The Jubilee 2000/USA Campaign

The millennial year 2000 is the target date to bring about major debt relief for the world's poorest countries. National campaigns to accomplish this goal currently exist, for example, in countries such as England, S cot-land, Canada, the Philippines, Australia, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Sweden, South Africa, and the United States. All call for eliminating the unpayable debt of poorest countries by the year 2000, without conditions that will further harm people living in poverty or the environment. The international scope of this movement means that advocacy efforts can be coordinated throughout the world for maximum effectiveness.

The Jubilee 2000 movement draws its inspiration from the book of Leviticus in the Hebrew Scriptures, which describes a Year of Jubilee every fifty years. In the Jubilee year, social inequalities are rectified: slaves are freed, land is returned to original owners, and debts are canceled. Debt cancellation especially resonates with many groups concerned about greater global fairness: some of the poorest countries in the world have been struggling with a debt burden since 1982. While there is plenty of blame to go around &emdash; irresponsible creditors, corrupt borrowers &emdash; the bottom line is that governments of impoverished countries are servicing their debts by diverting limited resources from meeting the basic needs of their people.

The Jubilee 2000/USA Campaign was launched in Denver at the Summit of the Group of 8 Governments in June 1997. The USA Campaign grew out of a project of the Religious Working Group on the World Bank and the IMF, a coalition composed of representatives of some forty Catholic and Protestant organizations who have been collaborating on debt relief for several years. The Campaign collaborates with the U.S. Catholic Conference and the National Council of Churches, and hopes to have similar working relationships with members of the Muslim and Jewish communities.

While the Campaign includes significant participation by religious organizations, it is not limited to institutions and individuals with a religious perspective. The common ground for Jubilee 2000/USA participants is a moral commitment to debt cancellation for poor countries.

Because of its political and economic roles in the world community, the U.S. government's position on debt relief is critical to the success of the worldwide Jubilee movement. Motivating our government to support a definitive cancellation of the crushing debts of poor nations will require a vital Jubilee 2000/USA campaign with active participation by individuals and groups throughout the country.

Getting Involved

Individuals and institutions interested in participating in the jubilee 2000/USA Campaign are invited to contact the Campaign's national office. Involvement can be as simple as signing the Jubilee 2000/USA Petition. It can extend to participation in the coordinating committee which meets monthly in Washington. The Campaign is a project of the Center for New Creation, a 501©3 organization. Tax deductible contributions are welcomed.

Jubilee 2000/USA
Box 29550
Washington, DC 20017
(202) 783-3566
coord@J2000USA.org

Return to the Index of Synapse 45, Fall 1998