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THE AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE’S LIFE OVER DEBT
CAMPAIGN APPLAUDS SUCCESS OF GLOBAL DEBT CANCELLATION MOVEMENTS
Social Justice Organization Urges 100% Debt Cancellation for 33
Additional Impoverished Countries; Says 100% Debt Cancellation by
the G-8 For Fourteen African Countries Not Enough
Philadelphia, PA – June 14 — The American
Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an international social justice organization,
praises the recent cancellation of the multilateral debt owed by
fourteen African countries. However, the Service
Committee stresses
that these nations represent only a small portion of the countries
in urgent need of debt cancellation.
“After twenty years of involvement with the global campaign
to cancel debt, AFSC is delighted that Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania
and 11 other impoverished countries in Africa now have the ability
to invest in their own development,” said Imani Countess,
coordinator of the American Friends Service
Committee Africa Program,
which over the past two years, has sponsored a Life Over Debt campaign
designed to increase awareness of Africa’s debt and the need
for cancellation.
“The life and death urgency of these issues demand we remain
committed to this cause,” stressed Mary Ellen McNish, AFSC
general secretary. “Global economic justice is the bedrock
of a peaceful world. We can celebrate this victory while continuing
to call attention to the plight of other struggling nations.”
The comments followed an announcement last weekend by the finance
ministers of the world’s wealthiest nations (G-8), which was
able to secure an agreement that will result in the 100% cancellation
of multilateral debts for fourteen African countries and four Latin
American countries. The G8 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Excitement over the deal was felt throughout Africa. Mozambique’s
Prime Minister Luisa Diogo, remarked “this is an important
decision that means we can have more money saved from debt servicing
being directed to education, health, infrastructure and social sectors.”
But the agreement doesn’t go far enough. Countries deemed
eligible are those that have graduated from the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund’s Heavily Indebted and Poor Country (HIPC) initiative,
which requires countries to restructure their economies in a way
that results in harsh cuts in social spending.
“To impose economic policy conditions for canceling what
is often odious and illegitimate in the first place, reinforces
strategies that have failed to lift these countries out of poverty,” explains
Jessica Walker Beaumont, AFSC trade and debt
specialist.
Over the next six months the Service Committee will work to build
support of the Jubilee Act (HR 1130), which seeks debt cancellation
for 33 other countries that urgently need cancellation of their
odious or illegitimate debts.
“Our aim remains unchanged as we prepare for the Group of
8 meeting and beyond; we will continue to advocate for debt cancellation,
without harmful conditions, for the 33 indebted African countries
not included in this agreement,” Countess explains.
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The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.
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