The Jubilee 2000 Campaign, a global movement of coalitions of civil society organizations in both indebted and creditor countries, has been campaigning for the cancellation of all unpayable and illegitimate debts burdening the countries of the global South. The campaign has gained widespread support and has succeeded in bringing the issue of debt to the center of the international political and economic debate.

The increase of the amount of debt servicing is a major cause for the further impoverishment of already poor countries. The debt has accrued because of:

• increases in interest rates in the early 1980s;
• bailouts by the creditors leading to a prolongation of the debt;
• an excessive accumulation of compound interest;
• failed projects that were improperly designed and managed;
• the application of fluctuating currency exchange rates;
• lending to illegitimate, oppressive governments and corrupt dictators for political influence and economic profit;
• unfair terms of international trade;
• misdirection of government policies by the IMF and World Bank and failed application of development policies;

 We recognize that:

• The debt has already been repaid in real terms.
  
  
• Structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) imposed by the IMF ostensibly as a means to deal with the debt burden, have in fact exacerbated the situation of the poor and increased inequality. They have forced indebted countries, with seriously weakened economies, into free-for-all market competition with no protection or support.
  
  
• Giving the ESAF the new name "Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility" will not change things as long as it remains under the control of creditors such as the IMF and as long as it maintains liberalized economic policies under SAPs. In this regard, we note the recommendation of the Meltzer Commission Report to end ESAF.
  
  
• The Enhanced HIPC Initiative has failed to lift the debt burdens of impoverished countries because of the limited number of countries included, the small portion of debt to be canceled, the onerous conditions imposed, and the lack of delivery by the creditors.
  
  
• A historical, moral, social, and environmental debt is owed to the de-colonised South, which today is held ransom to economic indebtedness.
  
  
• The cancellation of the debt would be a first step towards solving the problem of the impoverishment of the countries of the South, and to transforming the inequitable and unfair relationships between the North and the South into fair and mutually supportive ones.

Jubilee 2000 holds that:

• All unpayable debt, that which cannot be paid without depriving the majority of people of the necessities of life, should be canceled.
  
  
• All illegitimate debt, in accordance with the Doctrine of Odious Debt, and debts resulting from failed development projects should be canceled.
  
  
• Special debt cancellation provisions must be made for post-conflict countries and regions and for countries that have experienced natural disasters.
  
  
• The processes and conditions for resolving the debt crisis should be removed from the hands of the creditors. 

To this end an independent, fair, and transparent mechanism should be established. This must include participation by the governments and representative civil society from indebted countries in considering the following issues:

a. the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of programmes related to debt cancellation proceeds;

b. the implementation of the "Tobin Tax" on international capital flows;

c. the consideration and implementation of an international insolvency procedure;

d. the establishment of an independent arbitration process in determining the amount, process, and conditions for debt cancellation.

The current debt crisis is at once a symptom and a cause of the growing divide between the South and the North, which has its origins in the historical process that began with the slave trade and colonialism. This gap has been widened by unfair trade relations, the imposition of SAPs, and the lack of significant value-adding investment in developing countries. Globalisation, driven by the liberalization of trade and investment, is further exacerbating this gap. Our call for debt cancellation and global economic justice is a response to the widening gap between rich and poor and to increasing impoverishment.

We seek a just global society, based on the principles of equity and fairness, sovereignty, and participatory democracy through the collaborative action of civil society in the North and South, consistent with human dignity and in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We affirm our determination to find ways of continuing the international movement until the debt is canceled. We make a collective commitment to ensure the continuity of the international work of those coalitions that will cease to exist in their present form, and that any transfer of responsibilities takes place in an orderly fashion.

The movement must continue to:

• keep the pressure on the G8, international financial institutions, creditor countries, and private banks to cancel the debt.
  
  
• Monitor the debt cancellation process to ensure that it is de-linked from structural adjustment programmes and other conditions and that it results in genuine poverty reduction.
  
  
• Support those countries which, failing to gain debt cancellation by the end of the year 2000, decide to repudiate their debt.

We will use the opportunities of the Annual IMF / World Bank Meeting in Prague and the UN Millennium Summit to strengthen our networks and deepen our analysis.