress, and the outlook is uncertain. Given this prognosis, no real thought seems to have gone into what should be done, beyond imposing the newly-flexibilised Debt Sustainability Framework, and hoping that donors won’t cut back on grant aid. More urgent and radical thinking is needed.

Civil society representatives called for a new debt work-out mechanism to deal with future debt problems, and the Norwegian government minister Solheim spoke of the importance of responsible lending standards, but the Bank's approch seems to be a mixture of wishful thinking and sticking their heads in the sand. In which case it is hard to see how this time things really will be any different.

Alternative voices on the Bank and Fund

2009-10-05T09:09:00.009+01:00

Local civil society groups, academics and students have organised an alternative conference, Critical Voices on the World Bank and IMF and the World in Crisis, at Bilgi University in Istanbul, shadowing the official meetings taking place this week.

The conference is providing some refreshingly different perspectives from much of the programme at the official conference centre. Yesterday saw presentations on the IMF and its role in Turkey, as well as other emerging and developing countries. Professor Erinc Yeldan gave a detailed analysis of the impact of IMF conditions on Turkey, where inflation has been pushed down, but interest rates continue to hover high, unemployment is soaring and the public debt is huge. He pointed out that the Fund’s growth model is based on capital inflows and a growing financial sector, not growth in the real, productive, job-creating economy.

Professor Robert Wade from the London School of Economics was in town to give his perspective on the IMF’s logic that markets are 'efficient' - this means the aim of their programmes is to impose domestic austerity in order to restore investor confidence, because the financial markets will make 'correct judgements' about the situation on the ground once stability is restored. As well as questioning this logic, Wade pointed to the issues that have been masked and ignored by following it, for example the huge income inequality, both within countries and globally. This inequality means most people have less income, so demand stagnates, while the super rich put their wealth in the money markets, creating grand casinos of ultimately deadly fragility.

Nuria Molina, new director of Eurodad, talked about whether the IMF has really changed, as their PR would have us believe. Certainly they have removed some conditions and been more flexible in the downturn. But the harsh macroeconomic conditions are still there – if put off until next year in some places. And there is even evidence of the old structural conditions that are supposed to have been abolished – she gave examples of conditions imposing trade liberalisation in the Republic of Congo, privatisation in the energy sector in Kyrgyz Republic, and removing fuel subsidies in Ethiopia.

Stiglitz criticises new loans and failure to deal with debt

2009-10-03T15:10:00.004+01:00

Joseph Stiglitz, nobel prize laureate and chair of the UN's expert committee on the financial crisis, addressed a seminar today at the IFI annual meetings on the problems with the G20's lack of legitimacy and inclusivity. He focused on the ways that the absence of 172 UN member states from the G20, which has become the new global forum for economic governance, has meant that policy decisions have ignored or worsened the plight of the poorest countries and the poorest people within them. These countries are not represented and so their voices are not heard.

The first problem Stiglitz identified was the fact that the key response of the G20 - to lend more money through the IMF - is creating huge new debts for low income countries. This at a time when many are just emerging from the debt relief process with relatively better debt situations, only to have these undone by the need to borrow more to protect social spending and invest in their economies. The downturn is going to be long, Stiglitz warned, so why saddle countries with more debts now? They need grant based finance instead, and a new framework to deal with sovereign debt.

Unfortunately, no one at the Bank and Fund seems to be listening - they're going to approve a revised debt sustainability framework here in the next few days that will let lenders provide more expensive loans, and even less grants. And a new debt work-out mechanism is not on the agenda at all. More signs that the rich and powerful are calling the shots when it comes to decisions about the global economy.

Town Hall meeting with Bank and Fund leaders

2009-10-03T08:46:00.006+01:00

Last night saw the main opportunity for civil society groups to quiz Bob Zoellick, President of the World Bank, and Dominic Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the IMF, at the annual Town Hall meeting.

Zoellick concentrated his remarks on the "dangerous moment" we are now in, the biggest threat now being complacency. He also talked about the food crisis, and commented that the G8 deal for $20 billion for food security was still only "words on paper". He mentioned the $11.6 billion funding gap the Bank has identified, which is for just 43 countries to cover their core social spending commitments, and said that, in contrast to the Fund, the Bank still needs to raise a lot of money to meet the needs of poor countries.

Strauss-Kahn said that, while we were at the start of recovery, there would be a long delay before employment stopped rising. And it was too early to implement so-called 'exit strategies'. He talked about the changing IMF role, with a new facility for low income countries (still loans with strings attached though) and reform to the quota in the Fund's governance (fairly meagre changes in reality). The IMF, he said, needs to promote stability as well as prosperity (if only they'd been doing that 2 years ago!).

Chaired by Archbishop Ndungane of South Africa, questions from civil society representatives ranged from governance and transparency to specific policies on agriculture, gender and disability. But they generally failed to critique the institutions' central role in this crisis, and only one question targetted the Fund, which is worrying given that organisation's massive renaissance in the past year.

Such a set-piece event was never going to be very critical or alternative in its perspective - hopefully some of the alternative forms and meetings being planned in the margins of this conference will provide more inspiration in the coming days.

IMF and World Bank meet in Istanbul

2009-10-03T08:18:00.003+01:00

This year's meetings of the IMF and World Bank are taking place in Turkey, a country that hasn't always had the most straightforward relationship with the international financial institutions. Last year the Turkish Prime Minister commented that "We will not cast our tomorrows into darkness by bowing to IMF demands at such a time of crisis".

So far the biggest headline of the meetings seems to be the moment when a Turkish student threw a shoe at IMF Managing Director Dominic Strauss-Kahn at a meeting on Thursday. Strauss-Kahn later commented that Turkish students were at least polite enough to wait until he'd finished speaking to throw their shoes.

Zoellick's main message so far has been the need to counter 'complacency' and that although economic recovery may be starting, it will be slow and uneven. Strauss-Kahn has been talking about the Fund's role in promoting stability as well as prosperity.

More odious debts for the Democratic Republic of Congo if the World Bank gets its way

2009-08-21T15:37:00.003+01:00

Probe International reports that World Bank President Robert Zoellick is urging the Democratic Republic of Congo to pursue better governance as a way to entice more companies to build dams in the country. In his sights are the rehabilitation of the notoriously dysfunctional Inga 1 and 2 dams.

But if Zoellick has his way in the DRC, a new dam called Inga 3 will also be built, followed by the mother of all dams—the Grand Inga—which together would be constructed to harness the estimated 40,000-50,000 MW of hydro power potential on the Congo River. Proponents dream that the Inga dams complex, along with an equally mega transmission system, will power Africa—with some electricity left over to send to Europe.

Full article

Haiti finally completes debt relief process

2009-07-01T12:44:00.002+01:00

Only one day after the Central African Republic, the IMF and World Bank have now also agreed to allow Haiti to complete the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and receive $1.2 billion in debt relief. Haiti is the 26th country to complete HIPC. This is a major campaign victory after years of struggle for the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. In April this year, the US Obama administration said it would pay the remaining debt service that Haiti owed until it completed HIPC. This decision now makes that permanent, and means that Haiti also gets Multilateral Debt Relief and will have vital extra resources to tackle poverty and crisis.

Read the World Bank press release here.

Central African Republic gets debt relief

2009-07-01T12:40:00.002+01:00

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have agreed that the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) can complete the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The C.A.R. becomes the 25th country to reach the completion point under the Initiative. This means it will receive $207 million in debt relief. It also now becomes eligible for the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative and so gets a further $182 million debt cancellation.

Read the IMF press release here.

African legal fund to help tackle vultures

2009-07-01T12:32:00.002+01:00

The Financial Times reports that the African Development Bank launched a legal support organisation on Monday "designed to level the playing field for cash-strapped African states negotiating complex commercial transactions or facing litigation by vulture funds". This is something Jubilee Debt Campaign has been calling for since the Zambia v Donegal case in 2007, and the UK Government has been working behind the scenes to push it forward. However, legal assistance doesn't prevent the vultures attacking in the first place - see our End the Vulture Culture campaign to find out why the law needs to be changed.

Read the article in full: African plan to keep vulture funds at bay

One small step forward

2009-06-29T02:07:00.002+01:00

An agreement by all 192 UN states on the financial crisis acknowledges our global interdependence

Joseph Stiglitz, Sunday 28 June 2009
guardian.co.uk

Last week, something unusual happened: the international community, coming together at the UN to discuss the global financial crisis and its impact on the developing world, reached a consensus on an agreement. This spelled out the issues to be addressed and laid out the way forward. Many had said it would be difficult for 192 countries to reach consensus, and that was why discussions should be limited to a self-selected group of 20. In fact, the UN agreement was stronger and more forceful than the G20 communique.

Full article

UN's turbulent priest refuses to go quietly

2009-06-10T16:53:00.002+01:00

The Financial Times on the UN conference:

Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly - in office for a year - have little time to make themselves at home. [...] But for the UN's big powers the end of Father Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann's tenure in September cannot come soon enough. Western diplomats accuse him of abusing his position to pursue his own radical agenda and of bringing the UN into disrepute.
The latest bone of contention is his plan for a summit of world leaders later this month to discuss the impact of the financial crisis on developing countries. The event was mandated by member states in Doha last year, but critics reject His ambitions to use it to try to redesign the international financial architecture. Reforming bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, they argue, is best left to the Group of Eight and Group of 20 and is outside the remit of the General Assembly, the so-called G192 of all UN member states. Full article

When cashed-up IMF offers to help, steer well clear

2009-05-05T11:35:00.002+01:00

Great article by Ross Buckley in the Sydney Morning Herald:

A year ago the International Monetary Fund was on the nose, its credibility in tatters. Today it is the darling of the rich countries.
[...] For 27 years, IMF policies have put the need for poor countries to service foreign debt ahead of their need to develop. Development has been subordinated to debt repayment.

So what happened? Has the IMF suddenly changed? Has it been reborn with new policies and perspectives? Have the needs of developing countries shifted?

No, no and no.

What has happened is the global financial crisis. The needs of rich countries have changed, specifically those of their financial sectors, not the needs of poor countries. [...]

Read the full article

Temporary debt moratorium needed for some poor nations, says UNCTAD Secretary-General

2009-04-30T17:13:00.002+01:00

UNCTAD´s Secretary-General called for temporary debt relief for countries hard-hit by the crisis, telling a UN meeting that world attention to the crisis must not wane, regardless of signs of recovery in the developed world.

Full story: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=11446&intItemID=1528&lang=1

Blog Action Day: Poverty and Finance

2008-10-15T11:54:00.001+01:00

Today has been proclaimed Blog Action Day – when thousands of bloggers from every corner of the world write something to draw attention towards global poverty. At Jubilee Debt Campaign blogging against poverty isn’t unusual, but I’m going to use this year’s Action Day to make some connections between poverty and what’s foremost in the news – the credit crunch.

We have another name for the credit crunch – a debt crisis. The credit crunch has been explained as a lack of liquidity, or credit, available to banks on the international markets. Inject these markets with enough liquidity, restore lenders’ confidence enough to start lending again, and everything will come right. Hence the gigantic bail-out packages.

But actually the problem is less one of available credit, and more a massive over-accumulation of debt – much lent in a reckless way, like sub-prime mortgage debt, and packaged up in such a complex manner that no-one is quite sure how much or how bad the debt they hold amounts to – how ‘exposed’ they are to ‘toxic’ debt. Hence the loss of confidence.

Some commentators, like former head of Jubilee 2000 Ann Pettifor, have been predicting a ‘First World Debt Crisis’ for some time. These warnings went unheeded by a financial sector which has got used to having everything it’s own way.

This bears a strong resemblance to the debt crisis that the debt movement has been campaigning to end for 10 years. As today, banks in the 1960s and 70s lent huge amounts of money, in ever more complex and inventive ways, to developing countries. When interest rates soared and commodity prices fell, developing countries could no longer repay. The debt crisis was born – and 20 years later the world has still failed to learn the lesson.

Today developing countries’ debt stocks stand at a staggering $2.9 trillion and every day the poorest countries pay the rich world almost $100 million in debt repayments. Many countries in the world have been going through a financial crisis for more than 20 years.

Then, as now, many banks were effectively bailed out as the World Bank and other ‘multilateral banks’ gave new loans to pay off their old loans. But as the banks took the money, the poorest people in the world were still indebted – still couldn’t access health care, education or social security because their governments had to allocate such enormous sums to repaying old debts. Many countries remain in that state today.

We need to make sure that this time the financial sector is made to learn the lessons; that this time it is not the poor – in the developed or developing world – who pay the price for the recklessness of a few.

The answer isn’t ever greater freedom for the financial sector but greater regulation to make sure the financial sector is at the command of society rather than the other way round.

End Poverty Now forum - what next?

2008-10-14T12:43:00.013+01:00

Anti-poverty campaigners gathered in Central London on Saturday for a forum to discuss what today's global crises (the financial crisis, the food and fuel crisis, and climate change) mean for campaigners against poverty. Were you there? If so what did you think?

Photo: Benedict Parsons/BOND

Unsurprisingly the financial crisis dominated, and speakers and activists talked about using it as an opportunity to explain how the overwhelming power of the financial system has been the cause of so much poverty and inequality in recent decades. There was a call for urgent regulation which would hold the financial sector accountable to democratic institutions across the world.

Tony Juniper (former head of Friends of the Earth), Celine Tan (the Third World Network) and Nick Hildyard (the Cornerhouse) showed the inter-connectedness of the crises the world is now facing and spoke of the necessity of going well beyond a single issue approach to campaigning. The anti-poverty movement needs to understand and convey the connectedness of the crises we’re facing – allowing ordinary people to understand how our actions or failure to act can impact on the developing world for better or worse.

A series of papers discuss these links in more depth:

The afternoon was dominated by a discussion of whether current anti-poverty campaigning was up to the task of combating the crises faced by the world. Speakers from Make Poverty History North East, Leeds University and the Climate Camp argued for better working together by activists at a national and local level across a range of different issues, including better provision of educational resources and other means of empowering local activists.

