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by Greg WIlliams
Our executive director, Eric LeCompte, just returned from a trip to Nairobi, where he led our delegation to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development summit (called UNCTAD14)and helped forge a global agreement on tax, debt and trade policies.
Below are pictures from the summit.
It's go time! UNCTAD14
Continue reading "Pictures from Nairobi UN Development Conference" »
By Lucas Giese
New articles released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reveal the role of anonymous shell companies in tax evasion and corruption related to African natural resource extraction. Documents obtained from the Panama Papers leak from the law firm Mossack Fonseca illustrate how corrupt officials use shell companies to hide financial crimes and corruption.
Officials use anonymous shell companies to hide wealth siphoned from national extractive industries, like oil production or diamond mining. Instead of reinvesting that wealth in Africa to benefit local communities, officials diverted the funds for personal use, buying luxury goods and real estate across the world.
Continue reading "Anonymous Shell Companies Used to Steal from Africa" »
by Lucas Giese
The US Justice Department claims Malaysian politicians used US-based "anonymous shell companies" to spend more than $1 billion in development funds on real estate and luxury goods in the U.S. The department is suing to seize the money. Prosecutors linked high-level Malaysian politicians and business people to the embezzlement of $3 billion of public funds through these companies, which don't require a disclosure of ownership information. Jubilee USA supports legislation to make it more difficult to use the US financial system to launder money and finance crime and corruption through these anonymous companies.
Read more about anonymous shell companies
Read more about the Malaysia embezzlement in the New York Times
Want to get involved in our work on anonymous shell companies? Contact me, Lucas Giese, at [email protected]
by Greg Williams
Member countries of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) renewed a mandate for the UN agency on economic issues. The agreement will guide UNCTAD's work for the next four years.
"These were very difficult negotiations" stated Jubilee USA’s executive director Eric LeCompte, who addressed the delegates and participated in high-level ministerial events and negotiations. "Perhaps the greatest achievement was a renewed partnership between developed and developing countries to address financial crisis and debt policies."
Negotiations culminated in two days of round the clock negotiations through the morning of July 22nd. Negotiators focused on what some called "controversial" policies around tax, debt and trade issues.
The Holy See or Vatican focused on these issues throughout the meetings. Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, discussed these economic issues and encouraged participants to "aim at a high level of ambition" to address them. Turkson argued that trade issues must be centered on human development. The top Vatican official addressed why tax issues were important and supported developing countries to "attain long-term debt sustainability."
"The global development community is concerned by a lack of proactive tax and trade policies in the agreement,"noted LeCompte. "We need to ensure that as a global community the most vulnerable are protected in economic policies."
Read more about the Maafikiano, or Nairobi Consensus
Read about negotiations, the Holy See’s efforts and Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič's speech
Read Cardinal Turkson's remarks
Read more about the UN Conference on Trade and Development
by Greg Williams
After days of round-the-clock negotiation, the 194 member countries of the UN Conference on Trade and Development reached an agreement on debt, tax and trade policies. Stay tuned for more information as the agreement is finalized.
Jubilee USA's executive director Eric LeCompte and board co-chair Aldo Caliari led our delegation to the conference - and worked with our global partners and Vatican leaders to win this agreement.
During the week-long conference, Eric joined the directors of the African Development Bank, the Kenyan Central Bank and European Finance Ministry officials at a roundtable on sovereign debt. He also addressed the summit during general debate.
by Greg Williams
Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, called on a United Nations development summit to address debt, tax, trade and environmental policies that impact poverty. Turkson’s comments come as intense negotiations enter a fourth day to renew the mandate of a UN agency that focuses on several of these policy issues. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meetings drew more than 10,000 attendees. The member countries of UNCTAD define the institution's purpose and economic and development activities every four years.
"Cardinal Turkson reminds us that economic policies must put people at the center, protect the vulnerable and promote the common good," stated Jubilee USA’s executive director Eric LeCompte, who serves on various UN debt and tax expert groups. "His comments come at a critical moment as negotiators struggle to complete a global agreement."
by Greg Williams
A United Nations global development summit begins its fourth day of difficult negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya. The member countries of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) define the institution's purpose and economic and development focuses every four years. The more than 10,000 attendees include UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the Vatican's Cardinal Peter Turkson, heads of state and finance ministers. As delegates tire of round the clock negotiations, less than 48 hours remain to reach a deal that renews the UN agency's mandate.
"We are facing a real battle on debt and tax policies," stated Eric LeCompte, who serves on various UN debt and tax expert groups. "We are running out of time to reach an agreement. Amazingly, the world's poorest people, the World Bank and the G20 all rely on the work of this institution." LeCompte is the executive director of the religious development coalition Jubilee USA.