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Kairos Times: June 2005 Vol 4, #6
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Poverty exists because of the choices we make. It exists
because we have:
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| -- Make Poverty History Campaign |
Summer blessings to everyone!
In This Edition
- The G8—what’s up?
- KAIROS refugee petition is over but the work continues
- Action on climate change needed at the G8 meeting
- Mark your calendars—regional meetings coming up
- KAIROS protests planned house demolitions in East Jerusalem
- Back to the table in Darfur-- and update on Southern Sudan
- New on our site…
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The G8 – what’s up? |
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Real change takes a long time. Since the 1980’s, people from around the world have called for end to unjust debts. In the 1990’s and into 2000, millions took part in the Jubilee call for debt cancellation, a fair global trade system, and action on climate change. Today, people are gathering near the G8 meeting in Edinburgh to continue the struggle against these human-made crises. The G8 represents the world’s wealthiest nations and their decisions affect the lives of millions. We invite you to join your voice to the global call for justice! Following are updates on the G8’s latest debt plan, an invitation to action, and an update on the place of climate change on the G8 agenda.
:: Debt Plan – A step forward but it’s far from perfect
On June 11, G8 Finance Ministers announced a plan to cancel debts owed by some low-income countries to three international financial institutions. We urge all those who have not yet done so to download and send the letter on debt to the Prime Minister (see below), which has been updated to reflect the outcome of the G8 Finance Ministers’ announcement. Send it prior to the upcoming G8 Summit, which begins July 6.
What about this debt plan?
The plan is an important step forward; it signals the acceptance by the world’s eight wealthiest countries of the principle of 100% multilateral debt cancellation for the world’s poorest countries.
It also recognises that previous debt relief initiatives like the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative have failed. Another positive feature of the proposal is that the International Monetary Fund’s share of debt cancellation can be funded through the use of its own resources.
However, there are also severe limitations in the debt plan. Coverage is initially limited to just 18 countries. There’s a possibility that 20 more might qualify at a later date, but only if they comply with World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions. Yet at least 62 low-income countries need both immediate, unconditional debt cancellation and additional aid to meet the goals of halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and halving the incidence of extreme poverty, hunger and lack of safe drinking water.
The other major shortcoming of the G8 proposal is that it continues to make eligibility for debt cancellation dependent on adherence to International Monetary Fund and World Bank policies. We believe these conditions are more likely to prolong poverty than to end it.
Prime Minister Paul Martin and the other G8 leaders will discuss the plan at their July 6-8 Summit at Gleneagles, Scotland. KAIROS urges the Prime Minister to lead a movement to secure the immediate and unconditional cancellation of the debts owed to international financial institutions by all impoverished countries. Canada has recently championed the principle of “equity of treatment” for all poor countries, not just the few covered by the Finance Ministers’ proposal.
The G8 leaders must also ensure that peoples are free to follow their own national development strategies by ending the practice of tying aid and debt remission to adherence to IMF and World Bank economic policy conditions.
For the KAIROS action sheet on debt, including an updated letter
to the PM, see: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/economic/debt/KAIROSUpdate_Debt_April05.pdf
For both summary and full analyses of the G8 Debt Proposal, see
the Debt index page at http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/economic/debt/index.asp
For more information contact John Dillon, Program Coordinator,
Global Economic Justice, telephone 416-463-5569 extension 231 or
jdillon
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KAIROS refugee petition is over but the work continues |
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We underestimated your tenacity! After MPs Diane Ablonzscy (Conservative) and Mario Silva (Liberal) presented what we thought were the last 13,000 of our roughly 23,000 signatures on the “Appeal for Refugee Rights” petition, you continued to send us signatures. We now have another 1,000 at the office, and we will use them at a later point in our continued lobbying for the Refugee Appeal Division.
As part of that lobbying, KAIROS has issued a joint statement with
Amnesty International and the Canadian Council for Refugees. And
staff person Tanya Chute Molina offered a commentary on Appeal Division
on CBC national radio.
This struggle will continue, and we invite all who would like to
stay in touch with refugee and migrants rights issues on an ongoing
basis to contact Tanya. We thank you for all your efforts; each
of these public statements stands as a strong testimony to your
determination to make justice for people seeking refuge.