There was widespread agreement that we must join the growing call for a radically restructured financial system, and ensure that any reformed system will place people and the planet at its core. We couldn’t afford to wait for months or years to join this call – immediate action is necessary.

The conference described itself as a starting point – to allow us to start conversations and actions which will strengthen the anti-poverty movement. It achieved that but real progress depends on others getting involved to reinvigorate and broaden the anti-poverty movement.

The networks who organised and supported the day include: The Global Call to Action against Poverty, Jubilee Debt Campaign, Trade Justice Movement, Stop Aids Campaign, Stamp Out Poverty, and Stop Climate Chaos.

Ecaudor - A View from Jubilee Scotland...

2008-09-17T18:00:00.001+01:00

Debt campaigners from over thirty countries in the rich and poor world met in Quito,
Ecuador, over the last week to make plans for the international fight against
illegitimate debt.

The location of Ecuador was not chosen at random, for while international delegates
made plans the country’s officials and civil society members were finishing an audit
of Ecuador’s illegitimate debt, the first time that any country has put together an
official and properly-resourced exposé of unjust debt.

It was inspiring to participate, and see how Scottish debt activism fits into a
huge and highly diverse global movement. As the week wore on campaigners from Asia, Europe and the Americas first got to understand each other’s perspectives and
strategies, then to argue with each other, and in many cases to reach powerful
agreements. And all this against the backdrop of a country which is beginning to
assert itself strongly against the gross imposition of debt.

The two final resolutions that the conference passed were in support of the Haitian
people - whose suffering is currently so exacerbated by unjust debt - and also in
support of the Ecuadorian debt commission, with a particular hope that their
findings would inspire policymakers to renounce and repudiate the country’s
illegitimate debt.

As the conference breaks up, however, this final outcome hangs in the balance: the
commission does not deliver its report until the 28th of September. And there is the
small matter of a national constitution to steer through in the meantime. One thing
is for certain - the debt campaigners of the world may be flying out of Ecuador, but
they will be watching it extremely closely over the next few weeks. A small country,
it could be about to throw a punch at international debt that is well above its
weight.

James Picardo, Jubilee Scotland

Day 4 (actually 6 – I lost of couple of days):

2008-09-16T00:45:00.000+01:00

I’m sitting in the closing session of the conference. Everyone’s really tired – it’s been a marathon discussion of some really heavy subjects – but it’s clear that it’s been worth it. The international debt movement is more real than it ever has been before and the amount of collective, global actions that have been agreed are astounding – and a bit scary.

The Debt Commission has still not officially reported. President Correa has had to travel to Chile to help deal with the de-stabilisation of Bolivia which is causing real concern amongst the delegates here. We do expect the report any day though, so keep your eyes out for information on the website.

We have passed resolutions calling for immediate debt relief for Haiti, which has been rocked by storms and a severe food crisis in recent weeks, and supporting Ecuador’s Debt Commission, and urging Ecuador’s government to follow-up on this report.

The news today – about further turbulence in the financial markets – has also made clear to us what a critical time this is for the debt movement. As an irresponsible financial system again engulfs millions of people in debt, we urgently need to transform the financial architecture that has inflicted poverty and suffering on many many countries over the last 30 years.

Back to the UK to get started…

Nick

Day 3 in Ecuador

2008-09-15T11:18:00.004+01:00

Day Three
We've spent all afternoon with the Ecuador Debt Commission, and there was a real buzz as everyone realised what an exciting time this is in the campaign to cancel illegitimate debt. This is the first time any government has commissioned a body - drawn from Ecuador and other countries - to look at it's total debt and decide what portion is illegitimate. The way the Commission worked will serve as a model for countries right across the world. Moreover, depending on what President Correa decides to do once published, it could set a radical model in motion for other Southern countries.

Ecuador's debt is massive. Like many indebted countries, Ecuador was lent large quantities of money by US banks in the 1960s and 70s. In the late 70s and early 80s the US Federal Reserve - controlled by those same banks - increased interest rates from 6% to over 20%. Debt level soared from around $1 billion in 1970 to over $14 billion in 2006. In that year only 14% of Ecuador's annual debt repayments were repaying debt on new projects - a massive 86% represented interest payments on old loans.

In order to repay these debts - and meet the conditions imposed through these loans - Ecuador has massively over-exploited its resources (like oil) and has paid enormous sums to foreign 'experts' to advise it on how to privatise elements of the state. Not only have the poor of Ecuador suffered from some of these privatisations, and indeed had their human rights violated - for example by rising health care costs pricing them out of access to health care - but the Ecuadorian people have then had to pay many times over for the privilege, through debt and interest repayments.

The Debt Commission's primary objective was to stop the ongoing payments which continue to drain capital from the Ecuadorian economy. The Commission reported how tough their job had been - having had to sort through thousands of unmarked boxes of documents and, despite strong political backing, being obstructed by some bureaucrats in the Ministries and the Central Bank. When looking at the loans they defined illegitimacy as a loan which violated Ecuador's sovereignty, which violated human rights, or which damaged the people or environment. Even hardened debt campaigners reported being shocked by some of the loans they'd investigated.

Groups from rights around the world - Bangladesh, Philippines, Nepal, India and Mali - told how they were organising their own citizen's audits of their country's debts, and how important the Commission's work would be in helping those audits, and in helping their governments recognise the process.

The Commission will report to the President on Monday, so hopefully I can give more information about the content of the report then. But there is a real feeling here that this is the first concrete step towards justice for those oppressed by illegitimate debt in the world.

(Photo taken by 'quaziephoto' - Used under Creative Commons Licence)

Day 2 from Ecuador

2008-09-12T14:02:00.002+01:00

Yesterday afternoon we were lucky enough to have a presentation from a member of the Ecuadorian Debt Commission. The Debt Commission is in more or less permanent session at the moment, as it needs to report to the President at the weekend (the picture to the right is from the launch of the Commission last July). He told us of the challenges the Commission had faced in recent months, especially institutional challenges - many in the government system still disagreed with the purpose of the Commission.

But he posed us other challenges. While some of Ecuador's debts bore all the signs of illegitimacy (notably had been used for projects unhelpful to Ecuador's people), others had been used for projects which were helpful for the people of Ecuador. But even those good debts had had serious
impacts on the fight against poverty in Ecuador because they had been used to impose unhelpful economic and political conditions on the government and had led to the massive outflow of funds from the country in the long-term and reinforced Ecuador's dependency on Northern countries and banks.

Most people probably think of illegitimate debt as something that arises from lending to dictators. But we've heard over the last day how the situation is much more complex and widespread, and most delegates here thought the fact that loans were so often used to infringe a country's sovereignty - through economic or political conditions - should in itself be grounds for judging that debt illegitimate. Of course loans are going to have terms of mutual accountability that must be abided by - but this is quite different from using these loans to force additional and
unrelated changes on a government.

One of the delegates gave a brilliant example to understand this issue better. If I go to the bank to get a loan to buy a car, the bank will of course want proof that I actually buy that car. That's a term of the loan. But if the bank says to me that I must always wear red while driving the car or that I must always play rock music in the car - or even worse that I must never stop at red traffic lights - this is totally unacceptable and in the worst case very damaging to me. Even if the bank forces me to do sensible things like stopping at stop signs or wearing my seat belt, I'm likely to be pretty irritated because that isn't the role of the bank. By imposing even sensible conditions, the bank is usurping the role of other state actors - like the police - and making itself a more powerful player than is justified in my life and my society.

Blogging from Ecuador

2008-09-12T13:53:00.004+01:00

Nick Dearden, Jubilee Debt Campaign's Director, is in Quito in Ecuador for an international debt campaigners conference on Illegitimate Debt. This is his blog from the mountains.

Day 1:

I'm currently at a momentous event to discuss where the debt movement is going next. Around 50 campaigners from every continent in the world (bar Antarctica) are in Quito to discuss a more coordinated and high profile campaign on illegitimate debt. Movements from the global South (developing countries) have campaigned on the debt their countries bear in terms of power and legitimacy for many years, while Northern countries have focussed more on making sure debt is not 'unpayable' for poor countries.

While we've had amazing successes in cancelling developing country debt in the last 10 years, it is still nowhere near enough and most debt campaigns across Europe, the US and Australasia are now campaigning for governments to look at the illegitimacy of debts - where loans were lent recklessly for projects which had a negative impact on that country's people or which were siphoned off in corruption or used to impose inappropriate economic conditions like trade liberalisation on countries - surely those loans should not be the responsibility of the Southern country?.

We're in Ecuador because the government of President Correa is the first in the world to conduct a Debt Audit - which is examining the debts of Ecuador and working out which are legitimate and which illegitimate. The Audit could have a massive impact in putting the issue of illegitimate debts on the agenda internationally and forcing Northern lenders (countries and banks) to cancel some of the debts they lent irresponsibly. We hope the Audit will be published at the end of the week.

Today we're getting over altitude sickness (Quito is the second highest capital city in the world) and jet lag (some people have travelled for nearly two days to get here) while discussing what we mean by illegitimate debt and how we can get our message out more widely.

Jubilee Act passed by US Congress!

2008-04-15T15:59:00.007+01:00

While there wasn't much progress on debt in one set of big buidings in Washington last weekend (the World Bank and the IMF's Spring Meetings largely ignored the issue), it was a different story across town in the US Congress. On Tuesday the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation - originally produced by our friends Jubilee USA - was considered by the House of Representatives and they voted to pass it! It is really exciting that the bill has got this far and Jubilee USA have lobbied hard throughout. The bill now goes to the Senate for them to consider. If it became law, it would expand US debt cancellation, without harmful economic conditions, to the 67 poorest countries in the Global South. Find out more at Jubilee USA's website.

World Bank hosts illegitimate debt roundtable

2008-04-15T15:54:00.002+01:00

Monday represented an important step forward in the illegitimate debt campaign: after months and indeed years of pushing the World Bank to engage with the concept of illegitimate debt, yesterday the Bank hosted a ‘roundtable’ discussion at its headquarters in Washington DC. WB staff, Executive Directors and other country representatives, academics and civil society groups took part in the discussion of concepts and practices regarding odious and illegitimate debt, and responsible lending. While there weren't any major breakthroughs in the meeting itself, even to have this dialogue is a good result. A report will be produced of the day's discussions and there are several other conferences later in the year which indicates that the topic of illegitimate debt will receive increasing attention in the coming months.

IMF and World Bank meet amid financial crisis and food price hikes

2008-04-13T15:17:00.002+01:00

The media attention on the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington DC this weekend has mostly been on the current financial crisis. The IMF has been under increasing pressure to find a role for itself in the midst of a changing world over the past few years, and perhaps hope to find it in these turbulent times. But critics point out that the IMF did not do a good job warning the world of this crisis, or even predicting it. So how can this institution really play the global governance role for which is was created?

Meanwhile for poor countries the main issue is the soaring food prices, which has led to riots in many parts of the world in recent months. World Bank President Zoellick warns that the problem is so serious it may undo seven years of poverty reduction efforts. It is vital that the finance and development ministers gathered in Washington this weekend work to resolve this crisis, which is hitting the poorest hardest of all.

And the other big issue on the agenda is, of course, climate change. Zoellick is hosting a 'Bali Breakfast' this morning to discuss the Bank's role, ahead of today's Development Committee meeting. But campaigners are seriosuly worried about the part the Bank can and should play. Yesterday we met with European Executive Directors of the Bank to raise some of these concerns. At the same meeting we discussed illegitimate debt and responsible lending - and there are clear parallels between the two issues. Finance for climate change needs to be seen as compensation for the 'debt' the rich world owes the poor - not lending, on possibly expensive terms, under a development umbrella. And civil society groups are also worried that funds being discussed at the Bank for tackling climate change will be outside of the international negotiationsat the UN and therefore undermine what is at least a much more egalitarian process. Urgent action is clearly needed - but it must be the right action for the world's poor.

Drop the Debt Fast!

2008-04-11T18:05:00.001+01:00

The Drop the Debt Fast, which start tomorrow, is a 36-day rolling hunger strike calling for faster debt cancellation for the world's poorest countries. Every day we are focusing on a different country which has been neglected by debt cancellation so far. You can take part for one or more days wherever you are - sign up here.

The Fast comes ahead of the tenth anniversary of the Birmingham G8 human chain in May. On Sunday 18 May we'll be returning to Birmingham to celebrate the successes of the debt campaign so far, and to keep up the pressure on politicians to drop ALL the debt. The event is called Journey to Justice, and there are some great speakers and participants lined up. Find out more here.

Journey to Justice - May 18, 2008

2008-03-17T12:47:00.001Z

Ten years after 70,000 people formed a human chain around G8 meetings in Birmingham (perhaps you were one of them?), we're going back to Birmingham! With $88 billion of debt cancelled, we've come a long way - but with more than $400 billion required, there's still a lot to do.

Join us in Birmingham on May 18, and demand a lasting solution to the debt crisis!
For more information go to www.journeytojustice.org.uk

Wellington Walk

2007-11-01T12:19:00.000Z

Around 20 people gathered on a lovely sunny day to Stand Up & Speak Out at the church of St John Fisher in Wellington. Each representative brought with them a number of signed slips of paper that were joined to form long chains of 595 signatures.

With the chains forming bonds between them, the campaigners set off through the half mile of the town holding "STAND UP AND SPEAK OUT AGAINST WORLD POVERTY" placards, to the Parish church of St John the Baptist.
An increased crowd of 34 stood for a moment to remember those in poverty throughout the world and those suffering injustice and oppression whilst traffic flowed past.

As well as being a fantastic event to raise awareness of Global Poverty the organisers also used the occasion to announce their presence as the recently formed 'Christian Care for One World'.

