The Jubilee Blog

Reuters Quotes Eric LeCompte on G20 Discussions

By Nadia Khan, Communications Associate

Russia, China water down G20 text on geopolitical tensions

By Gayatri Suroyo and David Lawder

 

The G20 talks, held virtually and in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, were also marked by disagreements over the group's stalled debt restructuring framework.

The final communique failed to endorse International Monetary Fund and World Bank proposals for an immediate debt service suspension for poor countries that seek restructurings and an expansion to include some middle-income countries.

"The G20 discussions on debt were really disappointing," said Eric LeCompte, executive director of the Jubilee USA Network, a faith-based organization campaigning for debt relief for poor countries. He said China was resisting steps to strengthen the bankruptcy-like G20 debt framework "so that they can cut deals on the side" with debtor countries.

 

Reuters quoted Eric LeCompte on G20 Discussions. Read the full article here. 

Read Jubilee's Press Release on G20 Discussions here. 

G20 Finance Ministers Grapple with Third Year of Pandemic Economy

By Mizraim Belman Guerrero

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors begin their first meetings under the Indonesian G20 presidency on Thursday. The two-day meetings address global pandemic response, recovery and preparing for future crises. Developing country access to debt relief, aid and vaccines are high on the agenda.

“The prolonged economic crisis and new virus variants derailed global recovery projections,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network. “Developing countries are in dire need of vaccines and support for economic recovery."

Developing country debts as a proportion of their economies rose last year by about five times the usual yearly rise during the preceding decade. The G20 launched a debt reduction process in November 2020. Chad, the first country to apply to the G20 debt reduction initiative, has yet to receive any relief. Zambia and Ethiopia, the other countries that applied, are further behind in the process.

“The G20 needs to offer speedy and deep debt relief and compel private creditors to match it,” added LeCompte, a United Nations finance expert. "History teaches us that the longer we wait to address a debt crisis, the more difficult it becomes to solve the crisis."

Finance ministers will review progress on aid commitments to developing countries. The World Bank projects that average incomes in 40% of developing countries will be lower next year than they were in 2019. Developing countries received about $230 billion and wealthy countries received more than $400 billion of $650 billion in emergency currency or Special Drawing Rights that the IMF created in August.

The G20 could affirm the direction of a pandemic response vehicle that could accept donations of Special Drawing Rights from wealthy countries. The IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Trust could fund long-term, affordable loans to developing countries.

“While G20 leaders are making progress, we are worried we aren't moving quickly enough to solve this crisis or prevent the next crisis from happening,” remarked LeCompte.

Federal Agencies Assist Puerto Rico Deploy Aid for Climate Resilient Energy

By: Nadia Khan, Communications Associate

Federal agencies and Puerto Rico signed an agreement to speed up $12 billion in disaster recovery funds to strengthen Puerto Rico energy infrastructure. The Departments of Energy, Homeland Security and Housing and Urban Development signed a memorandum with Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi. The island suffered more than $100 billion in estimated damages when Hurricanes Maria and Irma struck in 2017.

“The agreement supports rebuilding a Puerto Rico that can withstand future storms and other natural disasters,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, a religious development organization that works with the island’s religious leaders to secure disaster and debt relief. “A modern power grid that meets renewable energy targets and can reduce future risks to the island's economy is critical."

In January, a judge confirmed a settlement that brought Puerto Rico's $72 billion debt to $34 billion. The judge oversees a special bankruptcy process mandated by debt crisis legislation passed by Congress in 2016.

“Puerto Rico's debt deal is based on assumptions that substantial federal aid and disaster relief will continue to reach the island,” noted LeCompte.

Read the full DHS MoU here.

Read Jubilee's press release on Puerto Rico's Debt Deal here.

Our Sunday Visitor publishes commentary from Amb. Sam Brownback and executive director Eric LeCompte

Our Sunday Visitor publishes commentary from Amb. Sam Brownback and executive director Eric LeCompte on aid, medicine, vaccines and Special Drawing Rights for developing countries. Read the full article here. 

The Christian case for a global pandemic response

by Eric LeCompte, Sam Brownback

Jesus tells us in the Gospels that the greatest commandment is to love God; the second is “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In the midst of a still-raging global pandemic, what does it look like to love our neighbor as ourselves? Certainly, it means we should do what we can to make sure our neighbors have access to basic medicine, food and shelter.

In the United States, we have ample access to vaccines critical to addressing the COVID-19 crisis. Not all corners of the world have this opportunity. In Africa, only 11 percent of the population is fully vaccinated against COVD-19 due to a limited vaccine supply and inadequate infrastructure for distribution. For example, when Ghana received a shipment of 50,000 doses last year, they lacked the trained staff to administer them.

The impact of the pandemic on African nations has been devastating. Beyond the tragedy of hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 fatalities, hospitals have been so overwhelmed that it severely impacted patients’ access to other life-saving medical treatments, resulting in worrying trends like an increased number of tuberculosis deaths across the continent. Over the last year, 46 million more people fell into hunger there. Ending hunger requires ending the pandemic.

Religious Groups Urge Treasury to Implement Strong Transparency Rules for Shell Companies

By Mizraim Belman Guerrero

Last year, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act to reveal the real owners of so-called anonymous shell companies to authorities. Treasury is responsible for implementing the law to curb corruption, tax evasion and criminal activity. Jubilee USA Network, a religious development coalition that worked for 10 years to pass the law, answered Treasury's call to send feedback on the draft enforcement rule.

“The Corporate Transparency Act is a historic, bipartisan effort to stop public officials from stealing money and prevent crimes like human trafficking,” said Eric LeCompte, the Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network. “We responded to Treasury's call for feedback because we want the strongest law possible to stop aid theft in developing countries.”

Jubilee USA organized a letter signed by more than 100 religious organizations, congregations and faith-based communities urging Congress to pass the act. For more than a decade, the religious development group generated tens of thousands of phone calls, e-mails and letters to Congress calling for the transparency legislation.

"We've seen how these shell companies helped dictators take and hide debt relief and other vital forms of aid in poor countries," noted Aldo Caliari who serves as Jubilee USA's Senior Director of Policy and Strategy. Caliari submitted the feedback to Treasury. "The law is progress and there is more we need to do to bring some of these bad actors into the light."

Last May, Jubilee USA offered initial feedback on the same enforcement rule to Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

"The White House supports financial transparency as a national security priority and the enforcement of this is law is critical to that priority,” added LeCompte. “We reiterated support for points that we hope stay in the final rule, but there are also some loopholes that we want to close.”

Read Jubilee USA's Comments on Corporate Transparency Act Proposed Rulemaking here.

Read Jubilee USA's Corporate Transparency Act letter supported by over a hundred groups here.

Read Jubilee USA's Comments on Corporate Transparency Act Advanced Proposed Rulemaking here.