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Contents:

• Articles and Links on the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative

• International Articles on Jubilee Campaigns

• Articles on Topics related to the Jubilee Initiative

  • General Resources on Economic Justice

  • Debt and Structural Adjustment Policies

  • Redistribution of Wealth

  • Renewal of the Earth

    • General Ecological Themes

    • Climate Change Campaign

    • Land Rights: Right Relations with Aboriginal Peoples

  • Jubilee Theology

Articles and Links on the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative

Articles

1. Release from Bondage: The Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative Year I by Mark Hathaway was published in Scarboro Missions Magazine. It describes some of the highlights of year I and looks ahead toward the year II pledge process (Sept. 99).

2. A Canadian Experience on Board the Netherlands Jubilee 2000 Boat Trip to the G-8 Summit in Cologne by Hélène Leclerc describes her experience of canoeing up the Rhine to take part in the Cologne Jubilee 2000 events. (June 1999).

3. Churches bring 600,000 name Petition to Parliament Hill by Art Babych was published by the Canadian Catholic News Service (May 1999).

4. "A New Beginning... A Call to Jubilee" by Mark Hathaway appeared in a special issue of Scarboro Missions Magazine. The article is largely a simplified version of the introductory section of the Vision Statement (September 1998).

5. A special issue of The Wick (the regular publication of the Women's Inter-Church Council) focuses on the Jubilee Initiative (April 1998).

6. Cancel debt of poor world, churches urge is an article on the debt campaign in the Anglican Journal (November 1998).

7. Christian Week also has an article on the Jubilee Debt Campaign: Churches lobby for debt cancellation in developing world (Fall 1998).

Links

1. United Church of Canada: Jubilee Home Page contains numerous articles and resources related to the Jubilee Initiative.

2. The McGill Ecumenical Chaplaincy has posted a Jubilee page.

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International Articles on Jubilee Campaigns

1. For a variety of recent articles, see the Jubilee 2000 UK website and .

2. Mozambique Wins Long Battles Over Cashew Nuts and Sugar: Researcher Joseph Hanlon describes the Mozambique's recent victory over the IMF's economic restructuring plans -- specifically, the closing down of cashew nut processing and deregulation of the sugar industry. The IMF pressed both these measures on Mozambique in the mid-nineties, arguing that free trade and globalisation would bring more long-term benefit, outweighing the cost and disruption of massive unemployment. Mozambique, on the other hand, sought protection of the industries in order to create and protect tens of thousands of industrial jobs -- cashew and sugar are the country's two largest industries (Feb. 01).

3. World Bank Official Admits Poor Countries Only Gain 40 cents for Every Dollar of Debt Relief: It seems the World Bank knows that HIPC doesn't work. In this report from the Overseas Development Institute in London, Isaac Diwan, Manager of Economic Policy for Poverty Reduction at the World Bank Institute is quoted as saying that "the HIPC initiative is more helpful to multilateral organisations than it is to poor countries." Mr. Diwan noted that the HIPC Initiative is a watershed because it helps clear up the books (of the multilaterals)...brings back selectivity in lending...and supports economic policies driven by performance and needs." (Feb. 01)

4. Zambia: Year-End Economic Review: A report from the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection in Lusaka, Zambia on Zambia's social and economic status within the context of current debt relief initiatives, such as HIPC and the recently announced Canadian moratorium. It is a sobering account of a nation's ill-health, and makes clear the need for action at the multilateral level (Feb. 01).

5. Read the Press Release of Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane: Archbishop Issues Urgent Call to Stop Servicing Debt (July 00).

6. Read the views of Southern Partners regarding Jubilee on Inter-Church Action's Jubilee page.

7. Jubilee 2000-Zambia writes Yes to African Freedom, No to African Debt (June 2000).

8. Jubilee 2000 Zambia - A Way Forward? Remarks by Chrispin Mphuka, Coordinator of Jubilee 2000-Zambia on February 24th, 2000. Mphuka speaks powerfully of the impact that the Cologne Debt Initiative has had on his country, and why activists involved in the Jubilee campaign must keep up the fight for debt cancellation.