Jubilee Scotland: "Cancel Indonesia's Arms Debt"

2007-10-29T16:25:00.000Z

From 14th -19th October, Jubilee Campaigners north of the border kept a vigil for the cancellation of Indonesia's debts incurred by General Suharto when he bought aircraft and tanks, used to repress his own people, from the UK.

Rising before dawn each day and only leaving their prime position on Princes Street after sundown, the group drew in more supporters each day.

Hundreds of members of the public who passed the vigil, stopped to sign a petition for Alistair Darling demanding that the UK "cancel these debts to end this terrible injustice". It was delivered to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on friday morning and campaigners are waiting for his response.

For more info go to http://www.jubileescotland.org.uk/

Poverty Requiem

2007-10-22T16:58:00.001+01:00

Singers and dancers perform the Poverty Requiem outside the World Bank's headquarters in Washington on Sunday

To coincide with the Stand Up and Speak Out mobilisations around the world, a Poverty Requiem was performed in Washington yesterday. The piece, whose lyrics were written by Sylvia Borren of Oxfam Novib, was performed by students from the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for performing arts. The Requiem was also performed globally on World Poverty Day, 17 October, with more than twenty choirs including in the Philippines, Gambia, Nigeria, Palestine and Suriname.

Action needed on Liberia's debts now!

2007-10-22T16:48:00.000+01:00

Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who has been in Washington this week lobbying for her country to receive debt relief.

Debt campaigners, led by Jubilee USA, have been outraged this weekend at the continuing delays in clearing Liberia's arrears at the IMF - a prerequisite for accessing debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative. Country shareholders at the Fund need to agree a remaining funding gap of around $60 million - and they are arguing about who should foot the outstanding bill. Whilst countries blame each other, the impoverished people of Liberia continue to suffer from a huge debt burden, most of which is illegitimate debt, having been run up under the brutal regime of Samuel Doe, with no benefit to the people.

HIPC Finance ministers call for action on vultures

2007-10-22T16:38:00.000+01:00

Finance ministers from Ghana and Niger addressing a press conference

At their press conference on Sunday, finance ministers from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries called for action to improve debt relief mechanisms, tackle their countries' long-term 'debt sustainability' and help them to tackle poverty. In particular they urged that measures be taken to tackle vulture funds. The statements of the IMF on Saturday were fairly bland, expressing "concern" for the problem. As reported in today's Guardian, Jubilee Debt Campaign and others are calling for more concrete action to stop the vultures profiting from debt relief.

Protestors gather against the IFIs

2007-10-20T21:20:00.000+01:00

Jubilee campaigners from around the world join the protests on Saturday

A small but well-organised contingent of protestors marched on the World Bank and IMF today, with chants of 'The Bank Must Go', 'Whose streets? Our streets' and 'Drop the Debt'. Debt campaigners joined around 200-300 diverse range of activists and anarchists on the streets of Washington DC Saturday afternoon, with whistles, drums and banners in a noisy display of protest at the Bank and Fund's policies.

It was in some ways strange to be amongst them, having spent most of the past few days inside the sleek state-of-the-art buildings that house these institutions! And here were only a few hundred protestors out on the streets, and almost as many police out in force, with barricades keeping anyone from getting too close to the Bank and Fund HQs. But it was a refreshing change from the sometimes-slippery lobbying meetings, so we joined in the chants with gusto!

Later there were some incidents, following on from the night before's protests in Georgetown, where at least one woman was injured. The police presence around the Bank and IMF since has been enormous, with extra security measures for all delegates. It makes you wonder whether it's all strictly necessary, given the small scale of the protests.

Town hall meeting with IMF and Bank chiefs

2007-10-19T19:37:00.000+01:00

The proceedings of the annual meetings had a more formal beginning last night with the "town hall" meeting where Bob Zoellick and Rodrigo de Rato of the World Bank and IMF respectively, held a Q&A session with civil society representatives. The most controversial aspect of the meeting was Zoellick saying, following press reports, that he is considering the request from a couple of private companies who have approached the Bank to offer to donate to IDA, the World Bank's lending arm to the poorest countries. This would be a highly controversial move - although Zoellick insisted that private companies would have no decision making role, there are questions about what would be the guarantees of this, and how to build in accountability for companies lending, to what has so far been a pot of money only contributed to by sovereign states. We will see what comes of this idea.

Otherwise, the evening passed off without a hitch for the Bank President of 100 days, who bid a fond farewell to de Rato, saying he would miss his old friend. De Rato bows out after these annual meetings, to be replaced by the Frenchman, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, following a great deal of criticism from developing countries and civil society about the process by which the new director was appointed.

This weekend's meetings aren't expected to make much progress on the debt issue. The latest status report, on how the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) processes are going, will be considered, along with measures to tackle vulture funds. But we shall see what concrete outcomes, if any, emerge from the meetings.

Break Poverty: Make Peace

2007-10-19T15:51:00.000+01:00

Around 50 people gathered in Trebeck Hall, Southwell to Stand Up and Speak Out and to conclude a month in which 200 local church members have signed Lift the Lid postcards.

Campaigners heard back from 2 local groups who had been working on development projects in Peru and Uganda, and sang one of the songs from the Poverty Requiem.
A special 'Break Poverty:Make Peace' banner was signed by all present and will now circulate round the churches for more signatures during the coming month.

Meanwhile in Wells, members of the Bath & Wells Diocesan Staff 'Stood Up' in front of the Old Deanery on Cathedral Green.

And on thursday in Harrogate, the Mayor joined Jubilee supporters to appreciate an inspiring talk from David Golding entitled, 'Debt-Progress & Challenge'.

This was followed by a brief presentation of Haiti and some of its people from Rev. Darren McClintock. The Reverend was impressed by the enormous effort put into, and the consistent dedication and determination that there is in the campaign.

Newcastle University Stands Up and Speaks Out

2007-10-19T09:00:00.000+01:00

Wednesday's Stand Up and Speak Out event at Newcastle University was organised by the Students' Union and attracted about 200 supporters. Katy Whitehouse acted as MC for the event and Nicola Martin led the crowd in 'speaking out' for each of the Millennium Development goals in turn.

The new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chris Brink, attended the event and expressed his personal and the university's support and appreciation. He recounted the proverb, "No one can sleep soundly when his neighbour is hungry", because he is vulnerable to his neighbour's anger. He then developed the idea by saying that "No one SHOULD sleep soundly when his neighbour is hungry", because he has a moral responsibility to relieve the situation if he can.

(l to r: David Golding, Nicola Martin, Prof. Brink)

David Golding told the story first publicised in Jubilee 2000's 'Debt Cutters Handbook' of a Zambian mother forced to choose which of her two sons should receive simple medicine (the other she watched die) and contrasted it with the present situation, where basic medical care is available in rural areas as a result of debt relief. Speaking for everyone in the crowd, he spoke also of his anger that, after 10 years of campaigning, the poorest countries are still paying $100 million per day as a result of inherited debt.

Later nearly 150 students (plus a certain jubilee veteran!) gathered at the Millennium Bridge across the River Tyne, which by joining hands they spanned completely. "I was immensely heartened by their warmth and commitment", David Golding said.

And we're off...

2007-10-18T20:24:00.000+01:00

The annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF in Washington DC are underway, with a series of pre-meetings and press conferences, alongside a full civil society programme of events, ahead of the actual annual meetings over the weekend.

This morning Zoellick held his opening press conference, where amongst much else, he talked about the Bank's role in "helping to create" international financial markets, and enhancing the role of the private sector in delivering health care in poor countries - none of which is exactly music to the ears of campaigners. The unregulated nature of the financial markets is widely blamed for economic turbulence in poor countries, and campaigners from Jubilee Debt Campaign and Oxfam, among others, question the ability of the private sector to deliver essential services such as healthcare in poor countries.

This evening sees the Townhall meeting, when civil society reps get to meet Zoellick, and de Rato the outgoing head of the IMF... news on that later!

Standing up and speaking out

2007-10-18T12:03:00.000+01:00

Last year on the International Eradication of Poverty Day, a record-breaking 23 and a half million campaigners Stood Up and Spoke Out against inequality and injustice. Organisers are hoping that an even greater number from all corners of the earth took to their feet and found their voice sending a collective call to politicians on world poverty on October 17th 2007.

Already news is coming in: in India's Kashmir region, 35 000 university students stood up; 15 584 children in Malawi played football to raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals, and staff at UN agencies in Jordan were encouraged to get actively involved. For more stories and updated news, visit the Stand Up and Speak Out blog.

Some Jubilee Debt Campaigners in London joined with members of other anti-poverty groups to wrap City Hall in a huge white band. In spite of the wind, the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY symbol created an iconic image to remind everyone that despite some great progress, there is still much further to go to eradicate the gross inequalities still prevalent in today's world. Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (the most senior woman and African in the United Nations), emphasised the necessity for gender equality.

Thomas Sankara's Legacy

2007-10-17T16:40:00.000+01:00

Monday evening saw about 50 people gather at the LSE to remember Thomas Sankara and his fight to end Africa’s debt bondage, 20 years on from his assassination.

Kofi Mawuli Klu (Rendezvous of Victory) started the discussion with a passionate plea for campaigners to remember why and for what they are really campaigning; to look to the grassroots movements in Africa for inspiration and direction. He encouraged Western campaigners not to be concerned about leadership in African countries but to challenge their own politicians and trust Southern activists to challenge theirs.

Ibrahim Hamani Souley (CAD-Mali) followed Kofi by narrating some of Thomas Sankara’s story. He told us about Sankara’s actions while he was president of Burkina Faso in actively pushing for and enabling the independence of his people from European neo-colonialists. As we campaign against harmful conditions that are often attached to debt relief, we can remember Sankara’s example as he refused to be dictated to by the French when he supported his cotton producing farmers. Sankara’s example as a competent leader acting for the good of his people showed us that despite the inadequacy of many ruling groups across the globe, there are others who are able, and willing, to create good policy for the benefit of the poor.

Stephen Rand (JDC) ended the opening statements with an explanation of the progress of the Jubilee Debt Campaign in the UK and how this has directly benefited the people of poor countries. He emphasised how much more debt needs to be cancelled and how essential it is for rich governments to adopt a commitment to Responsible Lending in order to prevent another crisis.

Questions from the floor showed great understanding of, interest in and enthusiasm for the need to remove the burden of debt from the lives of those suffering in poor countries. The forum encouraged us not to get bogged down in the day to day of campaigning, but to welcome new ideas and listen to other voices. Thomas Sankara’s example of independence against conditions attached to debt relief and the domination of rich nations in the internal policy of poor countries, is one that should be remembered but also used to guide our current actions.

Should Africa refuse to pay its debts?

2007-10-08T14:34:00.000+01:00

Monday 15 October, 7pm
Clement House, London School of Economics, Aldwych, WC2A 2AE.

15 October 2007 is the 20th anniversary of the assassination of former President of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara. Events are taking place around the world to mark the anniversary, and bring Sankara's ideas to a new audience. The event falls in both the Global Week of Action on Debt (14-21 October) and Black History Month.

Sankara was a key figure speaking out about the negative impact of external debts on Africa. This event seeks to bring together those within the Pan African movement and those involved in the campaign for debt cancellation, to explore his ideas and the wider issues of indebtedness in Africa. One important issue is that of 'repudiation,' which Sankara advocated for African nations. That is, countries simply refusing to pay back their debts, rather than entering into negotiations for debt cancellation.

Speakers will include:
- Kofi Mawuli Klu (Rendezvous of Victory)
- Ibrahim Hamani Souley (CAD-Mali)
- Stephen Rand (Jubilee Debt Campaign)
Chaired by Gabi Hesselbein, Development Studies Institute, LSE.

Location: Room D502, Clement House, LSE, Aldwych, WC2A 2AE.
Map: http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/mapsAndDirections/findingYourWayAroundLSE.htm
Nearest tube: Holborn.

Partners: Jubilee Debt Campaign, Rendezvous of Victory, the Pan-Afrikan Youth and Students Internationalist Link (PAYSIL), NUS Black Students Campaign.

More information
- Ibrahim Hamani Souley on Thomas Sankara: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/?lid=3642
- Christian Aid's report Enough is Enough: The debt repudiation option (January 2007): http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/?lid=3435
- How you can get involved in Global Debt Week, 14-21 October 2007: see http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/debtweek

Billy Bragg - One Love

2007-08-15T16:32:00.001+01:00

Billy Bragg puts his own spin on 'One Love' at Glastonbury this year...

Interfaith group takes message to Number 10

2007-08-01T11:39:00.000+01:00

An interfaith delegation from Birmingham and West Midlands Jubilee Debt Campaign delivered hundreds of messages to 10 Downing St on Wednesday July 18 calling for Gordon Brown to take further action on cancelling the debt of the world’s poorest countries.

“This is a crucial moment in our campaign; we are taking hundreds of messages, photographs and recordings from local people to Gordon Brown which we have collected in recent months,” said Audrey Miller, local organiser for the group.

Jehangir Malik, Manager of Islamic Relief, said, “Communities need to work as hard now as ever before to campaign for what is just… and justice requires that the debt is dropped for the world’s poorest people. That message needs saying again and again and again… until things change in a significant way.”

Elsbeth Mendes da Costa, Liberal Judaism Social Action Officer and member of Birmingham Progressive Synagogue, said: "We welcome this opportunity to join with other faiths to call for an end to unpayable debt and to give hope to the poorest nations."

Also part of the delegation were:
Rosie Venner, Anglican Diocese of Lichfield & local JDC steering group member
Pat Hall, St Mary's Church Selly Oak and JDC local steering group member
Austin Lloyd, Oxfam campaigner from University of Warwick and Nuneaton
They were also joined by several MPs from Birmingham: Lynne Jones MP (Birmingham, Selly Oak), Richard Burden MP (Birmingham, Northfield), Richard Taylor MP (Wyre Forest) and Ian Austin MP (Dudley North).

