May 1st - In Doha, Qatar at the UNCTAD meetings on trade and development, Jubilee USA working with governments and international partners secured a strong mandate on debt and responsible lending and borrowing. This major victory allows us to build an international consensus on responsible lending and borrowing. Read Jubilee's thank-you letter to President Obama for joining us in our efforts to win in Doha.
Our Executive Director, Eric LeCompte, was hosted for the negotiations by UNCTAD to moderate a panel with 11 financial ministers and treasury heads from around the globe to speak in support of UNCTAD's principles on Responsible Lending and Borrowing. Watch and hear the full panel discussion here. Read the UN press release on the panel here. Learn more about Jubilee's work to end the debt crisis and promote responsible lending and borrowing by reading our report launched in March.
March 30 - During the weekend of May 18th, representatives from the largest eight economies will be meeting in the US for the annual G8 summit, with the G20 summit taking place a month later in June. As the largest economies meet and make decisions that have global impact, especially for the world's poorest, we need decisions that benefit everyone in our global economy. As the debt crisis has spread from the Global South to the Global North, now, more than ever, a new way to address debt must be implemented. Sign the petition to push for the creation of an international debt court to end the global debt crisis! Click here to learn more.
March 23-26 - Jubilee USA co-coordinated the Global Economic Justice workshops for this year's Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference in Washington, D.C. This year's theme for the conference, "Is This the Fast I Seek: Economy, Livelihood and our National Priorities," explored how to affect policy to create a just global economy to break the chains of injustice and poverty. Jubilee USA Network's Executive Director, Eric LeCompte participated in two panels, where he called for a need for an international debt court.
March 16 - Leprechauns descended upon the Irish Embassy! Representing the Anglo-Irish Bank and the European Central Bank, leprechauns hoarded pots of gold which symbolize money taken from the citizens of Ireland to cover reckless loans and debts. Jubilee USA Network along with religious and policy organizations, delivered a letter to the Irish Embassy calling for the Irish leaders to suspend government payments on these loans, which will add up to $61.7 billion over the next twenty years. The citizens of Ireland are dealing with a damaged economy already, and are now being held responsible for loans run up by an irresponsible and now-dead Anglo bank. With a bit of luck, the Irish people will not be forced to pay this unjust debt, saving them billions of dollars to be put back into their economy and social services.
March 8 - The Levin Amendment passed the Senate - creating a huge victory for the world's poorest! Because of the work of Jubilee USA and the FACT Coalition, this Amendment will create accountability to stop tax havens and tax avoidance - ensuring the money will go where it belongs - to help the people that need it the most in low-income countries. Learn more about our tax justice issues here.
March 1 - Jubilee USA Network released its principles on responsible lending and borrowing to Congress in a briefing given by Jubilee Board and Network Council Member, Aldo Caliari director of the Rethinking Bretton Woods Project of the Catholic Center of Concern. Caliari was a contributor to Jubilee's new report on responsible lending and borrowing. Click here to learn more. Click here to download the PDF of the report (8MB).
February 24 - Jubilee USA is happy to announce that together, we moved the IMF to use the first distribution of the nearly $3 billion gold windfall profits toward the benefit of the world's poorest. This is the first vote for the initial distribution of $1.1 billion so we will still need to work hard to get the remaining profits to support low income countries. Click here to learn more about our efforts around IMF Gold.
February 23 - Together with ONE and Publish What You Pay, we are urging the SEC to implement the rules and regulations that were laid out in the Cardin-Lugar Amendment, passed over a year and a half ago, requiring that companies reveal what they pay for extraction of oil, gas and minerals in foreign countries to the SEC. The SEC has yet to set these rules, mainly because big oil has been lobbying against it. The Cardin-Lugar Amendment was a coup for transparency in international finances and a step to help curb corruption, and should be implemented in the true spirit of the law. In February, Jubilee USA and partners delivered a 110,000 signature strong petition to the SEC to maintain the Amendment. Click here to learn more.
February 10 - Jubilee USA along with members of the FACT Coalition, signed a letter to President Obama urging him to look at egregious corporate tax loopholes that reward companies that shift profits and jobs offshore. Click here to read the letter. Click here to learn more about Jubilee and tax justice.
December - Jubilee USA was joined by former Congressman Tom Perreillo for a talk on, "Egypt: Debt, Elections and Human Rights." Click here to watch the YouTube video.
