Jubilee Debt Campaign
National Multifaith Spring Conference, 7th March
Global Poverty Seeking Justice
Link to details of agenda and basic information.
Link to photos of the event
Jubilee Debt Campaign National
Multifaith Spring Conference
7 March 2010
GLOBAL POVERTY SEEKING JUSTICE
| 1.00 |
Exhibition opens
Bread and Water will be served
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| 1.20 |
Welcome - Balvir Kaur Dhillon - Conference Chair
Introduction - Adam Harper - Faith Officer, West Midlands Fire Service |
| 1.30 |
Jubilee Debt Campaign: faith on film |
| 1.50 |
Keynote speakers: Rev. Dr. Joel Edwards and Mr Jehangir Malik
Joel Edwards is the International Director of Micah Challenge, a global movement encouraging Christians to a deeper commitment to the poor, and to speak out to national leaders to act with justice. He was appointed a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2008. Born in Jamaica, he has lived in England since he was eight. He was a probation officer with the Inner London probation service from 1975 to 1988, and has been a member of the Prison Service Race Steering Group. He was General Director of the Evangelical Alliance from 1997 to 2009 and is an Honorary Canon of St Paul's Cathedral, London. He is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day. He was presented with the Prime Minister's Medal of Appreciation for Services to Jamaica in 2003.
Jehangir Malik is originally from Birmingham; his parents came to the UK from Azad Jammu Kashmir in the 1960's. While a law student he was President of the Islamic Society at university and an active member of Young Muslims UK. He was introduced to Islamic Relief through the founder Dr Hany el Banna, and has worked with Islamic Relief in Birmingham, Bradford and the USA. In 2002 he moved to Afghanistan as a Deputy Country Director, managing one of the largest humanitarian aid programmes for Islamic Relief Worldwide. He then returned to the UK and is currently the UK Director of Islamic Relief UK, based in London.
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| 2.30 |
Multi-Faith Workshops |
| 3.30 |
Refreshments, networking and exhibition |
| 4.00 |
Using the Parliamentary Processes
Sharon Stanley, Westminster Parliamentary Outreach Officer |
| 4.15 |
Nick Dearden, Jubilee Debt Campaign Director |
| 4.30 |
Question Time |
| 5.00 |
Close |
Jubilee Debt Campaign
National Multifaith Spring Conference
FAITH GROUPS SCRIPTURES AND PRAYERS
We cannot be fully human unless we care about the dignity of every human being
Christians say: do to others what you would have them do to you.
Jews say: what is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man.
Buddhists say: hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.
Muslims say: no one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he
desires for himself.
Sikhs say: treat others as you would be treated yourself.
Hindus say:
REFLECTIONS FROM THE BAHA'I FAITH
The issue of social justice is central to the Baha'i teachings, teachings which revolve around two major themes: unity and justice. The learning of the Baha'i community worldwide is that the kind of transformation of society that will result in sustainable social justice (including the removal of the gross extremes of wealth and poverty that currently exist) depends on the growth of a new spiritual understanding that all human beings are part of one family. (NSA Bah'is UK)
BUDDIST THOUGHTS
A householder owes no debt, large or small to anyone, and when he thinks of this he gains happiness and satisfaction. (Anguttara Nikayal 1: 68)
Wealth is neither Good nor Bad, just as life within the world with its sensual joys is neither good nor bad. It depends on the way the wealth is obtained and what is done with it, and in what spirit it is given away. People may acquire wealth unlawfully and spend it selfishly. Either case will not make one truly happy. Instead one can acquire wealth by lawful means without harming others. One can be cheerful and use the wealth without greed or lust. One can be heedful of the dangers of the attachment to wealth and share the wealth with others. To perform good deeds, with liberation from craving and desire, that is the goal. In this way, the wealth brings joy and happiness. One holds wealth not for oneself but for all beings. (Anguttara Nikaya)
THE TORAH
"On the Great Day of Forgiveness sound the trumpet throughout your land... proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you..." Leviticus 25: 9-10
ISLAMIC HOLY TEXTS AND TRADITIONS
In responding to the local and global situation, a Muslim is exhorted towards charitable behaviour to his or her neighbour, irrespective of that neighbour's colour, creed or clan. "He who sleeps on a full stomach whilst his neighbour goes hungry is not one of us."