The local Jubilee Debt Campaign group has collected messages from all the major faith groups, young people and the academic world to reflect the concerns felt across the community for the need to redress this injustice to the world’s poorest countries.

Lessons learned at Glastonbury 2007:

2007-07-11T14:49:00.000+01:00

Lesson 1: All wellies look alike (especially when piled in a muddy heap at the doorway of the bus)

Lesson 2: Even if the sun comes out for twelve minutes, DO NOT SAY "Oh, I think the worst of the rain might be over now"

Lesson 3a: The bus you parked on green grass under a sunny sky...

Lesson 3b: ...will not stay that way for long

Lesson 4: Large banners at the Other Stage are a good meeting point (weirdly, for enthusiastic men with a predilection for orange)

Lesson 5: Seeing our Lift the Lid logo on the big screens is pretty cool

Lesson 6: Having the bus in prime position by the Other Stage means you can offer a great raffle prize - Chemical Brothers seen from the top deck beats standing in the mud and rain any night of the week

Lesson 7: Men in suits (and shark fins) will attract attention at Glastonbury when men in fairy costumes, women in bridesmaid's dresses and people dressed as Borat will not attract a second glance...

Lesson 8: ...but as suave as your loan sharks start out, they end up just a LITTLE worse for wear.

Click on the image below for an enlarged version of our appearance in the Glastonbury Daily:

To read more about Jubilee's current action, Lift the Lid on Bad Loans: click here.

Jubilee Debt Campaign would like to thank their sponsor at Glastonbury: Triodos Bank.

G8 Rostock

2007-06-13T14:00:00.000+01:00

It was a long way to go for a demonstration. It gave me a lot of time to think about why I was going so far. The last three G8 demonstrations (in Europe), Genoa, Geneva and then Edinburgh, had been fantastic events to attend, huge crowds and a real sense of solidarity. Even some political impact! It seemed to me that the impact, both personally and politically, depended on the scale of demonstration of civil society’s demand for change. We had been keen for Europe to support Edinburgh, so now it was our turn.

Rostock is a charming small town and port, maybe the size of Chester (sorry, I don’t know any small towns in the South East!). There was a real festival atmosphere as people gathered for the march at the main station. The debt campaign in Germany is led by Erlassjahr and their theme this year was ‘strike out illegitimate debt’ and big red balloons. Initially I was a trifle disappointed as there were perhaps only 20-30 people with big balloons around. It turned out that Erlassjahr had arranged to meet at the Marienkirche (church) for a service and to join the march as it passed. Off I went to the church and seeing it full of huge balloons restored my spirits. But I went back to the start of the march (actually there were two marches, one from the station, the other from the camps).

Once it got going (why are they always late?), it was a really lively, inspiring march, with great samba bands, clowns and masses of colourful figures. I’ll focus on two, with pictures: the main Erlassjahr banner and Jubilee South banners and then a great idea under the name, ‘G8 Kings of the Road, never mind the Poor’. As you can see from the picture, they had these devastating statues of gaunt poor and had the 8 presidents in red regal costumes above them. (Apparently the statues as well a another of the statue of liberty with the message Freedom to Pollute, are by a famous sculptor).

The march went through the town (really quiet deserted streets except for the police!) and reached a wide open space at the docks, where we spent the rest of the day with speeches, music and what the Germans always seem to do well stalls selling beer, wine, sekt, bratwurst, noodles etc etc. But all told I would be surprised if there were more than 20-30,000 demonstrators, it just wasn’t that big an area and it wasn’t packed.

The dominant image was certainly the balloons. Maybe only 1 in 4 or fewer people were flying the balloons but nothing else had the impact. For the rest, it was a case of a hundred messages lost in the noise ranging from climate change to women’s rights and asylum issues.

But it got colder and colder and even wrapped up in a fleece and gloves I needed to get by the bratwurst braziers to keep warm. Later in the evening people lit small fires of the placards to keep warm as they partied into the evening.

The Alternative Summit crammed some 120, 2-hour workshops into one and a half days, so each session you had to chose between maybe 20 - 30 topics. I went to two on illegitimate debt. I have to say they gave me more cause for concern than enthusiasm. The cases considered bordered on the obscure to complex. The driving agenda, especially from Southern Voices, amounted to a strategy to establish that all debt is illegitimate; in effect it is a capitalist tool of oppression.

For me the summit ended with a great party at the closing concert. It was huge certainly; they claimed 70,000. The weather was fantastic and it was a real party atmosphere. The bands weren’t the big names as at Live8, but it didn’t matter. Bob and Bono appeared briefly but musically their contribution was ‘limited’. Herbert Grönemeyer was the real star performance in fact. But as ever, the real atmosphere was the massed crowds all enthused (however briefly) singing against poverty.

So, why have I said nothing about the violence? Well partly because I avoided most of it, partly because it distracts from the message we want to send. It’s true the police were up for it. As I drove the last legs to Rostock I passed convoys of police vans, water cannon trucks, even armoured vehicles. And there were enough young (that’s presumptive opinion!) men only too happy to have a go. But equally it made me smile to see the police ‘Anti-Conflict’ teams out keeping minor issues under control and the clowns teasing and mocking the police, whilst they were amusing, must have been very irritating.

Overall, I doubt Rostock had any significant political/poverty impact. There were too few people; it was too fragmented, too many disparate messages. The violence made for more sensational TV. Future demonstrations need the cohesion, the consistency and the mass support that the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY campaign created.

And if Germany can organise recycling and public transport so well, why can’t we?!

Dave Pearce

Manchester JDC

Your Voice Against Poverty: 2 June 2007

2007-06-07T10:49:00.000+01:00

Thousands of campaigners descended on central London on Saturday to deliver world leaders a clear message: the World Can't Wait for urgent action on poverty.
More than half a million voices against poverty are on their way to the G8 in Germany, following months of campaigning around the country. 575,263 was the figure launched on the Thames on Saturday - and it's still rising.

Anti-poverty campaigners came together in Westminster for a day of workshops, stalls, activities, and debates, culminating in a noisy send-off for Tony Blair on the banks of the Thames.

Further reports and pictures from the day are on the Your Voice Against Poverty website.

Lifting the Lid on Global Debt

In the afternoon, Jubilee Debt Campaign staged a version of the popular television gameshow Deal or No Deal, hosted by the Jubilee movement's very own Noel Edmonds - Stephen Rand.
Debt or No Debt saw a player choosing from 22 boxes, each containing the debt of a low-income country, trying to find the lowest one, while negotiating with the World Banker for cancellation.
The game showed how despite the massive successes of the debt campaign in recent years, many countries have still not had their debts cancelled - despite the debts being unpayable and often illegitimate. See post below for more details, and information on action you can take.

Lift the lid!

2007-06-06T20:33:00.000+01:00

The very poorest countries in the world are still paying over 4 million dollars EVERY HOUR to the rich world repaying debts which in many cases arose from irresponsible or self-interested lending. It's time to lift the lid on illegitimate debts.

Rich country lenders have often done very well out of the loans they gave to poor countries, winning political support or lucrative contracts.

The poor people in debtor countries often did not benefit at all.

But it is they who suffer from the demand that these debts be repaid, as the need to pay off debts drains their countries of money to fund healthcare, education and other essential services.

We are therefore calling on the UK and other rich country governments to thoroughly investigate past lending in order to uncover unjust debts; cancel all unjust debts, including all that are illegitimate or unpayable; and put in place responsible lending and export policies that will prevent another build-up of unjust debt.

To take action, click here.

Tell the UK to put its money where its mouth is

2007-03-20T11:09:00.000Z

Debt cancellation and loans come with harmful strings attached. The world’s poorest countries are told they must privatise basic services or cut vital public spending if they are to get debt relief or new loans, regardless of the wishes of their people and their parliaments. The policies forced on them this way have been disastrous for the poor. (Find out more on the conditions or see our full campaign report.)

The UK government has said it opposes the imposition of economic policy conditions, and last year campaigners persuaded it to withhold £50 million from the World Bank in protest at conditions. But it released this money in December – we think that not enough has changed for poor people, and more pressure is needed. Now the World Bank is asking for more money, and the UK has another chance to make views heard. The meetings about World Bank funding started on 5th March 2007. Please tell the UK to put its money where its mouth is, and use its funding to call for an end to conditions.

Please do not enter data in this field, it is meant to stop spambots, who fill out any field
Your emails really do make a difference. To act now, please go to our website and send a message to Hilary Benn.

Vultures prey on Zambia

2007-03-20T11:06:00.000Z

The vultures are circling! Right now, a private company is trying to scavenge a huge profit from Zambia, one of the world's poorest countries. Please take action to prevent this.

In 1999, a 'vulture fund' called Donegal International bought a debt owed by Zambia, originally worth $15 million and then valued at about $30 million, for a knock-down price of $3.3 million. Now it has sued Zambia for the full amount, plus interest and costs – a staggering total of over $55 million! On 15th February 2007, a judge in London rejected the size of Donegal's claim, after Zambia fought back in the courts. But he nevertheless ruled that under law Donegal is entitled to something from Zambia.

The exact total is to be determined, but may be around $20 million. This would be half of the amount that Zambia is due to save from debt relief this year: but it desperately needs all its money to invest in teachers, doctors and infrastructure. Donegal must not take this money, and you can help.

Jubilee Debt Campaign, together with Oxfam, is calling on Donegal International not to claim this money. Please add your voice to our call - go to our website to take action.

You can also watch the BBC Newsnight report on the Zambia case:

Jubilee Congregations and Jubilee Schools

2007-03-20T11:03:00.000Z

Book tickets - standard
Book tickets - concession

The Archbishop of York has warmly welcomed Jubilee Debt Campaign’s new initiative, designed to help schools, and congregations of all religious traditions, to become more active in the fight for economic justice and against poor country debt. A Jubilee Congregation or Jubilee School will affirm its commitment to action on debt and receive an action pack and ongoing support.

The initiative has been launched by a letter to the Prime Minister signed by faith leaders, recognising the commitment of people of all faiths to the goal of ending poverty and injustice. In the year which sees the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, Jubilee Debt Campaign has renewed and restated its vision of Jubilee under the heading ‘Breaking the Chains’. Jubilee Congregations and Jubilee Schools will be invited to affirm this vision as a vision of justice for the world’s poor people and poor nations.

To view ‘Breaking the Chains: a vision of Jubilee’ click here.

How to become a Jubilee Congregation.
How to become a Jubilee School.

What I heard in Lusaka

2007-01-31T14:59:00.000Z

(With very humble apologies to Eliot Weinberger.)

Yesterday, we heard some different stories. The director of Bwafwano Community School and Home-based Care Service - which serves a community of 70,000 poor people on the outskirts of Lusaka - told us that although official statistics say that 68% of Zambians live on less than $1 a day, in her community she suspects the true figure is closer to 95%. We heard her insist that policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and wother lending institutions were to blame for this poverty.

Later, we heard the resident representative of the IMF say that the main Lusaka hospital was 'horrible', and that he would 'rather die than go there'. We heard him ask what he could do, and dispute that IMF salary caps for public workers were adding to the appalling drain of skilled healthcare staff out of the country. He admitted that the IMF suggestion of adding VAT to food and mostquito nets was 'insensitive' and probably should not have been made. We also heard him say that parliament should not have the right to scrutinise loan agreements, and that he didn't think the IMF should try to be more active in making its information available. We heard him say that he thinks the IMF does better when it is 'lurking in the background'.

Yesterday and today, I also heard what campaign groups are doing in Zambia, separately and together. I heard about the launch of Mine Watch Zambia, which is revealing and examining the terms under which Zambia's mines were privatised. I heard Nachilala Nkombo of Jubilee Zambia say how much we have achieved and will achieve working together. And I heard Emily Sikazwe (pictured left) of Women for Change say, 'The struggle continues'.

Brain drain

2007-01-29T21:33:00.000Z

The doctors, nurses and other healthworkers we have met so far have made a heartfelt plea to improve salaries and conditions to stem the brain drain from the health system. For instance, Dr Evaristo Kunka – one of three government-employed doctors in Siavonga district, home to 70,000 people – explained how most of his classmates now earn four times as much in Namibia or South Africa. But he also explained why he stays: ‘When you get in these rural areas, you see real poverty. We complain about our salaries, but there are people out there who really need our help.’

But at the Finance Ministry, the need to pay doctors more was just one item on a huge government wish-list. The government currently has a funding gap of over £370 million for its national development plan. Debt relief from the G8 deal is saving money: but only about £25 million this year. This is necessary – but not nearly enough. And there is still the concern that if the IMF imposes limits on what the government can spend, even having more resources is of little help. (The Finance Ministry also became last in a long line of places where we heard about the abuse of tax breaks in Zambia by transnational companies.)

Today, we also saw Mulima Akapelwa who spoke at the human chain around the G8 summit in Birmingham in 1998, and at the Make Poverty History G8 rally in Edinburgh in 2005. She argued that, ‘The people themselves should set their own conditions, with the government, not the IMF. The government should say: “These are the conditions the people want, in terms of transparency and accountability.”’ We spoke with Emily Sikazwe and some of the other staff at the immensely inspiring Women for Change organisation. They talked about their work with women and men in the most rural areas – and of the need to avoid a new debt crisis by dealing with Zambia’s poverty situation and IMF conditions: ‘If you cancel debt and still keep creating an environment where new debt is needed in future, then you still have a problem.’

Whose country is it anyway?

2007-01-28T15:37:00.000Z

Talking to partner organisations, politicians and frontline workers in Zambia reveals considerable concern about how the benefits of debt cancellation can be properly felt – and in particular, who is making the relevant decisions.

Zambia has had over 90% of the debt that it owed at the end of 2004 cancelled – a large chunk of that thanks to the debt deal agreed by the G8 in 2005 after enormous campaigner pressure. But that is, of course, not the end of Zambia’s problems. The full impact of the debt cancellation will be felt over time, and meanwhile the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is continuing to attach conditions to new loans that are making it very difficult for the country to deal with its problems.

