Lutherans call on Brown to deepen debt relief
-06/07/05
The general secretary of the 66 million strong Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Rev Dr Ishmael Noko, has called on UK chancellor Gordon Brown to use his personal influence in ensuring genuine debt relief for poor countries.
In a letter to Nr Brown released today, Dr Noko (who is also Convenor of Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa), calls the latest debt cancellation initiatives in the run-up to the G8 summit “a significant breakthrough,” but “not yet a solution.”
He continues: “If the momentum which it has created can be built upon and the wider dimensions of the problem addressed, a more complete and sustainable resolution of the debt crisis may yet be within reach.”
In June, the finance ministers from the world’s wealthiest nations, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the USA, agreed on cancelling debt worth 40 billion US dollars, owed to the major international financial institutions by 18 of the world’s poorest countries.
The countries immediately benefiting from the debt relief are Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. All of them have completed the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries programme (HIPC), which is based on criteria laid down by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Launched in 1996 as a first comprehensive approach to reducing the external debt of the poorest countries, the HPIC programme was reviewed three years later, and enhanced to provide deeper debt relief.
The world Lutheran leader has joined other international church leaders in pointing out that there are many other countries, some of which are excluded from the HIPC altogether, requiring cancellation of their multilateral debts in order to have at least a chance of achieving their Millennium Development Goals towards the elimination of poverty.
Dr Noko expresses particular concern for Latin American countries, many of which “owe more to the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) than to other international institutions. However, the IADB debts of the countries concerned do not appear to be included in the agreement.”
He says that the question of unsustainable and illegitimate debts owed to private commercial entities also should be addressed, and “debt relief should be de-linked from the adoption of economic liberalization policies.”
Dr Nokoís concerns are widely shared by development organisations and aid agencies. But it is looking as if the G8 will agree a softer deal than many are hoping for.
The Lutheran World Federation is a global communion founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden. It has 138 member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a total membership of nearly 66 million. The LWF acts in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
Lutherans call on Brown to deepen debt relief
-06/07/05
The general secretary of the 66 million strong Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Rev Dr Ishmael Noko, has called on UK chancellor Gordon Brown to use his personal influence in ensuring genuine debt relief for poor countries.
In a letter to Nr Brown released today, Dr Noko (who is also Convenor of Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa), calls the latest debt cancellation initiatives in the run-up to the G8 summit “a significant breakthrough,” but “not yet a solution.”
He continues: “If the momentum which it has created can be built upon and the wider dimensions of the problem addressed, a more complete and sustainable resolution of the debt crisis may yet be within reach.”
In June, the finance ministers from the world’s wealthiest nations, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the USA, agreed on cancelling debt worth 40 billion US dollars, owed to the major international financial institutions by 18 of the world’s poorest countries.
The countries immediately benefiting from the debt relief are Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. All of them have completed the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries programme (HIPC), which is based on criteria laid down by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Launched in 1996 as a first comprehensive approach to reducing the external debt of the poorest countries, the HPIC programme was reviewed three years later, and enhanced to provide deeper debt relief.
The world Lutheran leader has joined other international church leaders in pointing out that there are many other countries, some of which are excluded from the HIPC altogether, requiring cancellation of their multilateral debts in order to have at least a chance of achieving their Millennium Development Goals towards the elimination of poverty.
Dr Noko expresses particular concern for Latin American countries, many of which “owe more to the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) than to other international institutions. However, the IADB debts of the countries concerned do not appear to be included in the agreement.”
He says that the question of unsustainable and illegitimate debts owed to private commercial entities also should be addressed, and “debt relief should be de-linked from the adoption of economic liberalization policies.”
Dr Noko’s concerns are widely shared by development organisations and aid agencies. But it is looking as if the G8 will agree a softer deal than many are hoping for.
The Lutheran World Federation is a global communion founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden. It has 138 member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a total membership of nearly 66 million. The LWF acts in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.