Blog the Debt

U.S Ecological Footprint Stomps On Poor Countries

The Guardian demonstrates the connection between the United States' abuse of the Global South's resources and the debt that we owe to those poor countries.  Learn more about Jubilee USA's involvment for climate justice at www.climateequitycampaign.org.  Here you will find that Jubilee along with others forms the CEC (Climate Equity Campaign) : a coalition of groups seeking immediate attention to the global warming crisis and its impacts on peoples around the world.

Rich countries owe poor a huge environmental debt

THE GUARDIAN

Monday January 21 2008

The environmental damage caused to developing nations by the world's richest countries amounts to more than the entire third world debt of $1.8 trillion,according to the first systematic global analysis of the ecological damage imposed by rich countries.

The study found that there are huge disparities in the ecological footprint inflicted by rich and poor countries on the rest of the world because of differences in consumption. The authors say that the west's high living standards are maintained in part through the huge unrecognised ecological debts it has built up with developing countries.

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Launch of 'Briefing Note': Jubilee USA Policy Reports

By Neil Watkins | Jubilee USA Network

I want to invite you to read the first in a series of six new issue briefing notes that Jubilee USA will be releasing in the coming weeks. These short pieces are designed to provide quality background information on some of the key policy issues that Jubilee is working on through its support for the Jubilee Act and its broader policy agenda.

The first briefing note, “Expanded Debt Cancellation: A Key Tool to Fight Global Poverty,” reviews the literature and makes the case for expanded debt cancellation beyond the current HIPC Initiative.  You can view a designed, PDF version of the new report at http://www.jubileeusa.org/resources/debt-resources/policy-papers.html. A 1-page excerpt is pasted after the jump.

Keep your eyes out for the next two Briefings in the coming week. The next piece, due out later this week is “Recent Development on IMF Gold Sales and Debt Cancellation,” which looks at recent proposals from the IMF to sell some of its gold and the implications for debt campaigners.  Immediately following that, look out for “Are IMF and World Bank Economic Policy Conditions Undermining the Impact of Debt Cancellation?” which contains the latest information on IMF and other economic policy conditions such as privatization that are limiting the benefits of debt cancellation. We are also working on briefing notes on the World Bank’s income as a source to finance debt cancellation and a note on the latest development on odious and illegitimate debts, and current efforts to audit debts in countries like Ecuador.

Keep your eyes out for the next in the series, and in the meantime I hope this first Note is helpful. Feedback is most appreciated!

Cheers, Neil

U.S. Propped Suharto Despite Abuses

Part 1 of Democracy Now!'s coverage on Suharto's Death

Ex-Indonesian dictator Mohammed Suharto died Sunday, January 27 leaving behind a legacy of corruption and human rights abuses in the country he once ruled with fear, intimidation and the promise of death to those who refused to adhere to what he wanted.

In documents released this week, it was revealed that the U.S. government helped to support Suharto's bloody regime until his last few months in office and at the urgency of financial institutions funded, in part, by the U.S. Says Brad Simpson of the National Security Archive to AFP:

"One thing that is clear from the tens of thousands of pages of which we had declassified concerning US ties with Suharto from 1966 to 1998 -- at no moment did U.S. presidents ever exercise their maximum leverage over his regime to press for human rights or democratization."

"I think it is indicative of the kinds of pressure U.S. could bring to bear when it decides that it is in our interest to do so, but this was done on behalf of international financial institutions, never on behalf of human rights activists and the pro-democracy movement in Indonesia."

READ FULL ARTICLE

Full Disclosure: Brad Simpson is the husband of our Advocacy and Organizing director Kristin Sundell.

Part Two: An excerpt from Amy Goodman and Allan Nairn's award-winning documentary on the Santa Cruz massacre, in which the Indonesian military gunned down more than 270 Timorese, and the history of Indonesian and US involvement in East Timor.

Part Three: Democracy Now! re-airs Allan Nairn's questioning of Richard Holbrooke (who is now a senior foreign policy adviser to Hillary Clinton) and Bill Clinton on how the Carter and Clinton administrations backed Suharto despite his brutal human rights record.

Part Four: Democracy Now! re-airs Allan Nairn's questioning of Richard Holbrooke (who is now a senior foreign policy adviser to Hillary Clinton) and Bill Clinton on how the Carter and Clinton administrations backed Suharto despite his brutal human rights record.

IMF Survey: Debt Relief Yields Results in Niger

New Report From the International Monetary Fund: Debt relief from multilateral and bilateral creditors is showing results in Africa. Lower debt service, budgetary aid, and higher domestic revenue mobilization is having an impact on spending in education, health, and the rural sectors.  READ THE FULL REPORT

Haiti's 'Albatross' of Debt Casts a Shadow on Poverty Reduction

An analysis of recent findings on Haiti's debt was published by the Monthly Review. Authored by by Joe Emersberger and Jeb Sprague, the report delves into the statistics and findings of more recent reports on Haiti and questions the viability of the debt relief program as it specifically applies to Haiti (HIPC).

