The Religion News Service quotes Eric LeCompte on Jubilee 2025 and the previous Jubilee year, 2000. Read an excerpt below, or the full article here.

African faith leaders call for debt forgiveness in 2025 Jubilee year

By Fredrick Nzwili

The faith leaders point to the preceding Jubilee Year in 2000, when a coalition for debt forgiveness successfully freed $130 billion in debt relief in 38 countries and reduced poverty, they say.

“While we have moved forward critical debt relief and aid, we still need improvements in debt relief and aid processes,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious development organization Jubilee USA Network and a co-organizer of the convening of African leaders. “If we had the debt policies and institutions religious leaders called for 25 years ago, we would have tools to help address the climate and poverty crises.”

Those policies include improved access to permanent, rules-based processes that bind creditors into debt reductions and lower the costs of international crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic response to limit suffering in developing nations.  

Read more here.