WOULD JUBILEE'VE IT - POOREST COUNTRIES STILL PAYING BACK

17-05-2008

New research published this weekend ahead of a global debt summit in Birmingham on Sunday reveals that the developing world still gives $5 in loan repayments to the First World for every $1 they get back in aid.

The report by the Jubilee Debt Campaign calls on G8 leaders to end the debt crisis, which is still bringing death and misery to millions of people in the world’s poorest countries.

Their study, called Unfinished Business, claims that despite the commitments made, only $88 billion of debt has actually been cancelled - and says at least $400 billion more is needed if the world’s poorest countries are to combat the challenge of global poverty.

It also condemns the rich world’s refusal to cancel ‘odious’ debt – ie debts run up by corrupt or dictatorial regimes still being paid back by the people they oppressed.

Around $500 billion of the total developing world debt stock of $2.7 trillion has been estimated to be ‘odious’, run up when the rich world lent money to regimes like those of Mobutu in Zaire, Marcos in the Philippines, Suharto in Indonesia and apartheid South Africa.

The report calls for an end to the imposition of economic conditions on debt cancellation initiatives, especially drastic reductions in social spending and privatisation of public sector providers.

It cites Haiti as a country currently being denied full debt cancellation because of the arduous, undemocratic conditions it has to meet, while the people of Haiti take to the streets in protest at the current food prices crisis. .

Nick Dearden, Director of Jubilee Debt Campaign, said: ”We know that debt cancellation is one of the most effective ways of reducing poverty in the developing world – debts cancelled to date have transformed the lives of millions of people.

"So it is a shocking indictment of the rich world’s commitment to fight global poverty that in 2008 the poorest countries in the world are still paying us more in debt and interest payments than we are giving in aid. It is time the world’s leaders fulfilled their promises and cancelled all unpayable and illegitimate debt.”

Friday marked the 10th anniversary of the G8 summit in Birmingham, which saw a human chain of 70,000 people surround the G8 summit and propel poor country debt onto the international agenda.

This Sunday, there'll be music in Centenary Square from 12.30 (see link here) and a summit at the ICC hosted by Stirrer editor Adrian Goldberg from 2.30

For more details, click here