The response of a Muslim to the taking or giving of loans is governed by the Islamic prohibition on the taking or paying out of usury or Interest (Arabic = "riba'). As poor individuals and nations are trapped into borrowing their way out of poverty, the burden of debt can become swollen by interest, resulting in the widening of the gulf between rich and poor.
"Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity" (Qur'an 2: 276).
In contrast, Islam requires the borrower and the lender to share equally the risk of success or failure, and so loans are organised on a profit-share basis. This is crucial in encouraging responsible lending by creditors.
"If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time till it is easy for him to repay. But if ye remit it by way of charity, that is best for you if ye only knew." (Qur'an 2: 280)
In essence, Islam seeks to encourage people to reflect upon their individual and global responsibilities, as caring neighbours, in the hope that ethical behaviour will result in ethical political and economic systems.
A PRAYER FROM THE HEBREW TRADITION
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Pray as if everything depended on God;
Act as if everything depended on you.
Who rise from prayer better persons, their prayer is answered.
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We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end war; |
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for we know that You have made the world so that all of us must find our own path to peace within ourselves and with our neighbours. |
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We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to end starvation; |
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for You have already given us the resources with which to feed the entire world, if we would only use them wisely. |
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We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to root our prejudice; |
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for You have already given us eyes with which to see the good in all people, if we would only use them rightly. |
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We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end despair; |
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for you have already given us the power to clear away slums and to live hope, if only we would use our power justly. |
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We cannot merely pray to You, O God, to end disease; |
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for You have already given us great minds with which to search out cures and healings, if we would only use them constructively. |
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Therefore, we pray to You instead, O God, |
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for strength, determination, and willpower - to do as well as to pray, to become as well as to wish. |
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For Your sake and for ours, speedily and soon, that our world may be safe, and our lives may be blessed, |
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Praised are You, 0 God; You bless all humankind, with peace.
(Rabbi Jack Riemer)
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A MULTIFAITH PRAYER
Great God, you have all the people of the world in your care.
We are ashamed that we have let the good things in life become so unfairly divided.
Give us courage, strength and energy to redress the balance.
Help us to work towards the cancelling of unjust debts.
Help us to persevere in working for justice even when the road is long.
And when justice is achieved, may the resulting funds,
no longer pouring from the poor world to the rich,
be put to such good use that peoples' lives are transformed.
Multifaith Prayer | With kind permission of Elizabeth Leicester www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk This material may be freely copied or used in other documents, as long as the source is credited.
A FRANCISCAN BENEDICTION
May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
May God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.
THE DEBT CRISIS THE BASICS
1. WHY SHOULD WE DROP THE DEBT?
Debts should be cancelled because they are unjust in terms of their origin, and also because they worsen poverty.
We are not trying to cancel all debt - we are calling for an end to unjust, or 'illegitimate', debt, which should not be paid either because payment is an intolerable burden on poor countries, or because the supposed 'debt' itself is simply unfair. This includes:
- Debts that a country can't afford to repay without meeting its people's basic needs. For instance, in 2005/06, Kenya's budget for debt payments was as much as for water, health, agriculture, roads, transport and finance combined. A recent study suggested that 107 countries need debt cancellation to enable them to meet their people's basic needs without taxing those below an 'ethical poverty line' of $3 a day for their people.
- Debts on loans that the lender knowingly gave to dictators or oppressive regimes. For instance, the current South African government, since it came to power, has been paying off a debt of $22 billion lent to the apartheid regime, money that helped to support it.
- Debts on loans that the lender knew was going to be stolen through corruption. For instance, the World Bank continued lending to former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), even after the IMF representative said he was stealing the money and that there was "no prospect" of getting it back.