9. U.S. Congress Approves Funds for Bilateral Debt Cancellation but fails to approve financing required for the US to participate in international programs that begin to address the bulk of the debt burden crushing dozens of countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia (Nov. 99).

10. IMF's New Poverty Focus a Hard Sell by Abid Aslam: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is trying to sell itself to world economic leaders as a development agency committed to fighting poverty. Not everyone is buying (Oct. 99).

11. Poor Countries pay more under Debt Reduction Scheme? by Eric Toussaint of the Third World Network looks at the inadequacy of the recent G-7 Cologne debt initiative, noting that only 12% of the 41 poorest nations' debt would be cancelled, and this only after fulfilling years more of impoverishing Structural Adjustment Programmes (Sept. 99).

12. by Mark Weisbrot of the Third World Network notes that many countries that have taken paths at odds with neoliberal deregulation have prospered while those who have fallen its dictates have stagnated (Sept. 99).

13. Won't Pay Twice for Apartheid by Jubilee 2000 South Africa provides an update on South Africans' campaign to cancel the debt generated by the former Apartheid regime (Sept. 99).

14. Statement of the Africa Consensus Commission on Debt Issues looks at the results of a civil society meeting held in Nairobi to demand that Africa reclaim its right to determine its own development (August 99).

15. This letter on the United Church Jubilee Page focuses on the Jubilee campaign in Brazil (December 1998).

16. The following two articles look at a conference held in Mozambique highlighting the flaws of the so-called "HIPC Initiative" and illustrating the need for debt cancellation: Mozambican parliament questions debt management and Mozambique Parliament demands total and unconditional debt cancellation (December 1998).

17. An article on the Jubilee 2000 UK site looks at Pope John Paul's support of debt cancellation: Will the IMF take advice from the Pope? (December 1998).

18. An article from the New York Times described the recent statement of the World Council of Churches on debt cancellation. For the statement itself, go to the WCC site (December 1998).

19. A press release from the South African Jubilee 2000 Campaign discusses the moral illegitimacy of Apartheid-caused debt (November 1998).

20. An article in Sojourners Magazine called For a Dignified Life looks at the debt campaign from a U.S. perspective (May 1998).

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Articles and Websites on Topics related to the Jubilee Initiative

General Resources on Economic Justice

1. The United Church's Moderator's Consultation on Faith and the Economy seeks to engage Canadians in an on-going conversation on issues of faith and economics. Read, for example:

   • Look at United Church Moderator Bill Phipps letter reflecting on faith and the economy: Faith and the Economy: An Invitation to Respond (Feb. 1999).

   • The Christian Action section contains articles on ecological economics, community economic development, and our economic choices (January 2000).

   • Christian Faith and Globalization by Brazilian theologian Jung Mo Sung (August 1999) who looks at the rising "social apartheid'' or exclusion resulting from the current global economic system and the culture of insensitivity that supports it. 

   • Another article on economic justice included is From Death to Life: Reflections on Global Economics by Mark Hathaway (August 1999) reflecting on the meaning of economics and the "values" (or anti-values) of our current global economy

   • See also the consultation's page on the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative.

2. An excellent article by Martin Khor entitled Facing Up to the Power and Greed looks at the need to challenge the dominant economic model of our time (1998).

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Articles on Debt and Structural Adjustment Policies

1. Debt Relief Needs an Epiphany: An article (op/ed) piece on the need for debt cancellation by Sara Stratton which was printed in the 5 January 2001 issue of The Globe and Mail.

2. Statement from the Consultation "From Debt Relief To Poverty Reduction" organised by the Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace: "We insist that progress towards this new international compact on poverty reduction can only be brought to fruition with the complete cancellation of unpayable debts and their transformation into development resources - where 100% cancellation means 100%!"