For instance, Jubilee Zambia and partner organisations are particularly concerned about the tax reforms being pushed by the IMF as a condition of the new loan agreement that is currently being negotiated. These include a proposal for VAT on food, books, mosquito nets and transport. (Bear in mind that foreign companies have a five-year tax holiday on all new investment, including in newly privatised enterprises.) We have met with opposition party MPs who are lobbying hard for parliamentary scrutiny of all loan agreements, to give them a chance to examine and veto such conditions. Jubilee Zambia is calling for a similar law. The IMF, however, is opposed: it says that involving parliament in such discussions will make them ‘drag on’ and will politicise the issues. Because of course in the IMF-world, proposing VAT at 17.5% on food in a country where official statistics report that 60% of people are suffering chronic malnutrition, is not ‘political’, nor a proper subject for the country’s elected representatives to debate.

Meanwhile IMF conditions on the use of government money are limiting the possible benefits of debt relief. For instance, the abolition of healthcare fees is in one way increasing access to doctors and medicines. But limits on wages for healthworkers make it extremely hard to recruit the necessary staff: so clinics are left empty, and the chronically ill are left untreated. Zambia needs to be given more funds, and – crucially – the freedom to invest in essential services.

From the Forum to the Future

2007-01-26T19:54:00.001Z

Caroline, with most of our Jubilee US party, left early on Thursday to go to Zambia to meet debt campaigners and look at some of the effects of debt cancellation. Meanwhile, those of us still in Nairobi finished the Forum, and have been undertaking evaluations, meetings and planning.

Marathons in the searing heat from some of Nairobi’s worst slums led to the Closing Ceremony in Uhuru (Freedom) Park in the centre of Nairobi. Having thousands of the countries’ poorest people lead the procession reminded us all of our main focus. Then orators and musicians from around the world helped us celebrate the Forum’s vision. Many of the world’s most disadvantaged people – such as the Saharawi from Africa’s last colony, in the Western Sahara – processed at the ceremony and shared their unfashionable causes with us.

The Forum has been an enormous undertaking. Not surprisingly for an event which wants to give as much freedom and ownership as possible to its participants, there were some logistical problems. Also there is an inevitable tension between maximum accessibility and reasonable security. But overall, the Forum has been a great success, enabling people from all levels of society and from all over the world to address the needs of those who are forgotten at meetings like the World Economic Forum in Davos. Let’s hope that the strengthened networks and energy of Nairobi 2007 help us remember - as "You negotiate ... We die" on the T-shirts reminded us - the urgency of making real progress if more lives are not to be wasted.

A March and a Walk to Different Worlds

2007-01-25T08:14:00.000Z

Yesterday was the day of the Debt March at the World Social Forum, stressing the Forum theme that we can create a different – and fairer – world. Thousands of people collected in the Debt Free Zone – with drumming, dancing, chanting and tremendous energy – to send the messages round the Forum: “Debt Kills” “An End to Debt: An End to Poverty”. “Don’t Owe. Won’t Pay.” “Debt is Poverty. Debt is Slavery. Refusing to Pay is Justice”. Banners also highlighted the terrible debt statistics, such as 22% of Kenya’s budget being spent to service their debt, while millions are illiterate and die of preventable diseases.
The day included, too, thought-provoking analysis (like a seminar on Strategies for Economic Justice under Globalisation, from International Development Economics Associates from around the world); detailed practical discussions and planning (like how to avoid the dangerous effects of debt in post-conflict countries like Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – they want to avoid the suffering Sierra Leone’s debt travails have caused in the three years since the end of its civil war); and key networking (such as the development of the World Social Forum Declaration on Debt, the culmination of many discussions at all hours during the Forum).
To keep our feet on the ground and remind us of why this work is important, I accepted an invitation from a youth group from Korogocho, a slum around the rubbish dumps 10 minutes’ walk but a world away from the splendid stadium. Living in corrugated iron and cardboard shacks, squeezed among rat-infested piles of rubbish and rivers of sewage, the young people showed us their homes and, with laughter, drumming and dancing, celebrated the work of their groups focusing on handicrafts, football, removing garbage and other income-generating and empowering activities. With such intrepid and visionary young partners in the fight against poverty, surely we must win.

Slum Kids and Nobel Prize Winners Raise Hopes

2007-01-23T18:54:00.000Z

The two-year-old Global Call to Action Against Poverty has now involved more than 50 million people in more than 100 countries. The World Social Forum provides an opportunity to share experiences and plans, strengthened by visions like those in the songs of the young men from Nairobi’s Korogosho slums, the Hope Raisers: “G8, We’ve got a question for you. Why do you want us to suffer; why do you want us to perish? You know we are the creditors. Cancel debts. Cancel debts.” I hope to bring their DVD back for UK campaigners to share their optimism and energy.

Liberia has tremendous opportunities, with its devastating civil war at last finished and Africa’s inspiring first woman President leading a democratic government. These opportunities are matched by the challenges of huge debt, minimal services, destroyed infrastructure and people’s high expectations. In the light of this vulnerable situation, it was good to meet with some Liberian civil society leaders. We discussed how we could help the rich world leaders realise the urgency of – and quickly deliver – debt cancellation for Liberia.

Another session gave an opportunity to people from around Africa – including Senegal, Kenya, South Africa, Angola, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Zimbabwe – to discuss their debt histories, current situations and ways forward. Debt relief has transformed millions of lives, in spite of the associated undemocratic and harmful conditions. Hope is high for more progress.

Meanwhile, charismatic civil society campaigners – like Mary Robinson and Wangari Maathai – complemented the Hope Raisers in renewing our visions of a better world.

Doing what we can

2007-01-22T16:17:00.000Z

My high point today has been hearing a very powerful and moving speech from Professor Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win a Nobel Prize. (The low point was realising that my voice recording of her speech hadn’t worked – but we are hoping to get a copy of a video recording.) She spoke of the illegitimacy of much of the debt claimed from poor countries – the fact that creditors lent irresponsibly knowing that the money was not going to help the poor, or knowing the countries couldn’t afford loans – and how today ‘the poor are being sacrificed so that debts can be serviced.’

But she also spoke about what we can achieve together, with the commitment to “do what we can, whatever we can, wherever we are.” She reminded us that, ‘We are loud enough to be heard by all G8 countries, to be heard saying “These debts are illegitimate - and you know it.” We can shout from Nairobi and be echoed in Europe, in North America, in Latin America, in Asia and Australia. Because there is no part of the world where we are not represented.’

The determination to do what we can seems to be the theme linking everything and everyone here: from those taking part in the angry debates about China’s role in Africa that I heard this morning, to the band I can hear behind me now singing about access to water (‘H – 2 – oh-oh-oh’, etc). There is a wide variety of perspectives, and even more so of experiences. About an hour ago I stopped to take a picture of an AIDS ribbon tree, commemorating those killed by AIDS. The man beside it asked me to take a ribbon, and write on it the name of someone I know who has died from AIDS. As I hesitated, he said ‘Any one of them will do.’

Photos from Nairobi

2007-01-22T07:25:00.000Z

Washing Away Dirty Debts

2007-01-21T12:30:00.000Z

Coming to the World Social Forum has been like being part of a brook, joining a stream, flowing into a river and finally helping to form the ocean. We gradually joined up with groups of people from all over the world: coming into Nairobi, registering at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, joining the march to the rally in the Uhuru Park (culminating in our forming a colourful and deep pool of people at the feet of one of Africa’s great visionaries and founding fathers, Zambian ex-president, Dr Kenneth Kaunda) and then, today, in hundreds of buses coming to the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, where section of seats have been tented off and other tents erected to form hundreds of separate display, conference and seminar rooms.

Like many different types of water, the people have tremendous diversity (of nationality, affluence, age, perspectives, preoccupations), but, again like flowing water, there is amazing strength and energy, bubbling into debates, drama, declamations, demonstrations, all backed by continuous drumming and dancing. Surely we should – together – be able to tackle the obstacles in our path – from the boulders of power cuts, printing failures, and internet disconnections that make local progress difficult here to the mountains of greed, vested interests, lack of political will that dominate the global landscape.

Building on the Forum’s slogan, “Another World is Possible”, Kenneth Kaunda reminded us, this “summit of the people of the world” must denounce all exploitation of people by people. He asserted that one of the major consequences and causes of poverty is debt; although several battles have been won, the debt war is not over. Through civil society and social movements across the world working together, we have made tremendous progress, but we must do more.

Today we have had discussions with partners in many countries – of debtors and creditors – on illegitimate debt, responsible financing, conditions attached to debt relief and the special needs of post-conflict countries such as Sierra Leone (which has been given substantial debt cancellation) and Liberia (which, so far, has not). This is helping to clarify the next steps and how we can best work together. Each of us is a drop, but our united torrent can totally wash dirty debts away and transform the landscape.

World Social Forum 2007: Nairobi

2007-01-20T19:39:00.000Z

The 2007 World Social Forum in Nairobi is the first to be held in Africa. Arranging a one-off conference for around 100,000 delegates from campaigns and social movements around the world - there to discuss econmic justice, peace and conflict, human rights, women's rights, land, HIV/AIDS, etc etc - is obviously always going to be a monumental task. And the spirit of the WSF means that it is largely ‘self-organised’ by participants – that is, the organising committee provides the space and the staff and the volunteers and the security and the technology and all the rest, but the participants themselves register and organise the events. There are understandably hiccups along the way (the meetings start at 8.30am tomorrow morning, Sunday, and it still seems to be impossible to get our hands on a programme) but there is a huge amount of energy and people are finding their own way around it (little programmes of a few events, printed by the event organisers, are everywhere).

This afternoon we were with colleagues from Jubilee South, Jubilee USA, Jubilee France and others at the opening rally at Uhuru Park. (‘Uhuru’ being the Swahili word for independence / freedom.) There were speeches, songs, dances, poems – and a promising array of slogans and calls to action, on banners, t-shirts, badges, etc. Many were variations on the official WSF slogan of ‘Another world is possible’. (‘Another Kenya is possible’; ‘A world without AIDS is possible’.) Or some just went their own way. (‘When Bush comes to shove, resist!’)

There was also a special address from Zambia’s former president Kenneth Kaunda. He spoke of how, when Zambia was experiencing debt problems and trying to escape IMF control (thus bringing down the wrath of creditors), it was not so much other governments that stood in solidarity with his country, but the individuals who make up the debt movement worldwide. He spoke of how the debt campaign has taught us that individual campaigners from the countries of the South and the North, working together, can have an amazing impact. And he called for further action: “Being here at the World Social Forum 2007 must inspire us to do more and liberate ourselves from the burden of debt. We have achieved, and we can achieve still more.”

Hiatus

2006-11-14T11:31:00.000Z

As this blog was intended to update readers on activities and news during the Month of Action in September and October, it's currently in hiatus. We may well decide to activate it again in the future, for other events, and if and when this happens we will advertise the fact via our website, www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk

Thank you to those who visited regularly!

Millions stand up!

2006-10-17T15:27:00.000+01:00

The figures are in from around the world and it looks like 23, 542, 614 people took action as part of the Stand Up Against Poverty world record attempt this weekend. The picture above is from this morning's action in Trafalgar Square announcing the total - more from around the world at WhiteBand.org.

With a reported 20 million people taking part in the Philippines alone, however, there are already calls coming in for a recount...

Engaging with Hilary

2006-10-16T11:21:00.000+01:00

In the meeting with Hilary Benn at Portcullis House on Thursday, we managed to speak with him for nearly an hour on conditionality attached to debt relief.

Boardroom style, with Mr. Benn and his cohorts at the end of the table and the fourteen of us surrounding him, the format was actually fairly informal. We started off with a bang, asking him straightaway what specifically he would require to release the £50 million worth of funding to the World Bank. Although he avoided the issue, just as most politicians, he said he would know once he gets the report from the World Bank.

What would he like to see in the report? The truth.

What will he do when he gets the report, will he release the money or will he hold back more? He will decide that once he gets the report, ‘you can’t put the cart before the horse’ type of answer.

How will he make his judgement, what specifically will make him happy? If the World Bank is moving in the right direction, that is progress. It does not happen all at once.

Typical politician though he is, Hilary Benn is a great speaker, particularly good at dancing around the issues. But accolades to him for even agreeing to speak with us. He is very passionate when he speaks, and he does genuinely seem to care about the issues. Holding back the £50 million – despite being such a relatively small amount – is a great start. If the amount wasn’t enough, his timing was impeccable, sending a message to the World Bank to get their act together, if nothing else. Now we just need to make sure he follows through with that message in November when he gets the World Bank report, and February/March when discussions about the next round of World Bank funding begin.

Hilary is still farther away then we’d like him to be on issues of debt relief and conditionality…but he is a lot closer than many other politicians – just ask him yourself, he will tell you. Several times he called for our help to garner support from other countries so that he will not be alone in the debate. To an extent, he is right. The UK is very progressive – compared to most countries, that is. We did remind him of good ole Norway who has taken the great leap of cancelling debt which they have taken responsibility for, calling it irresponsible lending on their part. He seemed unaware of this action, but perhaps his ill preparedness will cause him to consider it further…we can hope.

Despite his seemingly good intentions – there are still issues that many of us would argue with him. For instance, his insistence that HIPC conditions cannot be revisited. There is also still quite a grey area, where he considers conditions to be either good or bad. For him it is not an issue of whether or not we have conditions, but "which conditions". Some of what he considers to be good conditions, however, is rather alarming. At one point he was ranting about how inflation hurts the very poor, implying that the regulation of inflation is not a "bad" condition. First off, the correlation between low inflation and a robust economy does not exist! Many economists disagree on the issue, and there is no generally accepted proof on the effect of inflation. Secondly, imposing conditions from the top is not the way to strengthen and encourage democracy. In the past, these macroeconomic conditions have shown how they can be more detrimental than beneficial to host-countries (e.g. IMF policies and East Asian financial crisis of 1990s).