- Debts in payment for projects that failed because of bad advice or incompetence by the lenders. For instance, the Bataan nuclear power plant in the Philippines was built on an earthquake fault-line at the foot of a volcano and has never been used - but the Philippines still had to repay the US over $1.5 billion for the plant, making it the country's biggest single debt obligation. The company that built it got paid.
- Debt on unfair terms, such as very high interest rates. Poor countries' debts have to be repaid in foreign currency, usually dollars, so they are vulnerable to changes in interest rates on the world markets. The terms of a loan can make it horrendously expensive for a country to repay, and it can end up paying the debt back many times over, and still owing more than they originally borrowed.
- Debts contracted illegally, where proper processes weren't gone through. For instance, the military dictatorship in Argentina contracted many loans that it used to prop up its oppressive regime, without getting the congressional approval required by the constitution.
Rich world governments must accept that much debt is a result of their reckless, negligent or self-interested lending. They lent in order to buy support in the Cold War, or to secure contracts for their companies - they should not now demand this money back from the poor.
2. HOW BIG IS THE DEBT OT POOR COUNTRIES?
The poorest 48 countries have debts totalling US $222 billion, whilst for the poorest 128 countries, it is over US $3.4 trillion.
The total external debt of the very poorest countries (the 'low income countries' with an annual average income of less than $935 per person) was $222 billion in 2007. During 2007, these countries paid over $12.4 billion to the rich world in debt service (payments of interest and principal) - that is $34 million a day. For all 'developing' countries, total external debt in 2007 was $3.4 trillion, and over the course of that year they paid $540 billion servicing these debts.
These are the latest figures available - there has been some debt cancellation in 2008 and
2009, but there also have been new debts taken on, particularly in response to the global financial crisis. If anything, the latest figures are likely to be higher than this.
3. WHERE DID THE DEBT COME FROM?
Much of the debt of poor countries is left over from the 1970s - and often arose through reckless or self-interested lending by the rich world.
In the 1960s and 1970s, poor countries were lent large amounts of money. Many banks in rich countries had had huge sums of money (made from rising oil prices) deposited with them:
they had to make money on this by lending it, and rushed to lend to poor countries. Meanwhile, many rich country governments were keen to support countries that they saw as potential allies in the cold war - so they lent them money regardless of whether that country was being ruled by a corrupt or oppressive regime.
So governments and banks in northern industrialised countries were giving large loans - some for useful purposes, but many simply propped up dictators or went to projects that failed because of corruption or poor lender advice.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the oil crisis meant that interest rates shot up and the debts grew. From the 1980s to now, the prices of many commodities produced by poorer countries (such as coffee, cotton or cocoa) have fallen, sometimes dramatically - often because of advice from rich countries. Poor countries thus have less hard currency to service their debts, and the knock-on impact on exchange rates meant that poor country debts (often counted in foreign currency like US dollars) ballooned still further in real terms for the country. The result was that many countries ended up owing huge amounts, even after repaying far more than they - or their former regimes - had previously borrowed.
4. HASN'T ALL THE DEBT BEEN CANCELLED?
No! Thanks to campaigners, debt cancellation has become a reality - but the debt crisis is still with us.
This includes 'illegitimate' debts such as those on loans knowingly given to dictators or for useless or harmful projects. But there has been substantial cancellation. The major debt cancellation schemes have written off $88 billion in debt so far. These schemes are:
The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative
This is the major international debt relief scheme for the poorest countries. It has led to significant debt relief, but it is run by creditors, open to too few countries, doesn't properly assess the need or justification for debt cancellation, and offers too little, too slowly, with harmful conditions attached. HIPC cancels debt to a level considered 'sustainable' - based on countries' export earnings, but not taking into account the other demands on their finances, nor whether the debts themselves are legitimate. More than $49 billion has so far been cancelled for 28 countries through HIPC since it was launched in 1996. Another seven are currently going through the scheme, and a further five could be eligible.
The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI)
MDRI came out of the G8 summit in Gleneagles in 2005 after massive campaigner pressure through MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. It is only open to countries that have been through HIPC and met all its conditions. MDRI means cancellation of more World Bank, IMF, African Development Fund, and Inter-American Development Bank debts than was originally agreed through HIPC. By early 2010, 28 countries had had around $45 billion cancelled under the MDRI.