3. Brazilian Poll Rejects Foreign Debt Payments: More than 5 million Brazilians voted against foreign debt payments and a deal with the IMF in an informal referendum. (See also the item immediately below - September 2000)

4. Thousands of Brazilians Protest Debt: Thousands of protesters jammed plazas and streets on Brazil's Independence Day on September 7, 2000 to push the government to cut foreign debt payments and spend more to fight poverty, organizers said. (September 2000)

5. U2's Bono Teams up with Nigerian President to ask for Debt Relief: U2's Bono joined a sea of protesters and politicians on Thursday September 7 calling for the world's wealthiest countries to forgive the hundreds of billions of dollars of debt saddling the most destitute nations (September 2000).

6. Religious Summit at UN to Discuss Third World Debt: South Africa's leading churchman - Njongonkulu Ndungane - said that he would use a religious summit at the United Nations to argue the moral case for canceling the debt of developing countries. (August 2000)

7. Landmark court ruling condemns Argentina's illegitimate debt: An unprecedented judicial ruling from the Argentine courts has condemned the illegitimate origins of a substantial portion of external debt amassed during the military period from 1976 to 1983 (August 2000).

8. President of Guyana Challenges IMF Prevarication on Debt Relief: In an interview with Jubilee 2000 UK's Latin America co-ordinator, Liana Cisneros, President Jagdeo of Guyana questioned bureaucratic IMF delays in implementing debt relief (July 2000).

9. G15 Call for more Debt Relief: Leaders of developing nations from Africa, Asia and Latin America closed a two-day economic summit with a united call for more debt relief and a stronger role in world financial institutions.

10. President of Haiti Calls for Debt Cancellation: Haitian President Rene Preval called for total and immediate debt cancellation for Haiti during a meeting with Jubilee 2000 campaigners (June 2000). 

11. UN Addresses Need for Debt Cancellation: Read excerpts from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Millennium Report calling for debt cancellation as well as related links (April 2000). 

12. What I Learned at the World Economic Crisis: In this article from the 17 April 2000 issue of The New Republic, former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz criticizes the International Monetary Fund and the policies it advocates (April 2000). See also "Silencing Joseph Stiglitz: The World Bank cuts its ties to the economist who became an unlikely hero to world trade protesters" by David Moberg (published on Salon.com).

13. Mozambique: An Unnatural Disaster: In this Op Ed piece which appeared in the March 13, 2000 edition of the Toronto Star, Sara Stratton looks at the relation between Mozambique's debt and the March 2000 flooding disaster (March 2000).

14. Mozambique: The Social and Economic Cost of the Debt: This resource was originally published by the Inter-Church Coalition on Africa in 1998. It includes as well subsections on World Bank Failures in Mozambique: The Case Study of the Cashew Industry,

15. 1 Part Poverty Reduction, 2 Parts SAPs: A Recipe for Disaster: The Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice analyses the G-7 leaders' response to the Jubilee Debt Campaign and finds that it was disappointing both in terms of the amount and their attempt to blend poverty reduction into Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs). This is contrary to the Jubilee call for liberation from debt bondage and, in fact, may obscure the fundamental problems embedded in the roots of SAP conditionality. (December 1999)

16. Clinton's Debt Relief: Too Generous or Too Stingy: Robert Naiman of the Preamble Center in Washington DC assesses the scope of Clinton’s recent pledge to cancel all the bilateral debt owed to the United States and in the balance, finds it wanting (October 1999). 

17. Read Structural Adjustment: A Crime against Women by Maria Rhie Chol Soon of the Korean Women Workers Associations United (August 1999).

18. Jubilee Movement Shifts the Ground Under G7 Debt Plans: This Economic Justice Report by the Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice examines and critiques the proposals G7 leaders have announced for an official "Cologne debt initiative" to bring debt relief for low-income countries. (May 1999)

19. Read an article by Patricia Adams on Odious Debts and find out more about her recent book on the subject (May 1999).

20. Where debt makes school a luxury not all can afford described the human cost of debt and structural adjustment in Tanzania (February 1999).