Special thanks to Jeb Sprague over at PopDem and Brian Concannon Jr. at the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti for bringing this to our attention.

Despite being the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti lags behind many countries in the Americas in obtaining debt relief through a program run by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

If Haiti were to comply with the conditions of the HIPC program by September 2008, then about $1.2 billion of its $1.5 billion external foreign debt would be canceled.  The study explains why it is very unlikely that Haiti will meet the conditions of the program by that date.

As a result, Haiti will have to pay an additional $44.5 million in debt service payments in 2009 alone to multilateral institutions (mostly the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank).  "This is equivalent to about 26 percent of Haiti's spending on public health, where there are many vital unmet needs." noted the study.  The life expectancy of Haitians is an abysmal 53 years, with 76 percent living on less than $2 per day.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Join the Fray @ Better World's on/day/1

On Day One is a project of the Better World Fund, which works to build a stronger relationship between the United States and the United Nations. From their "About Us":

Over the next year, we want you to be part of a global conversation about how international cooperation can be harnessed to address the world's most critical challenges, and how working together is more effective than going it alone in the world.

We strongly believe that constructive engagement with the United Nations -- the world's platform for international dialogue -- is essential for solving global problems, and for enhancing America's reputation in the world. Whether you live in Nigeria or Nebraska, we invite you to share your ideas for creating a better world...On Day One.

Jubilee USA Network was asked to join in the discussion. So, now we're asking you to log on to On Day One and weigh in on what you'd like the next U.S. president and his or her administration to tackle when they first arrive at the White House.

Measure Up Campaign Launches!

Although the Measure Up! Campaign officially launched a few weeks ago, we've been so busy that the blog has taken a back seat. Well, no longer. We're back posting education and advocacy information.

Some great things have been happening here at Jubilee USA! We can't tell you all of them, but we have some new education and policy materials coming that will hopefully allow you to become more engaged and answer some of the frequent questions about debt.

So, to start, this week marked the national observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day -- although his actual birthday was last week (January 15).

IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA

ITVS Community Cinema-DC Present Iron Ladies of Liberia
A film by Daniel Junge, Siatta Scott-Johnson, Henry Ansbacher and Jonathan Stack.

She’s already overcome tremendous obstacles to become the first woman ever elected president in Africa—now all she has to do is turn around Liberia -- a country devastated by unemployment, debt, corruption, and the legacy of civil war.

Follow Ellen Johnson Sirleaf through her first year in office as she faces angry mobs, ambitious poll rivals, and high-ranking members of the international community. Her story is inspiring a new generation of leaders in Africa and around the world.

Wednesday, February 13, 6 PM
Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC
co-presented with WHUT
Admission is free. RSVP ironladies@communitycinema-dc.org or call 202-939-0794

Guest Speakers
Felicia Sullivan, Interim Country Director, Phelps Stokes Fund
Roxanne Lawson, Africa Policy Department, TransAfrica Forum
Vera Oye'Yaa-Anna, [Liberian] Storyteller and Performance Artist.
Other speakers TBA

Sunday, February 17, 4 PM
Busboys and Poets, 4251 S. Campbell Ave., Arlington, VA
co-presented with WETA TV 26
RSVP itvscafe@communitycinema-dc.org or call 202-939-0794

Guest Speakers
Leon Collins, Director of Education and Leadership Programs, Phelps Stokes Fund
Vera Oye'Yaa-Anna, [Liberian] Storyteller and Performance Artist.
Other speakers TBA

FOR MORE INFO
Broadcast premiere Tuesday, March 25, 2008 on PBS: (Check broadcast listings)
www.pbs.org/independentlens/ironladies

JUBILEE DEBT CAMPAIGN NEWS & ACTION UPDATE

This May it will be ten years since 70,000 people formed a human chain around the G8 in Birmingham and demanded that rich countries drop the debt. We'll be marking this anniversary with two major campaigning events, to celebrate what we have achieved, and keep the pressure on politicians to finish the job - see below for details.

We hope you'll put these events in your diaries now, and get involved as the year progresses. We need your help to get politicians moving on the unfinished business of the debt campaign.

With best wishes,
Jubilee Debt Campaign

EURODAD: The IMF neglects its own conditionality policies

The Independent Evaluation Office of the International Monetary Fund has just published its long awaited “Evaluation of Structural Conditionality in IMF-Supported Programs”. 

The evaluation, which was first announced at the beginning of 2005, candidly presents the lack of progress in implementing the 2002 IMF Conditionality Guidelines, as well as the streamlining initiative launched in the year 2000.

“There is no evidence of a reduction in the number of structural conditions following the introduction of the streamlining initiative”, the evaluation says. In addition, this initiative “did not lead to better explanations of why conditions were critical, nor of how these would contribute to program objectives.”

Unfortunately, the IMF responses to the evaluation show only limited willingness to accept criticism and step up efforts to change their use of conditionality. This perception is further strengthened by the evaluation’s conclusion that the lack of progress in reducing the number of conditions proved not to be of “great concern to the Board or to the management.”