The Paris Club
This 'club' of rich governments owed money by poorer countries negotiates with those that are having difficulties paying debts. It deals only with debt owed directly to those governments. It is notoriously opaque, there are no clear rules, and the creditors dominate the conversation. Often the Paris Club just agrees to 'reschedule' debts - that is, to let poor countries pay them off over a longer period - although since 1994, it has also cancelled debts. Countries that go through HIPC get their debts cancelled by the Paris Club. In 2005, it agreed to cancel $18 billion of Nigeria's debt - although Nigeria had to pay the remaining $12 billion upfront.
Thanks to campaigner pressure, debt cancellation is taken seriously by governments and debts have been cancelled. But we are nowhere near a full and just resolution of the debt crisis. Debt cancellation should include all illegitimate - including unpayable - debt.
5 HASN'T THE UK CANCELLED ALL ITS DEBTS?
No! The UK has cancelled many debts, and been actively calling for more cancellation for the poorest - but it still holds billions in debts from other poor countries.
The UK cancels all debts from countries that finish the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) scheme - this covers 20 countries so far, and could eventually cover up to another 20. Additionally, the UK has cancelled all 'aid debts': that is, resulting from old aid money that was given in the form of loans to the poorest countries. This basically means they stopped asking the poorest countries to repay their aid! It also cancels debts for some Commonwealth countries that don't qualify as among the 'poorest' countries - in practice, this mostly means countries in the Caribbean.
As well as cancelling debts, the UK offers some 'debt relief', which means reducing or temporarily suspending debt payments from some countries. Any debt service paid to the UK by countries that are eligible for HIPC but haven't yet finished the scheme, is put into a separate trust and returned when they complete HIPC. Also, the UK is offering to pay its 'share' (judged as 10%) of the debt payments that up to 27 poor countries outside HIPC are making to the World Bank and some other multilateral lenders. In practice, this only covers six countries at the moment: Armenia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
However, the UK still holds more than £2 billion of debt from other poor countries which are NOT eligible for HIPC. This includes countries like Angola, Kenya, Pakistan, Peru and Ecuador, which desperately need to invest in basic services for their people, but which are still making debt payments to the UK. All this debt must be cancelled.
6. WHAT DO COUNTRIES HAVE TO DO TO GET CANCELLATION?
There are lots of harmful, undemocratic and irrelevant conditions attached to debt cancellation - we want these strings to be cut.
Poor countries are told by the IMF and World Bank that, for instance, they have to cut back public spending or privatise basic industries in order to get debt relief. The conditions are totally undemocratic: they take vital decisions away from government, parliament and people, and instead impose plans decided by unaccountable external bodies. These have also often proved extremely damaging to poor countries - particularly the poorest people in them. They also mean that much-needed debt relief is delayed for many years while countries struggle to meet the targets set by creditors. Our partners in indebted countries only want conditions for debt cancellation to relate to guaranteeing accountable and transparent use of funds. Jubilee Debt Campaign is calling for an end to all other conditions: our Cut the Strings campaign.
7. WHERE DO DEBT PAYEMENTS GO?
Poor countries are paying debts to the World Bank, the IMF, other international bodies, to rich country governments and to companies.
Multilateral debt
Most poorest country debt is owed to 'multilateral' institutions, owned and managed by the rich countries, such as the World Bank, to the IMF and to regional development banks like the African Development Bank or the Inter-American Development Bank. The IMF doesn't hold the biggest share of the debt, but the other creditors look to the IMF to decide whether they
should agree to debt cancellation, or to give new aid grants or loans.
