15 Years Later: The Jubilee Movement

By Mac Krzyzewski 

In his most recent  “Poverty Matters” blog post for The Guardian, Jonathan Glennie writes about the “extraordinary successes” of the Jubilee Movement since its creation in 1996. The movement’s popularity stems from successful protests in the late 1990’s, including one in Cologne, Germany where a 24 million signature petition was handed to the G8. 

“There are many reasons why the Jubilee movement is so special for so many of us. First, it worked. For many years the economists of the World Bank and the British treasury had told us that debt simply could not be cancelled. It was a moral hazard. There were rules. But they hadn't reckoned on the moral power of the human chain around the Birmingham G8 in 1998, chanting for debt cancellation – famously audible to the negotiators in their conference rooms. When debt cancellation finally became a reality for some countries, it led to increased spending on health and education, saving and improving millions of lives.”

He also notes that beyond the economic successes of the Jubilee movement, there have been political and social gains. Debt relief and cancellation, coupled with changes to loaning practices, have allowed developing countries to regain some autonomy from donors. Additionally, the Jubilee movement showed governments that the Western public could understand a seemingly complex financial issue like debt relief. 

Our work is not over though, 

“There is still a lot more to do, which is why the UK's Jubilee Debt Campaign is still campaigning, along with the Jubilee USA Network and a host of other affiliated movements. As a consequence of its work against vulture funds, whereby private companies buy up developing country debt and force them to repay it, a bill has recently been passed in Britain to make this pernicious practice obsolete.”

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