THE JUBILEE IS "AN APPEAL" TO THE DEBT ISSUE

Diarmuid Martin

«For certain developing countries, the amount of contracted debt and especially the reimbursements demanded every year, are so high, compared to their available financial resources, that they cannot comply without causing serious damage to their economies and to the standards of living of their populations, especially the poorest. This critical situation is made worse by external circumstances... International solidarity leads to taking some urgent measures to assure the survival of these countries».

«The payment of the (international) debt cannot be obtained at the price of the failure of a country’s economy and no government can morally demand deprivations from a population which are incompatible with the dignity of the person».

These are two passages drawn from the document of the then Pontifical Commission Iustitia e Pax on the subject of international debt, published over ten years ago, on 27 December 1996. The document, which was presented as «an ethical approach», was characterised by the choice of two directives:
- the solution to the problem of the debt is an urgent matter;
- the solution to the problem is found only in the context of solidarity of rich and poor countries, and of the international community for its responsibilities for the future.

Over ten years from the publication of the document, the international debt problem is still serious, especially for the poorest countries. In addition, building a renewed solidarity continues to be today the most urgent challenge of the family of nations and its institutions. Only a few weeks ago, on occasion of the meeting of the governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, launched a pressing appeal for a rapid solution to the problem: «on the matter of the international debt, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace published a document around ten years ago. Increasingly, international financial institutions recognise that the weight of the debt on the poorest countries constitutes an obstacle to their economic development and causes disastrous social consequences. We welcome with satisfaction this recognition. In the face of the urgency of the problem, it is now a question of realising the practical consequences of it, in view of a rapid application of the new terms for the reduction of the debt towards the largest possible number of countries. It is the poor who pay the costs of indecision and delays.

In the spirit of the appeal made by the Holy Father in Tertio Millennio Adveniente (n. 51), I confide in the leaders of international financial institutions to take rapid and brave initiatives. In order to do this, these institutions still require the richest countries and the strongest economies to show a clearer political will and that they will supply long-term support to these initiatives. There cannot be true globalisation without a renewed sense of international solidarity».

This renewed appeal, as can be noticed, makes direct reference to that of the Holy Father contained in the Apostolic Exhortation Tertio Millennio Adveniente: «In the spirit of the Book of Leviticus (25,8-28), Christians will have to raise their voice on behalf of all the poor of the world, proposing the Jubilee as an appropriate time to give thought, among other things, to reducing substantially, if not cancelling outright, the international debt, that seriously threatens the future of many nations (n.51). The Pope’s request for the remission of the debt thus falls in the context of the celebration of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 in the spirit of the biblical Jubilee, which is illustrated in the Pope’s very Letter: «The jubilee year was meant to restore equality among all the children of Israel, offering new possibilities to the families which had lost their property and personal freedom. On the other hand, the jubilee year was a reminder to the rich that a time would come when Israelite slaves, would once again become their equal and would be able to reclaim their rights. Justice, according to the Law of Israel, consisted above all in the protection of the weak» (n. 13).

Celebrating the Christian Jubilee implies, therefore, a serious reflection on the principles of common good and on the universal destination of goods. Pope John Paul II affirms that «in his Providence God had given the earth to humanity, that meant that he had given it to everyone. Therefore the riches of Creation were to be considered as a common good of the whole of humanity. Those who possessed these goods as personal property were really only stewards, ministers charged with working in the name of God, who remains the sole owner in the full sense, since it is God’s will that created goods should serve everyone in a just way. The jubilee year was meant to restore this social justice» (n. 13).

The Pope concludes: «it has to be said that a commitment to justice and peace in a world like ours, marked by so many conflicts and intolerable social and economic inequalities, is a necessary condition for the preparation and celebration of the Jubilee» (n. 51). The Jubilee cannot therefore be celebrated without being committed to justice and peace. The Jubilee cannot be celebrated without being concerned about the significant inequalities that exist in our world. The matter of the debt is to be considered in this context of inequalities. The spirit of the Jubilee forces us to try to alleviate or remove the weight of the debt to re-establish a relationship of greater equity between the nations, to allow the poorest countries to have fair access to all the material and spiritual wealth that belong to the «family of nations».

The matter of the debt is, undoubtedly, only an aspect of the wider problem of how to build solidarity between nations. But dealing with it, with appropriate and brave initiatives, has a symbolic value as the expression of the will of the richest nations to want to proceed on the path of solidarity. In this perspective, one can understand the particular meaning of the recent initiative by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to notably reduce the debt for some of the higher indebted and poorest countries (HIPC). Although a limited initiative, it represents an important step forward, in that it recognises the fact that at least for the poorest countries a remission of the debt is an economic need and a moral duty. It is a step forward in that it shows that it is possible to prepare a programme to deal globally with the different debts of poor countries and to find financing solutions. The merit goes to those responsible for the initiative.

In his appeal last month, Cardinal Etchegaray had asked for a faster and wider application of the initiative. It is now encouraging to learn that at the meeting in Hong Kong it was decided that, within the current year, at least six countries will join the process. The situation of some of the other countries is under study. In addition, in Hong Kong, more than one government launched an appeal for the initiative to be applied with greater flexibility with the assurance that all eligible countries would benefit by the year 2000. In the name of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Social Commission for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 I appeal again to act with more incisive initiatives in order to resolve the problem of the debt in the poorest countries. It’s the Pope’s appeal. It’s the appeal of some governments. But it is also a popular appeal which comes from many groups and movements sensitive to the suffering of the poorest countries. The international community is asked to look, in the spirit of the biblical Jubilee, at the year 2000 as the year of incisive initiatives for the definitive resolution of the matter of the debt.

This appeal is directed at International Financial Institutions. Let us hope that the good will expressed with the HIPC initiative and the experience that will be acquired with its application may serve to extend the necessary initiatives to all the countries where it is recognised that the debt is unbearable, especially in terms of social sustainability. The appeal is addressed at the governments of the strongest countries of the world, especially to those of the G7. The title of «the most powerful economies in the world» which these countries claim carries greater responsibility toward the weaker economies. The appeal is addressed at the citizens of rich countries so that they do not surrender to policies of isolationism and protectionism, but become a source of promotion in every society of the spirit of solidarity. Such citizens should then verify the support that their government offers to the projects of the international community to resolve the problem of the debt. The fact that only one of the G7 countries has contributed to the Trust Fund of the HIPC is perhaps a worrying indication of the level of that support!

The appeal is also addressed at poor countries. Their governments are entrusted with the responsibility of the future of their populations. They are responsible for a different management of the economy and concern for the weakest. In the search of sustainable solutions they must ensure that every profit obtained from the reduction of the weight of the debt of the past, is destined to the benefit of citizens, especially that it is invested in favour of young people, boys and girls, offering them a more secure base for their participation in the future.

The appeal is addressed at the so-called «private sector», at banks, at industry. It is perhaps the sector that has the greatest opportunities of making profits from the new global order of the economy. For its part it must find the way, through investment, and through the sharing of knowledge and technologies to bring its contribution to the development and growth of the poorest countries. With the solidarity of everyone technical solutions can be found to resolve the problem of the international debt, and ensure that such situations do not happen again, but that relationships between nations become fairer and more harmonious in the respect of the dignity of every person.