Bilateral debt
This is the name given to debts held by one other government. There are two types. 'Aid debt' is aid money given in the form of loans. But most bilateral debt is 'export credit debt', owed for projects or goods supplied by companies in the creditor country, which were guaranteed by the creditor government. For instance, the UK government might guarantee the building of a power plant in Ethiopia by a UK company. If Ethiopia has difficulty paying the debt, the British government pays out its guarantee to the company, and the debt becomes a debt of Ethiopia to the UK. Much UK export credit debt relates to sales of weapons. Many export credit deals are mired in corruption: governments tend to be more concerned with securing contracts for their own companies than whether the project is viable or desirable for the country concerned.
Commercial or private debt
This is debt owed to private companies, banks or individuals. During the 1980s and 1990s, the poorest countries were given new loans by the World Bank and by rich governments in order to pay off commercial creditors: effectively, this turned commercial debt into multilateral or bilateral debt. Other poor countries still have huge amounts of private debt.
Domestic debt
This is the debt that countries owe to companies, banks or individuals in their own country. It is not counted in their 'total external debt', and not taken into consideration when deciding if a country needs debt relief. But it can be a problem: countries like Nicaragua and Kenya have huge domestic debts. Much of these were run up as the countries borrowed in order to pay off external debtors. Now their debt is judged 'sustainable' but really it has just been transferred.
8. DOESN'T CORRUPTION MAKE DEBT CANCELLATION POINTLESS?
No. Corruption is a big problem in some places - but funds from debt cancellation do make a difference.
A number of poor countries have - or have had - problems with corruption. However, repeated studies have shown that money from debt cancellation does go where it is needed. One study of 10 African countries found a 40% increase in education spending and a 70% increase in health spending after just four years of debt relief. A study by IMF economists in 2006 confirmed that debt relief has a 'significant' impact in terms of increasing social spending.
Dealing with corruption also means redressing past corruption: it must be recognised that countries should not repay unjust or 'illegitimate' debts, which include those on loans that the rich world gave to corrupt leaders, knowing that they would steal the money. This was the case in, for instance, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) and Sierra Leone, where rich world loans helped to prop up corrupt and oppressive regimes - and where creditors subsequently demanded repayment from the people who suffered under those regimes.
Governance is improving in many countries; these efforts must be supported. But continued demand for debt payment weakens government structures and can worsen corruption. Campaigners in indebted countries demand mechanisms to ensure that the proceeds of debt cancellation are not misused through corruption. These should include creditor and debtor governments openly publishing all information about loans and debt cancellation.
9. HOW DO WE PREVENT FUTURE DEBT CRISES?
We need economic justice - covering debt, trade, aid, tax, etc - and responsible financing in the future.
There must be international action to ensure that we never repeat the debt crisis. After the 'clean slate' of cancellation of unjust ('illegitimate') and unpayable debts, this will mean firstly that there must be just trade rules, a just tax system, and sufficient, high-quality aid - with a bias towards grants not loans - so that countries are not forced back into indebtedness. Future loans should be given responsibly, on fair terms, and in a transparent way open to scrutiny by parliaments, media and citizens. Any loans given on unjust terms should be considered the responsibility of the creditor and therefore eligible for future cancellation.
10. WHAT CAN I DO?
Plenty! Campaigning does make a difference.
Campaigning over the last decade has taken debt cancellation from being routinely dismissed by governments to a reality that is benefiting millions in poor countries. The power of public pressure - and public scrutiny - is immense. Every letter or email you send, every event you attend, every conversation you have about the debt crisis, makes a difference.
You can start by taking action: our latest actions are on our Act Now! page on the website.
Jubilee Debt Campaign
National Multifaith Spring Conference
BRIEFING PAPER
Vulture funds are private companies that try to scavenge profit from the debts of some of the world's poorest countries.
Vulture funds seek to profiteer by buying up the debts of heavily indebted poor countries at a cheap price, then trying to recover the full amount, often by suing through the courts.
At least 54 companies, many based in tax havens, are known to have taken legal action against 12 of the world's poorest countries in recent years, for claims amounting to $1.5 billion.
 This means money released by debt relief is going into the pockets of wealthy investors, not spent on health and education.