We still disagree on many issues, especially when it comes to "good" versus "bad" conditions. Mr. Benn often referred to his favourite bad conditions – trade liberalisation and privatisation. Clearly, he needs more convincing, if that is where is train of thought ends. At least we know he is listening. Even when he avoided questions, gave a vague answer, or went off on a tangent (most notably why WDM is awful), he was engaging with us. Fortunately, there were many great questions posed towards Hilary Benn, as well as some excellent responses to his mini-speeches – so this meeting was not meaningless. A couple of times he even seemed genuinely stumped.

Overall, I think we gave the impression of a well-informed group who obviously cares about poverty alleviation and cutting the strings. Most importantly, Hilary Benn knows the numbers of supporters there are, and that we are not going anywhere. We will be watching as he makes his decisions, and we will hold him accountable.

Global warming - global debt

2006-10-10T17:49:00.000+01:00

As part of the GCAP Month of Action, I have anumber of speaking engagements on climate change. But how does this relate to debt relief? In brief...

The scientific evidence is now overwhelming - climate change will overwhelm the entire globe, bringing unimaginable calamity on our own children or grandchildren, unless vigorous action is taken as a matter of urgency. "Never before have we faced such a global threat… The longer we procrastinate, the more difficult the task becomes" (Lord Robert May, President of the Royal Society).

But the world's poor will suffer first and most – "The impacts of climate change will fall disproportionately upon developing countries and the poor… within all countries" (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Indeed, there is strong evidence (from climate labs of the highest standing) that they are already suffering severely from the effects of our polluting life style - "Climate change, largely caused by greenhouse gas emissions, may already be responsible for… a drop in rainfall since 1996 in Ethiopia and surrounding..." (Lord Robert May).

So does this mean, debt relief and trade justice are no longer as important as once we considered them to be? NO, A THOUSAND TIMES NO! Indebted poor countries are going to need all the help they can get to weather the storms now metaphorically and literally brewing on their horizons. Climate change simply adds one more reason why we have an obligation to stop pussyfooting around and 'Drop the Debt!'

Africa on the sideline

2006-09-29T08:18:00.000+01:00

This year I´m working with African Network and Forum on Debt and Development (AFRODAD). When I´m observing the latest international summits unfolding, from the G8 in St. Petersburg in July to the World Bank and IMF annual meetings in Singapore last week, it strikes me that from an African perspective one must feel a bit sidelined this year. While 2005 was the year when celebrities like David Beckham and Brad Pitt pledged to make poverty history, when 15 million people wore white bands, and when more than a billion people gathered in front of the their TV-sets for Live8, 2006 seems to be a bit of an anti-climax. As was reflected in editorials in some African newspapers during this summer´s G8 meeting: - It´s the G8 meeting, but where is Angelina Jolie? Last year Africa was in the spotlight and on the catwalk. This year Africa seems, in lack of better ways to put it, somewhat out of fashion.

Under any circumstances this would be a reason for concern, but in many ways this lack of attention comes at a time, in particular, when public pressure on issues like third world debt, conditionalities, and reform of the international financial institutions (IFIs) need to escalate, rather than evaporate. While the pledges made at Gleneagles where far from sufficient, some processes were started during last year that needs to be kept at the forefront of public attention. First there is the issue of debt relief, but other critical developments are also unfolding as we speak. Some governments are now calling for reform of World Bank and IMF conditionalities, there is a big row over the anti-corruption strategy of World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, in the IMF developing countries are demanding a greater say and Gordon Brown said earlier this year that the institution´s legitimacy depend on it, the World Bank is currently trying to delay their own promised study on the issue of illegitimate debt, and, finally, the inconsistency of the good governance agenda promoted by the IFIs have been put at open display in Singapore last week. For those of us who are advocating for change in these institutions, this is the time to let our voices be heard.

That´s also why the civil society actions referred to on this blog are so important. Next year the G8 is returning to Germany, eight years after 50.000 people made, what in those days were seen as, groundbreaking calls for debt cancellation. Since then campaigners have made significant progress, but also been victims of politicians´ spin. As debt relief has become mainstream, it has become difficult for the public to distinguish campaigners´ call for debt cancellation and politicians support for debt relief. This year, and the coming year, we should make sure we tell a story that distinguish us from the people we are to influence. A story that distinguish charity from justice. A story that is calling, not only for the cancellation of unpayable debts, but also the cancellation of illegitimate debts. And a story where we support Southern governments´ right to repudiate such debt. It´s a story where we, as JDC and other groups, call for rich country governments and IFIs to cut the strings. And it´s a story where we, as Christian Aid did last week, call for our governments to hold back their funding to the IFI until they accept radical reform. By telling such a story we could create a broader and more long-lasting momentum for change - a momentum that goes beyond the celebrity hype.

Southern campaigners at the LSE

2006-09-28T13:08:00.000+01:00

Wednesday September 27, 2006: London School of Economics

Topic: Economic Justice - Next Steps for South and North?

Speakers:
Ibrahim Hamani Souley, Coalition for African Alternatives on Development, Mali
Wahu Kaara, Director, Kenyan Debt Relief Network
Caroline Pearce, Jubilee Debt Campaign

Ibrahim Hamani Souley spoke about conditions attached to debt cancellation in Mali.

Wahu Kaara: 'debt is a tool of domination'.

Labour Conference - Wrap Up

2006-09-28T10:19:00.000+01:00

We’ll it’s all over but for the recriminations, all the glad rags put away till next year. So what was it all about from our perspective, what did my first Labour Conference in Manchester achieve? When will my feet feel normal again?

Busy certainly, so many events on the fringe; even with the Internet and emails I still missed some of them. All too short and rushed. If Ministers appeared they were rushing off to their next appointment before the networking/dialogue. The march was of course stimulating; many of the events were a chance to meet old friends and campaigners. So, good for us for ‘bonding’ and seeing our NGO’s organisation and pulling power.

But in terms of influence on policy, debate, campaigning? Not from the fringe meetings. Good PR for the party selling their message. Good to demonstrate to them we are still here. I have to hope that inside the security barriers there was some actual dialogue, some pressure for progress. But if the media’s reflection of the conference is anything to go by, there was only one topic being discussed in huddles.

However sceptical that sounds, Hilary Benn has to be congratulated, he was everywhere (on the fringe). He defends his position with some conviction and compared to many countries does have much to be proud to tell us. And he as good as admitted DfID were wrong to make TV adverts promoting privatisation of water and there aren’t many Ministers who ever admit mistakes.

I thought his defence of EPA’s was insulting (the proposed new European Partnership Agreements that are the new focus for Trade Justice Campaigning in the autumn). The developing countries can’t just walk away if they are not in their interests.

In my opinion we need to work on a different format to these fringe events. Currently the panels spout their mantras and then there are few quick, often garbled questions and a rushed response. It doesn’t break through the communications barriers; challenge the assertions. What might be worthwhile is a one on one or at most three person, real debate. A Minister, a NGO lobbyist and an activist say, having a dialogue, challenging each other. Of course a much narrower agenda, but a chance to get through the spin.

In terms of progressing the debt campaign, the fringe meetings didn’t make any impact. On the other hand, time and again when Ministers or speakers wanted anything positive to say on International Development, it was the achievements on debt cancellation that were their flagship.

What next? Well for me, as the nights draw in and it gets cold and wet, this conference has convinced me that I need to put together the evidence and the arguments that extend debt cancellation to all poor countries struggling to meet the Millennium Development Goals and build on the one area where campaigners can show real solid progress – debt cancellation.

A Big Cry for Another World!

2006-09-26T13:41:00.000+01:00

Yes it was wonderful to meet Dave, right from the airport to his house and subsequently having dinner with him: a good human bond and understanding was my experience. Perhaps there is something noble in Economic Justice activists - bridging the global gaps and manifesting the world we all dream of, a just world, a world we all belong to and a world we all have responsbility to in stewardship: this is what Dave and I were experiencing and demonstrating during this historical experience in Manchester - a big cry for 'Another World'!

We called for 'Another World' as the peace march brought thousands and thousands of people to Manchester to visibly and loudly make their statement. And as also the mothers, wives, families of those who died and are dying in Iraq brought their position, asking: Why? Why had they to die? This reminded me of us mothers of political prisoners in 1992, also expressing the same question at Freedom Corner, Uhuru Park in Kenya. What a connection of history of injustices! But also of resistance to the injustices. Talk of women and their role in history: they have never been left behind. The peace march involved the whole of society: men and women, young and old, children, boys and girls and them with their ability which we make the mistake of calling disability!

Freedom and justice for Palestine: oh yes, but we need to call a spade a spade and not a big fork. With USA imperialism out of Middle East, then we have a lasting solution! Israel is but a proxy stooge for American interests, which are to plunder the resources of Middle East people in the name of 'democracy'! Democracy from America = OCCUPATION, and all people of good will should be able to stand with facts and historical realities as they are.

Then what? It was a good march, but a good mobilisation needs organisation for long term ACTION, if it is to be instrumental in achieving the social transformation that has brought us here to Manchester. We must organise and mobilise for action, not just to make a statement.

We must take this window of opportunity of linking North and South to create a critical mass for a paradigm shift. The World Social Forum gives us the space and opportunity. So here we go with our banner: JUSTICE FOR ALL - ECONOMIC JUSTICE NOW. That is, peoples' destiny should be in their hands and not subject to corporates' designs. We have unity of purpose and strength to engage with the profit motive which threads the injustices for us in Africa through aid conditionalities, unjust trade and a debt burden which is death to us and our children.

JUSTICE FOR ALL is not negotiable for us women of Africa because we have refused to die for AFRICA. We are living for Africa within our alternative 'life economy' which no might can destroy. The future belongs to us and is in our hands as we build a Jubilee social economy. Thank to you Jubilee Debt Campaign UK for enabling me to have this experience here in Manchester!

Another World is not only possible, but is already in the making.

Wahu Kaara
24/09/06

Hilary Benn's day on the fringe.

2006-09-25T23:14:00.000+01:00

JDC Blog Monday 25th – Labour Conference

Today was mainly footslog leafleting delegates about fringe events and two panels both featuring Hilary Benn. To be up-front, debt didn’t actually feature at either event whilst I was there.

Tearfund held an interesting fringe event on water with both Hilary Benn and a speaker from Thames Water. It covered all the usual ground emphasising how critical water is to achieving any of the Millennium Development Goals. Great to learn more. What stood out for me was that Thames had withdrawn from direct involvement (and many other privatised concessions), but was working with others including Halcrow (famed within WDM as water privatisation consultants) to create a group to target populations that were being bypassed. They’re called Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor, web site www.wsup.com and I look forward to reading more about their work. Hilary Benn attacked the sterility of the public/private contest with passion. Even so it came up in questions, along with the competition for water between use by people rather than industry or agriculture.

I could only stay for the first 40 mins of International Questiontime. He (Hilary) defended EPAs (European Partnership Agreements being negotiated on trade between Europe and developing regions) on the assertion that if they didn’t like them all they had to do was not agree. This almost insults us. Under current WTO agreements, developing countries enjoying trade preferences could be challenged. They have to negotiate an alternative. And they negotiate under immense pressure in many areas. Elsewhere I though his defence of the use of consultants was credible (but he didn’t address why they were ‘western’ consultants), his response on arms control less convincing. He also had to defend Peter Mandelson, quite a challenge with the trade negotiations stalled.

I can’t imagine these events influenced policy at all. But fair play to Hilary Benn, he was prepared to go out and defend his position with pride and indeed confidence. And whisper it quietly, he as good as admitted that funding adverts for water privatisation wasn’t DfIDs finest hour!

Bit shorter?

(Photos: Chris Worrall)

Debt cancellation for 70 countries now!

2006-09-24T21:38:00.000+01:00

JDC Blog Sunday 24th labour Conference

Sunday, the day after the big event, the slog of the Alternative Conference and the Gordon Brown oratory to look forward to.

I had at least hoped the Alternative Conference would attract a big crowd of potential targets to leaflet for either the Palestine Fringe meeting on Tuesday or the WDM Water for Life film show on Wednesday. The main speakers at the first session were the usual suspects led by George Galloway, but most of those going in were leaving and wouldn’t be in Manchester for the fringe events.

Wahu was on the panel for the Globalisation, Trade and Debt workshop. David Hillman covered Tobin Tax, or mainly the sheer scale of financial transactions that are neither taxed nor beneficial to the poor. I did learn that France and Venezuela have agreed to introduce an airline tax to fund international development. That’s been the French alternative to Gordon’s IFF initiative and David Hillman saw it as a step towards an international Tobin tax.

The one area of consensus across the panel was the importance and significance of the World Social Forum as a vehicle for developing new ideas and social models. The next WSF is going to be in Wahu’s hometown of Nairobi. The first WSF to be held in Africa and perceived as a beacon of hope for a new world order.

The ‘main event’ today, at least from a debt perspective was the Gordon Brown session organised by Oxfam and Unison carrying the title of Millennium Development Goals and Public Services. I was looking forward to this as a self confessed Brown supporter on poverty issues. He was the first politician I ever heard, back at the closing session of J2K who I felt actually believed in what he was saying on poverty. But it’s more than that. I’ve grown to recognise and respect his tactics. So much of politics is calls for grand solutions and unachievable goals. Politics is the art of the possible. Ask the world to jump a big hurdle and they agree but do nothing. Take it in six steps and although it takes longer, progress is made. On debt, there was HIPC and HIPC II, and then the step of UK cancelling bilateral debt, then the step of putting repayments from conflict countries into a trust fund, then 100% for 20 countries. Now even signs of pressure on conditionalities. Compare that to the rhetoric on the Doha round, an all-encompassing negotiation, which has got nowhere.

