International Jubilee Message to G7 Leaders

This declaration was handed over today to Prime Minister Mori today by representatives of Jubilee 2000 campaigns from the four continents -Charlotte Mwesigye (Uganda), Camille Chalmers (Haiti), Yoko Kitazawa (Japan) and Bill Peters (UK). Although he said that he would convey the declaration to the other leaders, the announcement this evening showed they were not listening. The declaration was agreed by the international Jubilee 2000 conference attended by representatives of 33 countries and 10 international organisations.

Yoko Kitazawa
Jubilee 2000 Japan

CALL TO THE G7 LEADERS

We, JUBILEE/2000 from all over the world, recognize that a response was made at the Cologne Summit to our campaign for debt cancellation. However, we express our total dismay at the fact that even the pledges that offered limited debt cancellation a year ago, have failed.

The Enhanced HIPC Initiative, which was introduced in the name of "faster, deeper and broader debt relief", turned out, in fact, to be a tool for delaying debt cancellation. In light of this, we do not accept either the HIPC Initiative or Enhanced HIPC Initiative accompanied by structural adjustment programmes and other externally imposed conditions as a framework for resolving the problems of debt and poverty.

We call on the G7 leaders to urgently implement the following three measures as an important first step towards resolving the debt problem of impoverished countries by the end of this Jubilee year 2000:

1. Cancel all the illegitimate and unpayable debt, that which cannot be serviced without sacrificing the health, education, and even the lives of impoverished people.
   
   
2. Delink structural adjustment programmes and other conditions from debt cancellation. Carry out debt cancellation bilaterally and instruct the international financial institutions to recognise their responsibility and cancel multilateral debt.
   
   
3. Cease to function, in the current realm of conflict of interest, as judge, jury, and party in the debt cancellation process, and support the pursuit of an independent, fair and transparent mechanism that includes debtor governments and civil society.

We reiterate our call for the full participation of a broad representation of civil society, especially from indebted countries, in the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of this debt cancellation process. This is to ensure, in addition, that resources released by debt cancellation serve the basic needs of the poor, consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Jubilee 2000 International Conference
Okinawa

July 21st, 2000

Signatories:

Jubilee 2000 Cote d'Ivoir

Jubilee 2000 Coalition Czeck Campaign

Jubilee 2000 Denmark

Jubilee 2000 Finland

Jubilee 2000 Norway

Jubilee 2000 Sweden

Debt and Development Coalition Ireland

Jubilee 2000 Coalition Haiti

Malawi Jubilee 2000 Campaign

Brasilian Campaign J2000

Campana Jubileo 2000 (Mexico)

Jubilee 2000 Aotearoa/New Zealand

Jubilee 2000 Australia

Jubilee IRELAND

Jubilee 2000 Africampaign Nigeria

Jubilee 2000 Japan

Jubilee 2000 Angola Coalition

Jubilee 2000 Jamaica

Jubilee 2000 Peru

Jubilee 2000 Pakistan Campaign

Jubilee 2000 Scotland

Jubilee2000 South Africa

Jubilee 2000 USA

Jubilee 2000 UK

Pour l'an 2000, Annulons la Dette (France)

Philippine Asia Jubilee Campaign Against the Debt

MAUCHAK (Bangladesh)

Organizacion de Organismos No Gubermentales (Honduras)

FOSDEH /Jubilee 2000 (Honduras)

Tamilnadu Women's Collective (India)

INFID (Indonesia)

ECM Justice and Peace (Malawi)

Development Indian Ocean Network (Mauritius / Madagascar)

Tanzanian Coalition on Debt and Development

Uganda Debt Network

Christian Aid (UK)

Zimbabwe Council of Churches

Finish Evangelical Lutheran Mission

Service Center Development Cooperation

Jesuits for Debt Relief and Development

OXFAM

ATTAC

SEDOS

JPIC Commision USG/UISG

InternacionalCristiano De Solidaridad :Sectretariado

ICFTU-AFRO

OATUU(Organization of African Trade Union Unity)

DOAWTU(Democratic Organisation

African Workers Trade Union