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That was the week that was
"It is striking how much of my postbag remains focused on the issue of debt relief and how widely this issue still chimes with the general public," said Douglas Alexander, the International Development Minister, this week - and he wasn't wrong.
Campaigners new and old have just finished taking part in a global week of action on debt, reminding politicians, the media and the public that despite progress in recent years, the daily injustice of poor country debt is far from resolved.
THANK YOU!
A big thank you if you were one of them - actions took place in more than 60 countries around the world, and reports are still coming in. Activities in the UK ranged from sermons at Sunday services to public meetings, film screenings, Stand Up and Speak Out events, and vigils, as well as MP lobby meetings.
If you haven't already, do let us know what you got up to. And in the meantime, read our report on some of the main events during the week: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/debtweekreport
CAMPAIGNERS TAKE ACTION...
Before flying to Washington for the World Bank and IMF annual meetings last weekend Douglas Alexander promised he would argue against forcing poor countries to privatise and liberalise basic
services. His words came after he had received thousands of messages from Jubilee Debt Campaign, ActionAid, Christian Aid and Oxfam campaigners in the weeks before the meetings.
The WORLD vs BANK tribunal in the Netherlands last Monday heard direct testimony on the effects these conditions are having on poor people's lives. But while UK officials echoed Alexander's concerns at the annual meetings, real progress was thin on the ground.
...THE WORLD BANK AND IMF DON'T
Perhaps most indicative of the stalemate in Washington was the continued failure to resolve Liberia's arrears clearance, which donor countries have been discussing for more than eighteen months. And with the World Bank's paper on odious debt, commissioned by the Norwegian
government, completely failing to engage with the need to cancel unjust, illegitimate debts, it's clear that there's still much work to be done.
Read a full report on what happened at the meetings: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/dc2007
KEEP UP THE PRESSURE
If you didn't manage to take action during debt week, there's still time to make amends: all our latest campaign actions can be found at: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/act
CHRISTMAS CARDS
Don't forget you can now support Jubilee Debt Campaign through your Christmas or Seasonal greetings cards. Go to http://www.studio51.com and select Jubilee Debt Campaign as your charity - an impressive 51% of the price you pay will support our work, compared to the 10% or less on many charity Christmas card schemes.
GET MORE INVOLVED:
- Browse and order campaign materials: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/materials
- Become a Debt Activist: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/newsletter
- Registered your group, school or congregation: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/signup
- Join Jubilee Debt Campaign on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2219421440
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 | | Vulture Funds | | This morning (26/11/09), the Republic of Liberia was taken to the High Court in London by two Vulture Funds seeking to make large profits on a debt dating back to the 1970s.
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 | | Put People First: G20 Counter Conference | | In March, we marched in our tens of thousands to demand the G20 Put People First. But so far the G20 has only tinkered round the margins of the global economy, in an effort to return to business as usual.
On 7 November, as the G20 returns to the UK ..
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 | | The other credit crunch | | Could there be a more timely week for it to be Global Debt Week? As the global financial turbulence continues, campaigners around the world are mobilising for a week of action against reckless lending, which has affected developing countries ...
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| A Fairer Way of Dealing with Debt | | Almost daily we are seeing what rich countries can do when faced with a debt crisis. Hundreds of billions of pounds have been made available in recent weeks to bail out western banks whose reckless lending has been found out.
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| Jubilee Debt Campaign - July Update | | New Loans are not the Answer, Over 10,000 chains delivered to UK government, Pick up the Pace: UK responds to campaign, $347m of Togo's debt cancelled, Forget Jay Z - Glasto was all about the Debt, Contact details.
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| Time to drop Suharto's arms debt | | When Indonesia's former dictator General Suharto died last week, one
injustice he didn't take to his grave was his debts. Nearly ten years
after his removal from power, Indonesia is still paying back billions
of dollars to the rich world.
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| Take urgent action for Liberia | | Request for people to write or email Alistair Darling to use his influence to break the deadlock among the IMF shareholders who have been discussing the issue for more than 18 months.
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| That was the week that was | | Campaigners new and old have just finished taking part in a global week of action on debt, reminding politicians, the media and the public that despite progress in recent years, the daily injustice of poor country debt is far from resolved.
More ...
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| JUBILEE DEBT CAMPAIGN ACTION ALERT | | Last year your campaigning helped get Hilary Benn to take a stand at the World Bank. He withheld £50 million in protest over the conditions attached to aid and debt relief, which made the Bank sit up and take notice. We need to do it again.
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| JDC Updates | | Opportunity to lobby the UK government to put its money where its mouth is with regard to damaging conditions enforced by the World Bank when making loans.
Also the opportunity to lobby Donegal International and the "Vulture" funds and Zambian debt.
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