So it was his usual hectoring style, full of idealisms. It was, given its sponsors, mainly about delivering free education and healthcare from public services and how, when countries bring their plans forward, the resources will be found (examples from GAVI on vaccinations and the IFF initiative). He spanned history from the birth of Trades Unions in Manchester and the abolition of slavery to show that the power was with the people and how we must continue after MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY. A speech of a grand vision for a better world and importantly some achievable steps along the way.

I was listening intently for a commitment on debt. Last year up here in Manchester his speech called for 62 countries to get debt cancellation, but it wasn’t in the printed text or web site. I tried to get a recording but in the end never did. So I wanted to know what he might say this time. 70 countries! At least the 62 seemed to relate to LDCs, I’m not sure how the 70 is derived. He said that Britain would lead the way on cancelling their debt burden (that’s not verbatim, I can’t remember the precise words). But the point for me is a repeated willingness to break the current focus on just the HIPC 42 countries.

I know I’m being contentious and off message but I’m going to be ‘campaigning’ internally for JDC to pick up the challenge and campaign for debt cancellation to be much wider. I want to get the data together like J2K did and justify debt cancellation on the basis of funding the MDGs.

As a side issue, financing the MDGs was supposed to be primarily driven by trade through a new Development round. We all know that’s fallen through or if agreed it offers so little it’s no benefit (at best) to LDCs. So if trade isn’t going to finance the MDGs we should be working on even more debt cancellation, at least that’s a route we know and have made progress along.

So much for high politics, lets end with a grin; the best thing that happened all day. The Gordon Brown event was pre-registered for security clearance. One eminent local campaigner wasn’t allowed in. Apparently my reservation from weeks ago hadn’t happened but was sorted out on Friday. Well another of our leading Manchester campaigners, a real gentleman and a veteran campaigner, who registered weeks ago with me, was also not on the list. We begged for entry but it was denied. As we sat together I realised that there didn’t seem to be any checks on those going in the hall itself, so I went in without being checked, came out and walked back in with Edward. Tight security! Van loads of police outside!

Sorry these are getting longer and longer!

What’s Palestine got to do with Debt?

2006-09-23T22:06:00.000+01:00

JDC Blog Saturday 23rd- Labour Conference

At last the big march. My big worry; could I get the car full of placards, stall, banners, literature to the meeting point past the security barriers. Carrying 300 placards in wasn’t an attractive option! Thank goodness, a few back streets and we were in. A glorious sunny day and clear blue skies.

The march was predominantly ‘Stop the War’, CND, Troops Out, No to Trident and a sea of ‘Time to Go’ placards. I was marching for Freedom and Justice for Palestine and it was good to see at least 25%, maybe 30% of placards were supporting Palestine.

So what justification have I got to put Palestine into this blog on debt?

Well at a superficial level, a march is intoxicating, invigorating; it reaffirms the power of mass solidarity and re-motivates you to see so much support. That’s crucial to successful campaigning, we have to not just work together but bring ourselves together at mass events to sustain the troops as much as impact politically.

But if you will allow I want to link back to yesterdays theme of Economic Justice being far more than just economics. When we campaign on debt we instinctively mean financial. But we use phrases like ‘debt of honour’ or ‘debt of gratitude’ or ‘I owe you one’. Debts arise when a transfer of something should be repaid.

Israel was created in substantial part from a debt of guilt for the Holocaust. But that debt was paid by using Arab lands belonging to Muslims, Christians and Jews. It was taken (not given) from its existing owners we now term Palestinians. Doesn’t someone owe the Palestinians a debt for that transfer? Either Israel owes them a debt for its creation, or the Europeans for their guilt. If we campaign for Justice, that debt too should be settled.

Jumping half a century, the Palestinian Authority is funded primarily from tax revenues collected by Israel, which it unilaterally (with American support) decides to withhold whenever it likes, for example since the election of Hamas (but it withheld taxes many times before that). Those are debts. Meanwhile At Israel/US insistence what humanitarian aid was being given has been stopped. Does a failure to provide humanitarian aid not constitute a debt (or is it the humanitarian suffering directly that creates the debt)? What does starving a civilian population into submission to your political will constitute?

Then there is the issue of financial responsibility for the welfare of the civilian population in an Occupied Territory. Under the Geneva Convention that is the responsibility of the Occupying Power. But Israel doesn’t bear that burden, it leaves it to aid from Europe and America. And when that aid is used to build infrastructure, water and irrigation, sewage, power stations etc and Israeli bombs and bulldozers destroy them, Israel doesn’t pay or bear the cost of that destruction. It’s a debt that isn’t being repaid. (I have lived in the West bank and seen the destroyed schools and sewage plants built with Swedish and French money). That’s huge debts Israel owes. Israel wouldn’t be able to afford its wars if it had to repay its debts!

Looking wider than mere economics, there are crucial questions of the rule of International Law. What’s the point when it isn’t enforced? When Israel breaks the Geneva Convention, settlements, land seizures, collective punishments; destruction of civilian targets, there is no Court of Justice. Isn’t there a debt owed to the Palestinians for failing to respect International Law?

So I could argue that Palestine has as much to do with debt as any other developing country and as a campaigner for Justice it’s right at the forefront.

I am in no way suggesting that JDC should change its focus from financial, bank debts. Firstly JDC can’t cover every injustice in the world and needs clarity of message. Secondly it mustn’t lose any of its support and funding. But mainly it has to avoid the inevitable accusation of anti-Semitism.

Tactically JDC secures some common ground and direction of change working with the current Labour government (think about the move to 100% cancellation and most recently the token threat of withholding funds unless strings are cut). There is no way JDC could win support for justice for Palestine from this Labour Government, well not, I would suggest, as long as Lord Levy is the chief fund raiser for the party.

Just pick up our Guest Speaker!

2006-09-23T00:44:00.000+01:00

JDC blog, Friday 22nd Sept

Sounded easy enough when it was suggested I might do a blog over the Labour Party Conference here in Manchester. Not that I had done one before or knew the etiquette, but heck, whatever, if it helps the campaign. Friday would be an easy day before the big march tomorrow; sure I could pick up a JDC speaker from Kenya, no problem (well, other than the flight cancelled and the wrong booking reference at the hotel).

But how on earth do you blog five or six hours of a wide ranging political debate? Easily enough material for half a dozen theses’. A debate that was arguing the semantics of ‘all conflicts are about access to resources’ before we were half way home (that’s a ten minute drive from the airport!). Not any old campaigner either, someone aspiring to run for the Presidency of Kenya.

Wahu Kara is Director of Kenyan Debt Relief and a veteran campaigner on debt, human rights and politics. She is JDC’s guest speaker at the International Development Questiontime on Monday. If she gets a fair hearing she is going to rattle a few cages! Hers is not the complacent, self-congratulatory analysis of the DfID white paper on International Development! Not by a long chalk.

I can’t condense so much food for thought into this short blog, but let me select a few highlights relevant to our campaigning (but recognise that these gloss over so many areas of diversity)

Campaign for ‘Economic Justice’; debt relief is merely one component.

‘Economic Justice’ (Wahu’s term) isn’t just about economics, it’s about the whole breadth of human and social values and governance.

Our campaigning for Economic Justice would help create the space for civil society to seek and seize it for themselves.

If there was one theme on which we were closest it was our role in helping local society stand up and take control of their own destiny and avoid the concept of ‘giving’ so often with implicit/explicit strings. (poorly expressed; but think about it in terms of – we don’t want a Martial Plan to give aid; we want to remove the barriers, create the space for societies to chose their own social model).

We could agree on so much, but there were worrying voids, maybe the semantics of language, maybe the gulf in experience. But at least we were united in our anger at the injustices of today and a determination to campaign for a greater understanding and Economic Justice in the future.

Now lets get on with the march, just 12 hours to go!

Not a hint of a hiccup

2006-09-21T10:32:00.000+01:00

It’s my last day in Singapore, and I’m writing from an internet café as the facilities at the conference centre have all closed. We were very well looked after there and generally in Singapore – except in the crucial issue of some of us being harassed at immigration, with some not being allowed in at all. Once colleagues have been deported and you have been taken to one side at immigration, you begin to feel paranoid and are aware that many of those around you – for example among the prolific attendants whisking away your plates as you ate your last mouthfuls of a snack – were secret police keeping a check on what you were up to.

Speaking to us, the UK authorities all claimed to be outraged at some of the accredited delegates (such as our Co-Chair, Martin Powell) being excluded from Singapore. But, at a lavish (sponsored, apparently) reception the British High Commissioner kindly gave for all the Brits attending the meetings, both he and the Governor of the Bank of England, were fulsome in their praise of how well Singapore had run the events. In fact the Governor suggested they should always be held here. Not a hint of a hiccup and certainly not a mention that excluding and harassing people had occurred, destroyed many plans and badly tarnished Singapore’s image.

Our Cut the Strings! Protest (with us all tied up in strings and shuffling to the 20 square foot ‘protest pen’ in the conference centre) had tremendous media interest and coverage all over the world. Our Cut the Strings! Report, and the research report behind it, have both been very popular among civil society people at the Annual Meetings. I hope our campaigners will find them equally useful.

It was good to hear from the Finance Ministers of Ghana, Niger and Honduras at the press conference of the Finance Ministers of the Heavily Indebted Poor countries. They described some of their experiences. They noted, too, that the debt cancellation agreed at Gleneagles last year has been watered down so that the delivered cancellation excludes World Bank debts after the end of 2003 and they hoped this can be changed to at least those up to the end of 2004.

Yesterday Sustainability Watch launched their 2006 report. It was fascinating to hear firsthand accounts of the environmental damage linked to some World Bank and IMF debt. It was also a great chance to talk to Southerners who will give us some case studies for our Debt and the Environment paper due out later this year.

And my final social event in Singapore was a MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY ‘banquet’ run by ONE (SINGAPORE). I was one of those (the majority) chosen randomly to sit on the floor and eat a small bowl of porridge. During the meal, some were promoted (from the poorest to the middle; no one moved up to the rich top table) and more moved down (from rich to middle and from middle to poorest), with good stories being told to highlight the issues causing poverty, which seemed new to many of those present. I think this awareness raising event was the first of ONE(SINGAPORE).

To join, one has to pledge 12 hours of voluntary community work per year and to learn more about global poverty (including on trade, aid and debt) and to “take action to make poverty history worldwide”. But it was clear that such action is not likely in the foreseeable future to include any demonstrations, stunts, nor even petitions or letters. Once again, we were reminded of the repressiveness of this society and how cautious everyone is not to rock the boat. But the ‘banquet’ was a start and it is good that they feel part of the global movement marking White Band Day on 17th October: even if the only ‘Standing Up Against Poverty’ they can do is in groups of less than six, probably in their own homes!

Meanwhile in Alnwick...

2006-09-20T17:28:00.000+01:00

In the North East, we're just getting into the swing of the 'Roadshow' we're offering for the GCAP month of action, with a number of meetings throughout the region. In Alnwick on Monday, I tried to address the problem as to how we can "Stand up against poverty". I think people are exposed to two dangers.

First, there's the danger of hypocrisy. I can think of nothing more repellent than for a person with a reasonable income to have strong views on economic justice, whilst grudging more than the spare change in his pocket for the world's poor. "Hard hearted and tight fisted to the poor", as the Hebrew Scriptures put it, they belong to what I rudely call 'the skinflint brigade'. But perhaps a greater danger is that of sentimentality – a sentimentality which contributes personally, even sacrificially, but is content to remain silent whilst the monstrous injustices of inherited and illegitimate debt and unjust trade rules grind down entire generations, across whole continents. These people belong to 'the sticking plaster brigade'. Surely the way forward is to combine a faithful relationship to one of our great aid agencies, with a vigorous and persevering commitment to campaigning for justice for the poor.

David Golding
University of Newcastle, and
Development Coordinator, Make Poverty History North East

The Beat Goes On in London

2006-09-20T09:40:00.000+01:00

Christian Aid's 'Stop paying for poverty' march to the treasury last Thursday was particularly well-timed; not only did it kick off the Global Month of Action with a bang, the mood was particularly buoyant as everyone was told about Hilary Benn's announcement, that the UK was withholding £50 million from the World Bank in protest over the conditions attached to international aid. (Of course, you could have read that story hours earlier, here on the blog, but anyway). As protesters gathered in the Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park in Lambeth, we heard from Christian Aid's director, Dr Daleep Mukarji, and Christian Aid trade justice ambassadors, including Adjoa Andoh and Ibrahim Akalbila from the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) in Ghana, and singer Ronan Keating, who spoke about a visit there. Banners and placards showing the faces of people affected by World Bank and IMF decisions were displayed and distributed as the crowd got ready to move off.

At the front of the group were the drummers, who taught the drummers in the crowd a Ghanaian message beat, and the speakers with a banner.

Following behind were about three thousand supporters, with placards, drums and banners, including representatives from groups such as Islamic Relief, Make Poverty History Jewish Coalition and Jubilee Debt Campaign. We walked from the park to Lambeth Bridge, and then made our way north towards the Houses of Parliament, the sound of the drums bringing many people out of their office buildings or to the windows to watch us pass.

After a minute's silence outside Downing Street, where a drum (symbolising the message being relayed by us from Ghana) and a petition with 25,000 signatures were delivered to Number 11, we moved on into Whitehall Place, where the rally ended with short speeches urging us to continue campaigning, and to take the stories we had heard back to our own groups and communities. The speaker from Senegal made the following sobering statement: "Over the last twenty years in Senegal, the IMF and the World Bank have done more harm than good. The IMF has stopped my government from helping me." A lot has been achieved, but we cannot stop now. The beat will go on...

Who should be in the dock?

2006-09-17T13:11:00.000+01:00

The International Peoples' Forum in Batam (Indonesia) was bafflingly flooded by police this afternoon. I find it mind-blowing that people who are struggling to achieve economic justice for the world's poor are treated as criminals, whilst the Singaporean goverment - whose own police force has spent most of the day surrounding a tiny group of demonstrators who dared to appear in a group of more than five people, wearing t-shirts saying 'Democracy Now!' - has just been rated by the World Bank in the top ten of its 'good governance' listings.

