Archived -NEWS -- Jan to Aug 2006

Cancel All Illegitimate and Odious Debts - be they for weapons, palaces, or useless power plants.

Why are the people in the Philippines expected to repay debt incurred by the greed of the former president Marcus,who is estimated to have fled into exile with some US$5 to US$13 billion in 1986.

Why should the people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) be expected to repay over US$13 billion stolen by the dictator Mobutu.

Why are the people of Bolivia having to pay the US$3 billion contracted to the military junta by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund

SOME CASES OF ODIOUS DEBTS - SHOULD THE WORLD'S POOR HAVE TO REPAY THESE ILLEGITIMATE DEBTS?

International Conference on the Cancellation of Illegitimate Debts, May 2006
READ HERE

One Year on from 2005 and the office door is not closed at Debt and Development Coalition Ireland, and I wonder WHY?

In June / July 2005, while campaigners and social movements rallied for Justice throughout the world, the G8 world leaders gathered for a photo opportunity outside Gleneagles, Scotland to announce their plan for ‘a historic deal’ of 100% debt cancellation for the poorest nations in our world, an increase in Overseas Development Aid and to make changes to international trade policy.
One year later, it’s important to look back and ask:

What Has Been Achieved? Read more here

See also:
G8 Debt Deal One Year On: What Happened and What Next?
EURODAD Report
June 2006
Dowload here PDF

See also the following article from Jubilee Debt Campaign UK:

The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative: The good, the bad and the ugly!
Dowload here PDF

Debt & Development Coalition Ireland says on World Debt Day:

'They still haven't found what they are looking for...
... 100% Debt Cancellation'

LISTEN TO ANNE REILLY OF DEBT & DEVELOPMENT COALITION INTERVIEWED ON 2FM'S NEWSBEAT ON WORLD DEBT DAY!
CLICK HERE(REQUIRES realPlayer)

Sir Bob Geldof said in May 2005 that "240 million Africans will wake up for the first time in their lives without owing you or me a penny from the burden of debt..."

May 16th 2006 was World Debt Day, Bono made his mark on the British Independent Newspaper promoting joinred.com trying to get big business on board his campaign to raise funds for the Global Fund to fight the HIV/AID in Africa. Is the answer to fighting preventable diseases such as HIV/AID's in Africa to give big business an ethical marketing opportunity by donating a percentage of the cost of certain "Red" branded products to the Global Fund, OR should the solution lie in tackling the root causes?

Debt and Development Coalition Ireland says there's a hole in the bucket, dear Bono, dear Bono - a massive big hole.

For every €1 given in Official Development Aid to Developing Countries, over 5 times that, €5 comes back in Debt Repayments.


On May 16th people in Bolivia, Congo and Nicaragua spent more on debt repayments than on health and education.

50% of the population are still having to live on €1 euro a day.

50% of hospital beds are occupied with people with HIV related illnesses.

On World Debt Day we called on the Irish Government to join with the Norwegian Government in pressing the World Bank and the United Nations to undertake a study on Illegitimate and Odious Debt as a step in the right direction in bring about a just resolution to the Debt Crisis.



Eliminate All Illegitimate and Odious Debts be they for weapons, palaces, or useless power plants.

Latin America Heavily Indebted Poor Countries cry out for justice.

The Case for Cancelling Inter-American Development Bank Debt NOW!

In 2005, following significant public pressure, the G8 announced a plan to cancel US$40bn in debt of 18 of some of the world’s most impoverished nations. 14 African nations and 4 Latin American nations will, in 2006, benefit from the cancellation of debts (but not the 100% claimed) owed to the World Bank, IMF and African Development Fund (AfDF). This deal does not go nearly far enough.

Many Latin American nations face huge challenges, however, only 4 countries on the continent have been formally classified as HIPCs (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries). Latin American HIPC and non-HIPC countries alike are struggling with very high levels of poverty, gross income inequalities and unsustainable debt ratios. Debts owed by Latin American nations to the Inter-American Development Bank, among other regional multilateral creditors not included in 2005’s multilateral debt deal.

This short paper sets out why debt campaigners across Latin America, North America and Europe believe that the G8 multilateral debt deal should be extended to debts owed by the 4 Latin American HIPCs to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Also IDB debt cancellation should be extended to all those Latin American nations that need it in order to reach the MDGs by the internationally agreed target-date of 2015.

Download the paper here (387KB)

HIPC countries have to sell the rights to water in return for Debt cancellation.

As part of the conditionalities to be met before HIPEC countries qualify for debt relief, water privatisation is one of the most contentious. Is this forced dependency on the private sector who's sole motive is profit, the most appropriate means for delivering water to the world's poorest people?

Public utilities privatisation in developing countries is an ongoing disaster and the private sector is failing to deliver the investment necessary to meet international targets on water and sanitation according to a report by the World Development Movement (WDM) and Public Services International (PSI)

For more information download 'Pipe dreams: The failure of the private sector to invest in water services in developing countries' click here (279KB)

IMF delivers on the G8 promises from January 2006

The 19 qualifying countries will get cancellation of all debts to the IMF on loans agreed before the end of 2004. This will come into effect from January 2006