Jubilee Debt Campaign has been campaigning for a new law to prevent UK courts being used to extract money unjustly from the world's poorest countries. Andrew Gwynne MP has proposed a Private Member's Bill that would apply to existing debts of the 40 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) which are eligible for relief under the internationally-agreed HIPC Initiative and prevent creditors holding these debts from recovering in excess of the rate of relief expected from all creditors under the Initiative; it would also provide an incentive for debtors to co-operate in settling these debts on terms consistent with the Initiative.
Thanks to the amazing efforts of campaigners this Vulture Funds bill passed its second reading in Parliament on 26 February. All the political parties supported the bill, and no one blocked it. But the Conservative Party did insist that the Bill went to a Committee stage, which means that it may not become law before the general election, and the whole process would need to start again.
So what now? We're going to continue to push strongly for the law to pass before the election, but we also need to press both main parties to commit to a law against vulture funds in the next parliament if this is unsuccessful.
The bill will go to Committee stage next Tuesday, 9 March. It should then get its Third Reading next Friday and then go to the House of Lords.There has been an incredible response to our End the Vulture Culture campaign. From Glastonbury to US Congress see how the word has spread.
1 Dec 2008 - Vulture Act introduced into US Congress
Representative Maxine Waters introduces the Stop VULTURE Funds Act, a bill into Congress that would prevent vulture funds from making excessive profit at the expense of poor countries.
6 May 2009 - Vulture Funds UK Action
Sally Keeble MP leads a group of 12 cross-party MPs proposing legislation in Parliament to stop vulture funds profiteering from poor country debt.
June 2009 - Glastonbury
Festival goers give a massive boost to the Vulture Culture Campaign.
21 July 2009 - Vultures law proposed
The UK Government announces a consultation on a new law that would prevent lenders from profiting from the debts of developing countries
September 2009 - Responding to your MP
Thousands of people have written to their MPs about vultures funds, and over 180 MPs have signed EDM 1440. JDC publishes a set of case studies looking at current vulture fund claims being made against Nicaragua, Honduras, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan and Cameroon.
26 November 2009 - Vultures Swoop on Liberia in London
Two vulture funds are awarded $20 million from Liberia in the High Court in London, for a debt dating back to the 1970s.
1 December 2009 - Andrew Gwynne MP sponsors vultures bill
Labour MP Andrew Gwynne agrees to sponsor a bill targeting Vulture Funds.
23 February 2010 - Government Supports Vulture Legislation
The British government says it supports legislation against Vulture funds', including a retroactive element - it will apply to awards which have already been made but not enforced, such as Liberia's award of $20 million made against it last November. This is incorporated into Andrew Gwynne's Private Member's Bill.
23 February 2010 - Financial Sector Lobbies Against Bill
The consultation responses to the Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill include high levels of support from charities and development agencies highlighting the immorality and counter- productivity of vulture funds in the attempt for debt reductions in some of the poorest countries in the world. However it also predictably saw a lot of opposition from those with a vested interest in countering challenges to the current lack of accountability in the financial sector.
24 February 2010 - Cake Sale at Vulture Law Firm
Campaigners hold a 'cake sale' outside the office of City law firm Dechert, who represented the vulture funds in the court case against Liberia last November, arguing that if Dechert was so hard up it had to take business based on such unethical activities, they really need some help in living up to their supposedly 'socially responsible' image. Today Dechert organised a conference in New York, focussing on the importance of'global ethics' in business.
The Financial Times examines an ongoing vulture fund case against the Democratic Republic of Congo. In essence, FG Hemisphere is trying to take a cut of Chinese investment going into DRC. This is a good example of why vultures are so bad for developing countries - not only do they directly take money out of the country, but they prevent other countries and companies investing in these very poor countries. Ann Pettifor blogs, explaining why this shows the need for a structural solution to international debt in which all 'blame' for debt does not fall onto the debtor.
25 February 2010 - president of Liberia Supports Vulture Bill
Greg Palast in the Guardian reports that the President of Liberia supports the vulture bill. He also reports that a senior investment manager is critical of the appalling action which two vulture funds took against Liberia last November. JDC has a new video on the website explaining what vulture funds are and why they're a problem.
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