French Ministry for the Economy and Finance, where the Paris Club periodically meets
By: Rickard Ekstedt
On January 25, the Paris Club announced the cancellation of
nearly $6 billion of Myanmar’s
debt,[i],[ii] which amounts to over 60% of the total debt Myanmar owes to
this group of western countries.[iii]
Of the total amount, more than $3 billion will be cancelled by Japan alone.
Officials from the Japanese government met in October with officials from the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Tokyo, Japan
to discuss these debt relief efforts.[iv]
Besides Japan, another
notable country is Norway,
whose government has agreed to cancel all of Myanmar’s $534 million debt owed to
them.[v]
Stephen Groff, vice president of ADB, hailed this as a “tipping point”[vi]
for the country economically, and Myanmar
Finance Minister Win Shein promised that the “resources freed up by the debt
relief would be used for development projects and poverty reduction.”[vii]
On January 16, 2013, Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Assistant
Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, visited the Woodrow Wilson
International Center
for Scholars to speak on the foreign policy of the United States as it relates to the
African continent. In his address, Ambassador Carson spoke about the progress
that the United States and Africa have made together over the past four years. He addressed Africa
unlocking the continent’s potential while also looking at the challenges ahead.
The Ambassador opened his address by saying he is very optimistic about the
future of Africa. Ambassador Carson states that Africa is undoubtedly
improving both economically, culturally and politically; but Africa
still faces many problems ahead.[i]
After his speech, I had the privilege of talking to
Ambassador Carson. We spoke on how Americans and people around the world need
to take action in order to help countries including those in Africa
that are experiencing enormous foreign debt.
"When spider webs
unite, they can entangle a lion."- Ethiopian Proverb
By Gianna Rendano and Kerri Peters
When
people of faith join together
for a common purpose - a holy purpose that is rooted in every faith tradition –
it can turn the tides of economic injustice, challenge harmful and destructive
polices and advance a prophetic vision of fairness, equality and hope for the
world's poorest. To be a Jubilee
Congregation is to transform religious beliefs and traditions into action
to give hope to the world’s most vulnerable.
British-made Alvis Stormer vehicle, supplied to then Indonesian dictator General Suharto in the mid-1990s.
By: Amber Przybysz
In November, the United Kingdom
government for the first time published information detailing where debts owed
to the UK
come from, calculating how much different sectors contribute to the debts that continue
to burden low-income countries.[i]
The report uncovers that the UK
has lent nearly £1 billion to
countries including Indonesia,
Egypt and Iraq to pay for
weapons, some of which have been allegedly used against civilians.[ii]
This is a special blog from our partners at Global Financial Integrity. It was originally written in December 2012, and since then there has been significant public debate on illicit financial flows and policy solutions.
flickr / photosmith2011
In our newest
report, Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries 2001-2010, we
look at illicit financial flows–the proceeds of crime, corruption, and tax
evasion–leaving the developing world. Illicit financial flows are a type of
capital flight, and have been a persistent plague on the developing world for
some time now. Our new report will be released on Tuesday morning. But for
today, I want to focus more narrowly on Zambia, one of the poorest nations
on earth and one of the clearest examples of the damage caused by both illicit
and licit capital flight.
Our research
finds that $8.8 billion left Zambia
in illicit financial flows between 2001 and 2010. Of that, $4.9 billion can be
attributed to trade misinvoicing, which is a type of trade fraud used by commercial importers
and exporters around the world.
Another battle against vulture funds was won this week when
the Argentine naval vessel, the Libertad Frigate, arrived home to the Navy base
in Mar del Plata City.[i]
This comes after the vessel was detained
in Ghana for over two months by a court order won by vulture fund NLM
Capital. The vessel began the long journey home in December when a panel of
four judges at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea unanimously
ruled that Ghana
must release the ship.[ii] In
the ruling, the tribunal declared that a war ship is immune from seizure.[iii]
Argentina President Kirchner is not taking any chances, though, as it is
rumored that she has rented a British plane for her upcoming trip to Asia
instead of using the official Tango 01 plane in hopes of avoiding another
court-ordered seizure of government property.[iv]
The tragic,
horrifying events in Connecticut last month serve as a heartbreaking reminder
of the value of human life. They have
also provoked a national conversation around a host of issues related to the
shooting, from gun control to mental illness.
At the heart of this conversation is the question of what we – as
people, as institutions, as a society – can do to prevent similar tragedies in
the future. It is a powerful question
without easy answers and by asking it we recognize our collective
responsibility to each other as human beings.
The story of the Chixoy Dam in Guatemala is a reminder of what happens
when that responsibility is neglected.
Working at Jubilee USA Network as the Advocacy
and Policy Intern has been an exciting new learning experience. During my time
here, I have been able to learn how a nonprofit functions,
the significance of bipartisan advocacy and the importance of connecting with
grassroots organizations. I also had the pleasure of working with a fun and
enthusiastic team!
I
recently graduated from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh
where I focused my studies on humanitarian operations and human rights issues.
Interning at Jubilee USA was my first taste of working in a field where I was able to utilize my degree. I only knew the
basics about the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and debt-related
issues but during my internship, I have been able to learn new aspects of
international relations especially in regards to the relationship between
economics and human rights. This has shaped the way I now view the world.
