What happens next: campaigning on debt beyond the millennium year

As the 31 December deadline set by the Jubilee 2000 UK Coalition approaches, and with it the end of the campaign in its current form, Michael Taylor, President of the Jubilee 2000 UK Coalition, explains the plans for future UK-based campaigning.

“The time-limited campaign to get the debts of the poorest countries cancelled by the end of this year (which we have all seen as a moral duty since the poor cannot wait) has by definition to end, and with it the Coalition and the Board which it elected.

But it is generally and clearly agreed that there is a great deal of work for us all to do after the end of this year if we are not to neglect our moral obligation to complete what we have so well begun. Where unpayable debts remain, they must still be cancelled.

The Board of the Jubilee 2000 Coalition has heard many voices in recent months to that effect – from the regional groups, national organisations and individual supporters that make up the UK Coalition and from campaigns around the world. We feel that three initiatives already proposed should be considered 'natural successors' to the Jubilee 2000 Coalition. There may well be others, but these three have been widely discussed and are well advanced:

Drop the Debt

A short-life initiative to win a New Deal on Debt by the time of the G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy, in July 2001, led by Adrian Lovett in close collaboration with the Italian debt campaign and major organisations of the Jubilee 2000 Coalition, and maintaining direct communication with regional and local campaigning groups in the UK.

To be part of the campaign for a new deal on debt by the time of the 2001 Genoa Summit, write to Drop the Debt, PO Box 5555, London SE1 0WG, Tel: 020 7922 1111, email mail@dropthedebt.org or go to www.dropthedebt.org

Jubilee Plus

A longer-term project led by Ann Pettifor to sustain the momentum in global popular campaigning and education while preparing to step up the campaign on to a new phase. Jubilee Plus will consider shifting from the need for debt cancellation to a campaign that tackles the causes of international debt.

To keep abreast of research on debt and issues of justice in international finance, write to Jubilee Plus, c/o New Economics Foundation, Cinnamon House, 6-8 Cole Street, London SE1 4YH, Tel: 0207 4077447 ext 265, email ann.pettifor@neweconomics.org / annpettifor@cs.com or go to www.jubileeplus.org

Debt Network

An open and inclusive 'Debt Network' coordinating future policy and campaigning work on debt, led by major UK organisations in the Coalition, which will support the Drop the Debt initiative and continue beyond. I very much hope it will include local and regional groups.

To keep in touch with work on debt by major organisations in the Jubilee 2000 Coalition who will be continuing to focus on debt as part of a Debt Network, contact the organisations directly or read about their plans here.

One thing is clear: if we are serious about continuing and increasing the pressure for debt cancellation, the first thing we must all do is work to win real progress before the Genoa summit. Drop the Debt will give campaigning leadership during this time, communicating directly with regional and national supporting organisations and with international partners. The Debt Network will be wholly committed to this effort. After Genoa, many will look to Jubilee Plus who will put forward major new ideas on the future of international campaigning on justice in global finance. I believe Jubilee Plus will need to keep in close touch with the Debt Network, whose primary task will be to continue to coordinate the debt work of major UK organisations and spreading information about it more widely.

These new initiatives, working together, will give us clear and unambiguous campaign leadership, the information and support we all need locally and regionally, fresh thinking about the future and the assurance that major organisations at the heart of this Coalition remain wholly committed to the continued struggle for justice for those in the poorest countries.”

A listserve has been set up for discussion of the future of the Jubilee 2000 movement – you can join at http://www.egroups.com/group/debt-future

For further background information on the future campaign plans, see

• Letter from the three initiatives
• Jubilee 2000: Beyond the Millennium Year – what happens next?