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>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Sep 14 16:10 PDT 1996
Date: Sat, 14 Sep 1996 13:03:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: African Faith and Justice Network <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Action Alert - Debt Relief
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Action Alert for Debt Relief
(In collaboration with the Fifty Years Is Enough Network and
other organizations)
Please note that the World Bank and IMF will hold their Annual
Meeting in Washington the first week in October. Debt Relief for
severely indebted countries (many of which are in Africa) is on
the agenda. Your phone call is important.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has circulated a sign-on letter to
Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. The letter has circulated to
three lists: the Africa Subcommittee of International
Relations, the Banking Committee, and the Congressional Black
Caucus. Whether or not your rep is on one of those, (s)he can get
it by contacting Michael Treisman in Rep. Barney Frank's
office at 202-225-5931.
The letter will close out very soon, perhaps as early as Monday,
September 16. Please act quickly.
The letter thanks Treasury for supporting debt relief
consensus-building, and encourages more leadership in the IMF,
underscoring the importance of taking action at the annual
meeting. The letter urges that the IMF establish debt relief
principles including that countries should reallocate money
saved through debt relief into investment in the health and
education of their people.
Action:
1. Call your rep and ask for the aide who deals with
international relations issues. Ask if the aide has seen the
Barney Frank letter to Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. If
not, explain briefly what it's about and tell the aide that
it's available from Michael Treisman in Rep. Barney Frank's
office at 225-5931. Explain why you care about this issue and
urge that your rep sign on.
2. Propagate this action to other U.S. individuals and groups
capable of taking this action or before Monday, September 16.
The text of the letter to Rubin appears below.
From: "Michael Treisman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Secretary Robert Rubin
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20220
Dear Secretary Rubin:
We have been closely following the recent negotiations on
establishing a mechanism for providing multilateral debt relief
for the world's poorest countries and wish to express our
appreciation for the role you and your staff have played in
moving all the participants in these discussions towards a
consensus for action. In particular, the World Bank's
announcement to set aside $500 million in net income for the
purpose of providing debt relief is a sign of the success of your
perseverance.
With the World Bank having already agreed to provide relief, our
greatest concern lies with establishing a similar consensus at
the IMF for financing bona fide debt relief. Recent signs from
the IMF have been positive. In its most recent discussion papers
on providing debt relief, the IMF discuses offering relief
through grants, rather than loans, as well as using social
conditionality as a criterion for eligibility to a debt relief
program. Both of these principles are essential to an effective
program as they will ensure that genuine relief occurs and that
countries will use the money saved to invest in the health and
education of their people. It is essential that we continue to
push the IMF to make these principals a permanent part of any
plan.
Timing is also an issue of concern. In the past, the World Bank
and the IMF have discussed the possibility of providing debt
relief, only to leave the annual meetings without a plan for
action and the will to address the issue. Yet over this period of
time, the amount of debt the poorest countries have incurred has
ballooned immensely. We can no longer afford to let this burden
grow, and we must spur the Bank and the Fund to achieve consensus
on a debt relief proposal by the conclusion of this year's annual
meetings.
As you know, the size of the debt burden for the poorest
countries, many of them in Africa, has perpetuated large-scale
suffering and poverty. To continue to force nations to pay these
debts at the expense of the health and welfare of their people is
not defensible. Moreover, this debt burden has a significant
negative economic impact on developing as well developed
countries. Because of the sheer size of the debt the poorest
countries are saddled with, economic growth stagnates and foreign
investment fades. And, without growth and an increasing standard
of living, these countries ultimately lack the resources to
purchase goods and services from developed countries which need
new markets, such as our own.
We appreciate your continued attention to this matter.
***************
For those who are able to attend the Religious Working Group on
the World Bank and the IMF is sponsoring a Prayer Service and
Candlelight Vigil on Monday September 30 (the eve of the Annual
Meetings of the World Bamk and IMF)
Place: New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
1313 New York Ave; Washington DC
Time: 7:00 p.m.