The police here mostly hung around the entrance, but several did spend a long while copying the programme of events from a wall-chart into their notebooks. If only they had come into the Asian Peoples' Debt Tribunal, they would have heard a searing indictment of the policies of the World Bank and IMF, and clear calls for these institutions to be brought to justice. After the prosecutors and witnesses had had their say (the defence inexplicably failed to show up) the judges withdrew for consultation, returning to deliver a (hugely popular) guilty verdict. The sentence included not only the policy changes for which we all advocate (debt cancellation, end to imposition of policies through conditions, etc), but also the rather more imaginative (and again hugely popular) instruction that the President of the World Bank and Managing Director of the IMF spend a year living amongst the world's poor, without the benefit of their Bank and Fund salaries.

It seems a timely suggestion for the World Bank President: he opened his statement at the "town hall" meeting with civil society on Friday by saying that when you live safely in five-star accommodation, it's easy to forget that billions of people live in poverty. Not the right audience for that admission, Paul.

A Small Channel - but a Wide Gulf - Apart

2006-09-16T10:44:00.000+01:00

Greetings from Batam in Indonesia, where I’m at the International People’s Forum versus the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Only a couple of hours and a few miles from the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Singapore, but a world away in terms of perspective, priorities, and people’s experience. This event is being run by Asian civil society movements; the leaders of most events come from the region and the main concern is justice for the poorest people. I have attended interesting sessions linking World Bank and IMF debt to environmental devastation and linking their policies to appalling labour standards. We shall use some of this information at Jubilee Debt Campaign in our forthcoming Debt and… papers. The first ones should be out before the end of the year and we hope they will help people realise the devastating effects that unjust and unpayable debts have on the lives of hundreds of millions of ordinary people around the world.

However, on one issue this Forum and the Annual Meetings across the water agree: the gesture yesterday by the Singapore government to allow 22 of their 27 banned accredited delegates to enter Singapore is too little (all should have been allowed, in accordance with the Host Government Agreement) and too late (already people have been humiliated, months of planning have been wasted and tremendous opportunities for dialogue have been lost). The suspicion over here is that the reason the World Bank and IMF chose the authoritarian regime of Singapore as host for the Annual Meetings was to shield themselves from protests and demonstrations. If so, the feeling is that they got what they deserved. But many of the World Bank staff have worked hard to make the civil society dialogue programme a success and are devastated by the waste of their huge expenditure of money, time and effort. Let’s hope lessons are learned, as it is crucial that we should work together and listen to each other if we are to make progress.

What a difference deportation makes

2006-09-16T07:03:00.000+01:00

Just a quick note to express my outrage at how activists, including debt activists, have been treated at these meetings. A few of us were on the bus home on Friday night when we caught news not only of our 'silent protest' but also of Singapore's decision to revoke its decision on some of the blacklisted activists. (Yes, the buses in Singapore have TV screens.) But as Trisha says, it's little and late: and it isn't anything at all for those who've already been deported. These include Maria Clara Soares, who is ActionAid's head of policy for the Americas and in charge of its international debt policy team, and also Kiama Kaara of Kenya Debt Relief Network (whose mother, Wahu, a long-term global justice campaigner, will be speaking at events in Manchester, Cardiff and London in late September). Those left on the blacklist include debt campaigners who we work very closely with, and who clearly haven't been responsible for riots in Geneva, Seattle, or anywhere else, whatever the Singapore government may say.

Update from Singapore

2006-09-15T09:38:00.000+01:00

It’s all go here at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Singapore, where friends have kindly lent us their flat, so we do not have to eat into JDC’s funds. In response to requests from partner organizations whose representatives have been refused entry, we are boycotting all official events. So that might have meant a relaxing time; I had wistful thoughts of the famous night safari at the zoo …. But meeting officials and fellow campaigners from all over the world, responding to enquiries from the press, making sure that the voices of our excluded colleagues are not forgotten, and planning together are all keeping us very busy.

It has been encouraging during this activity to hear of Hilary Benn’s announcement that he will withhold £50 million of UK funding to the World Bank until they stop imposing harmful and undemocratic conditions attached to debt relief. At last the government is beginning to sound as if it might mean business. They must build on this with a more powerful message when the next tranche of funding is due. It really looks as if all those Cut the Strings! postcards and petitions are getting through. Well done, campaigners!

Caroline has written about the World Bank accredited civil society representatives who have been banned, subjected to lengthy interrogations and delayed. Months of planning and preparation have been wasted, some people have wasted huge amounts of time and money only to be sent straight home and others have been severely traumatized by their experiences at the airport before, eventually, being let in. Caroline has written, too, about this morning’s demonstration in our designated 20-foot-square ‘protest pen’, to get into which we had to swipe our passes and from which some would-be protesters were taken away for questioning before being allowed to join us. After the protest, once out of our ‘play-pen’, we were instructed to take off our GCAP T-shirts; it’s OK here to advertise Nike or one’s cleaning company on one’s chest, but not to advertise the slogan “Stand Up Against Poverty; We Must Have a Voice”.

The host country has a Memorandum of Understanding with The World Bank and IMF which makes clear that the host country must allow entry to all those who have been accredited to take part in the Annual Meetings. Getting such accreditation involves approval by one’s own government, as well as by the Bank. Singapore has blatantly disobeyed its agreement. Bank President, Ministers, officials and others are now vocal in their disapproval, but one wonders if they could not have done more in the last fortnight to prevent this happening and it seems there is no sanction to be visited on Singapore. The World Bank must ensure that future host countries allow free expression and the attendance of all those who have been accredited. There should be conditions attached to the agreement (aha; conditons are necessary sometimes!), such as a huge fine to be paid if the host reneges on the agreement.

We had always realized that there would be less scope than usual for civil society activities in Singapore, so there is a parallel event, the International People’s Forum, a half hour ferry-ride away in Indonesia. Tomorrow I plan to go there to join the hundreds of activists from around the world and learn more about their proposals. I shall learn more, too, how debt has affected them; one particularly interesting-looking session will focus on the links between debt and climate change. I hope I’m allowed back into Singapore!

Making our lack of voice seen

2006-09-15T08:36:00.000+01:00

In a protest a couple of hours ago, activists all involved with the Global Call to Action against Poverty made a vivid demonstration of the lack of voice that poor people, their governments and the organisations representing them have at the 'World' Bank and 'International' Monetary Fund. (There's loads of coverage on the web if you want to see more.) Dozens of us stood in silent protest with t-shirts and gags over our mouths declaring that these people have 'no voice' here. The point is a long-term one: conditions on debt relief and aid mean that poor people and their organisations and movements have no voice in discussions about economic policy; and the structure of the IMF and World Bank (where the 44 countries of sub-Saharan Africa have just 2 seats on the executive boards) mean that poor governments have no voice in the institution's decisions. (These points were made far more eloquently by our spokespeople, Besinati Mpepo from Zambia and Bishop Akolgo from Ghana.) And of course the bans, detentions and deportations happening right now (see below) bring the point home, as - even more than usual - many organisations campaigning for economic justice have no voice here this week.

It was probably the strangest protest I've been in. Given Singapore's rather unusual (to say the least) laws on protest and assembly, we had to check in and out of a designated 'protest area' with barcoded passes to enter. Initially about half a dozen or so of our colleagues were held back and not allowed into the protest. But at least the world's media were here and apparently interested. And we've done much better than our many colleagues - including leading debt activists, and almost all from the South, of course - who are even now being detained, questioned and deported, and who are very dramatically being denied a voice.

Not in their gang

2006-09-14T12:31:00.000+01:00

More and more news coming in about the bans on campaigners entering Singapore - so far we know of two campaigners from the Philippines who were deported immediately on arrival, and others being detained - including the former director of the School of Economics at the University of the Philippines, who now works for Social Watch, and three campaigners from ActionAid - one from Vietnam, one from Kenya and one from Brazil. Another campaigner from the USA was allowed in only on condition that she left straight for Indonesia.

The detainees are being held and questioned for, as far as we know, up to six hours. They are having their mobile phones taken away so they can't even phone colleagues to let them know about the situation. We're sitting here in Singapore wondering where people are - some arrive and tell us about their detentions, some are still missing presumed detained / deported / somehow banned.

In protest, we and at least 80 other organisations (and counting) are boycotting the official programme out here. Instead we are organising our own events, meetings and protests to draw attention to this further silencing of the voice of poor people and the organisations that work with and for them.

And you can see here the famous front page (see below) of yesterday's Strait Times - with another article from today about what campaigners are here for - at least in that one there is some recognition of the fact that we're here to get out a message about economic justice, not to bring chaos to Singapore.

Is the UK loosening strings?

2006-09-14T10:02:00.000+01:00

Much excitement here just after 3pm Singapore time - messages started to come in from colleagues about an apparent UK announcement that it was withholding funding from the World Bank over the conditions attached to aid and debt cancellation. This is more or less what activists have been asking for recently in our cut the strings campaign: we (along with members, particularly Christian Aid and World Development Movement) have been telling the UK government to withhold funding from the World Bank and IMF until the harmful strings are cut. Campaigners have been emailing Hilary Benn and Gordon Brown and lobbying their MPs, and our new campaign report (coming soon...) spells out the demand clearly. Debt activists are today on their way to a march, organised by Christian Aid, which aims to take this message right to the Treasury and 'drum it home'.

When we calmed down and got the details, it was clear that it's not yet time to call off the campaign: the promise relates only to £50 million that the UK had already withheld from the World Bank until it took certain actions on reviewing conditions. But this is a response to campaigners: the UK is now asking the Bank to go further, and says it will make stronger demands when the next negotiations over funding start in the next couple of months. The actual 'demands' remain to be seen, but Hilary Benn said this morning on the Today programme on Radio 4* that he wants to see "evidence of practice changing" on conditions at the Bank. And also that "I don't think it's right that we should be telling other countries what to do." Our point exactly. But we still are - and the UK still needs to do more. But we do seem to be having an impact.

(*I can't get the link to work, but try visiting the Radio 4 /Today website to listen to the item from 8.10am this morning - a good long discussion about the rich world controlling poor countries both through conditions and by dominating the World Bank and IMF.)

News just in:

2006-09-14T09:02:00.000+01:00

Apparently, 'The Straits Times', the main English-language newspaper in Singapore, is carrying the controversy surrounding the blacklisted reps as its top story. The article discusses the issue of the 28 people from eight different CSOs who have been banned from the annual meetings as "characters involved in disruptive activities in the past." It goes on to claim that there is "rising international criticism that Singapore is being too tough." (It's doubtful there'd be much dissent here). The tough stance on these so-called 'characters' is in direct contrast to the welcome banners up all around Singapore and there are fears that the hardline treatment of these reps - who, remember, had all been accredited by the World Bank and IMF - is likely to destroy most of the crucial civil society consultation programme.

Keep sending those emails to Gordon Brown to protest about the situation, and check back here regularly for updates. Use the 'Comments' link below if you have anything to say.

Drama in Singapore

2006-09-13T12:40:00.000+01:00

The month of action hasn't even begun, and already there's drama. Trisha and Caroline, JDC's crack lobbying team (and two of your bloggers-in-chief), are en route to Singapore, but it's not clear to us in London what the situation will be when they arrive. First the International People's Forum in Batam, Indonesia was cancelled, apparently following pressure from the Singapore authorities. Then, after what you could call 'a bit of a fuss', it was reinstated, although without the planned open air activities (which were to include a public concert).

Alongside that, it emerged that there is a blacklist of civil society representatives who are being denied entry to Singapore, despite being accredited by the World Bank and IMF - and JDC's own Co-Chair, Martin Powell from WDM (that's him in the picture), is on it. You can email Gordon Brown in protest.

Campaigners are saying that the Bank and Fund should have seen this coming - and shouldn't choose to hold their meetings in countries with poor records on freedom of speech and assembly. "Three years ago, we went through a similar ordeal when the World Bank chose to have its annual meetings in the Emirate of Dubai," said Sameer Dossani of the 50 Years Is Enough Network. "It seems that the only countries where the IMF and World Bank feel secure are those with no respect for human rights and civil liberties."

See the WDM site for more, plus I'm sure there'll be further updates here soon.

Getting started

2006-09-06T17:57:00.002+01:00

From mid-September to mid-October, debt activists and campaigners are going to be even busier than usual (although ‘usual’ is always busier than expected) and so we've created this space for people to share news, thoughts and comments on some of the activity going on around the world. For starters, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (an international network of about 70 national campaigns for economic justice and equality, lots of them under the banners ‘Make Poverty History’ or ‘Keep Your Promises’) has called a global ‘month of action’ against poverty from 14 September to 17 October – also known as ‘Stand Up Against Poverty’. It’s kicking off with a range of different activities in countries around the world, and culminating in a global world record attempt for the number of people standing up together in protest. From 17 to 20 September, the World Bank and IMF are having their annual meetings in Singapore – and though they don’t let us in to the real meetings (and possibly not even the press conferences - watch this space), there are meetings-around-the-meetings (and protests-around-the-meetings) where campaigners make their views heard. Meanwhile, Asian social movements – along with like-minded networks and campaigns from around the world – are showing their resistance to the official shenanigans with an International People’s Forum vs the World Bank and IMF nearby in Indonesia, from 15 to 17 September.

So. Soren (and sometimes Njoki) will be blogging from Kenya, Singapore and Indonesia. I'll be blogging from Singapore, Indonesia and London. David will be blogging from Newcastle in the UK, and wherever else his campaigning takes him. Jostein (and his colleagues at AFRODAD, if he can persuade them) will be blogging from various parts of Africa. And we are trying to bring a few more friends on board during the month. We hope you’ll come back and read what we have to say, and give us your comments.

East Anglia groups Google Map

2005-11-19T16:51:00.000Z

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