>From: sawicky at epinet.org (Max Sawicky)
>To: "Lbo-Talk" <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>, "PEN-L" <PEN-L at galaxy.csuchico.edu>
>Subject: FW: AFL-CIO calls for 100% debt cancellation, not
>conditioned on structural adjustment
>Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 14:48:57 +0100
>Message-ID: <NFBBICFMIKGPJNEEGOLOCEMFCBAA.sawicky at epinet.org>
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>April 26, 2001
>
>Dear Representative /Senator:
>
>During the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings
>this week in Washington, the issue of debt cancellation will be
>discussed. The AFL-CIO has urged the U.S. government to call on the IMF
>and World Bank to immediately cancel 100 percent of the debts owed to
>them by impoverished countries. We have worked closely with Congress
>and joined people of faith, humanitarian groups, environmentalists, and
>trade unionists around the world in calling for these crippling debts to
>be lifted, and we are proud of the progress that has been made with your
>help.
>
>Thanks to Congress, the United States has already committed to canceling
>100 percent of the bilateral debts owed by the poorest and most indebted
>countries, and other G-7 countries have done the same. Added debt
>relief has made a big difference, but even with this relief many poor
>countries still spend more servicing their international debts than they
>do on health care and education. Workers and their families pay the
>price in needless human suffering. In these countries, the devastation
>of the HIV/AIDS crisis continues to grow, too many people lack access to
>adequate food and clean water, and millions of children still go to work
>each day instead of to school.
>
>It is time for the IMF and the World Bank ñ the poor countriesí largest
>creditors ñ to match the commitment already made by the United States
>and other countries and cancel 100 percent of their debts. Independent
>financial analyses show that these debts can be cancelled now, out of
>existing IMF and World Bank resources, without impairing the
>institutionsí ability to provide generous development assistance in the
>future. This would not require any U.S. funds beyond the $240 million we
>have already committed to provide this year under the current debt
>relief program.
>
>One hundred percent IMF and World Bank debt cancellation is not only a
>financial possibility, it is a moral imperative. We urge you to call on
>the Treasury Department to instruct our representatives at the IMF and
>World Bank to insist that the institutions immediately cancel 100
>percent of the debts owed to them by impoverished countries out of their
>existing reserves. This should include some of the poor, indebted
>countries that do not meet the criteria for the institutionsí Highly
>Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt relief program, such as Bangladesh,
>Haiti, and Nigeria. Moreover, this debt cancellation should not be
>conditioned on the implementation of failed structural adjustment
>policies, which have not produced substantial growth, reduced poverty,
>or promoted development in poor countries. Finally, trade unions and
>civil society groups in these countries must have a role in determining
>how the savings resulting from debt cancellation will be spent to fight
>poverty and support long-term human development.
>
>Congress can make this vision a reality. This simple and sensible
>policy will cost U.S. taxpayers nothing, and it will finally allow
>millions of people in developing countries to escape the chains of debt
>and to start on the path to equitable, sustainable, and democratic
>development.
>
>We look forward to working with you on this vital issue.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>William Samuel, Director
>DEPARTMENT OF LEGISLATION