21. The World Bank's Chief Economist has questioned some of the fundamental tenets of Structural adjustment Polices and the neo-liberal model it imposes. Read about it in Bank Admits that HIPC Conditions are Wrong (January 1999).

22. The Scandal of Third World Debt explores the inadequacy of the HIPC initiative and the relationship between debt and globalization (neo-liberal economics) (December 1998).

23. Who owes what to whom? The perspective on a Latin American indigenous leader in The Real Foreign Debt (Approximately 1996).

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Redistribution of Wealth

1. Redistributing Wealth: A Jubilee Vision for a Global Village: In this Economic Justice Report,  the Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice looks at how the wealth gap between rich and poor grows ever more scandalous in our current age of globalization. How does the Jubilee vision of sharing the Earth’s abundance apply to today’s context of "free market" globalization? (Oct. 1999)

2. United Church's Moderator's Consultation on Faith and the Economy has a number of papers posted related to the theme of redistribution of wealth including an article by Armine Yalnizyan on How Growing Income Equality Affects us all, an article by Susan Eaton on Child Poverty in Canada, and an article by Lawrence Cumming on the Growing Gap at a Global level (May 1999)

3. See the Centre for Social Justice's  Growing Gap Report, 1998 by Armine Yalnizyan.

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Renewal of the Earth

General Articles and Links on Ecological Themes

1. The Eyeopener is a publication of Justice, Economy and the Integrity of the Earth (a committee of Winnipeg Presbytery The United Church of Canada). It is written and published by a small group of people who try to open eyes to realities and new possibilities in areas of economics and ecology and social policy. The Eyeopener is published 4 times a year; each issue is 4 pages long. 

2. Rethinking Oikonomia: This three-part article by Mark Hathaway critiques the economics of unlimited growth and the maldevelopment encouraged by Structural Adjustment, showing the interconnections between issues of poverty and ecology. It also reflects theologically on ecology and economics and seeks out how an ecological economy might be birthed into being. (January 2000)

3. is an excellent resource from the Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice exploring how traditional economics neglects to value the Earth and its non-human living beings (June 1997).

Climate Change

1. Key Climate Change Links:

2. Making the End of Global Scorching into a Jewish Imperative: A Jewish eco-theological perspective on global warming by Arthur Waskow.

Land Rights: Right Relations with Aboriginal Peoples

1. The Aboriginal Right Coalition is a key source of information on the petition campaign on Aboriginal Land Rights and related issues.

2. Mexico, Aboriginal Rights, and the Summit of the Americas: Text of CBC Commentary by Sister Priscilla Solomon, Wednesday 19 April, on Aboriginal rights in light of the Summit of the Americas and her recent participation in an ICCHRLA delegation to Mexico (April 2001)..

3. The Fourth World - Site of Struggle and Resistance in the Fight Against Global Capital: An indigenous perspective on globalization by Rodney Bobiwash (January 2001).

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Jubilee Theology

1. Two articles by Jewish eco-theologian Arthur Waskow: "And the Earth is Filled with the Breath of Life" (an excellent ecotheology piece) and Making the End of Global Scorching into a Jewish Imperative (specifically on climate change).

2. discusses the morality of debt and debt repayment (conclusions of a meeting of Christian moralists in Italy) (June 1999).

3. Read an Islamic perspective on debt cancellation by Faisal Kutty entitled "Debt Forgiveness: Isn't it about time?" (June 1999).

4. Mennonite theologian Waldemar Janzen's article "Has the Jubilee any Basis in History" argues that Jubilee may well have been practised in some form in ancient Israel (May 1999).

5. Two excellent articles by Ched Myers on Jubilee appeared in Sojourners Magazine: God Speed the Year of Jubilee! and Jesus' New Economy of Grace (May 1998).

6. Jewish theologian Arthur Waskow has written numerous articles on Jubilee including From Compassion to Jubilee (approximately 1997).

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