For more information or to stay involved, contact Tanya Chute Molina,
Program Coordinator, Refugees/ Migrants at: 1 877 403 8933 x252
or
tchute
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Action on climate change needed at the G8 meeting |
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The Climate Change Action Network (CANET) has sent a letter to PM Martin requesting urgent action on climate change at upcoming G8 meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland.
See the letter in a PDF file at:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/letters/Letter_PM-G8_CANET_June05.pdf
KAIROS participates on the Steering Committee of the Canadian Climate
Action Network. We continue to advocate for immediate implementation
of the Canadian government's Climate Change Action Plan at home,
and request the Prime Minister to show leadership among his G8 counterparts,
particularly the United States, to work toward strategies and actions
that will further the implementation of the agreements in the Kyoto
Protocol. We also point to the upcoming Montreal UN Climate Change
Conference (November 28-December 9, 2005) as the opportunity to
demonstrate a concerted emphasis on directions beyond 2012, when
the first Kyoto commitment period concludes.
For further information contact: Joy Kennedy, Ecological Justice Coordinator, ext. 222 or jkennedy
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Mark your calendars—regional meetings coming up |
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Join the KAIROS network this fall in its 2005 regional meetings.
Take this chance to gather with people concerned about justice for
all. The meetings are open to all, and focus on community-building
and issues of interest to the region and the national organization.
This year we’ll get ready to launch our new campaign: Water:
Life Before Profit! See complete listings in this PDF flyer, and
feel free to copy and distribute widely:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/network/KAIROSregionalMeetings2005.pdf
The meetings are also listed on our event posting at http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/events/index.asp
(We’d like to see your events posted there too!)
For more information, contact Sara Stratton, Network Coordinator,
1 877 403 8933 x241 or
sstratton
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KAIROS protests planned house demolitions in East Jerusalem |
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KAIROS calls upon the Canadian government to express its opposition to the plans of the Israeli government to demolish an entire Palestinian neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Municipality of Jerusalem just announced its plans to demolish eighty-eight homes housing some one thousand Palestinian residents just below the walled Old City in order to build an archeological park. Residents of some forty houses have already received court orders for demolition.
The operation would be the largest demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem since Israel occupied the city in 1967. According to City Engineer Uri Shitreet, who issued the orders, the aim is to return this densely populated Palestinian part of the city “to its landscape of yore" as the site upon which King David established his kingdom. According to the Israeli paper Ha’aretz, however, the proposed park will actually connect several Jewish settlements already established in the Silwan area, and will ensure that Jewish neighbourhoods connect across occupied East Jerusalem.
Israel’s plan for this mass demolition illustrates how, during this time of heightened international optimism, the Israeli government is escalating its measures to alter the status of East Jerusalem in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law.
KAIROS will continue its work in this area—watch for information
and action suggestions in future editions! For more information,
contact Hanadi Loubani, Program Coordinator: Middle East Partnerships,
416 463 5312 x239 or
hloubani
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Back to the table in Darfur-- and update on Southern Sudan |
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The Sudanese government resumed peace talks with the two main rebel
movements in the western Sudanese region of Darfur on June 13th.
The latest round of peace talks mediated by the African Union (AU)
are being held in the Nigerian capital Abuja following a six-month
break.
As well, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
has opened an investigation into the situation in Darfur. A March
Security Council resolution requires Sudan and all other parties
to the conflict to cooperate with the court.
Action by Churches Together (ACT), a global alliance which includes a number of Canadian churches, has appealed for nearly US $8.6 million to help thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees returning to their homes in southern Sudan. See their special page on Sudan.
“Spontaneous returnees, most of whom are returning empty handed, will place additional demands on the fragile local food supplies due to erratic rains in 2004 and the few amenities in healthcare, schools and clean drinking water points,” ACT said recently. The IDPs and refugees have been returning at an average of 1,500 daily since the signing of a January peace agreement that ended two decades of civil war in southern Sudan.
KAIROS, with its partners in the Sudan Inter-Agency Reference Group,
has written a letter to the Prime Minister outlining steps which
Canada can take to support the search for peace in each of the conflicts
of Sudan. The letter can be found at:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/letters/ltrMartin050606.asp
For more information contact John Lewis, Program Coordinator: International
Human Rights,
jlewis
or 416 463 5312 ext. 224.
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New on our site… |
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In addition to the stories and articles above, see:
Volunteer archivist: Interested in the history of the ecumenical social justice movement?? We’re looking for a summer-long volunteer in our Toronto office to help us archive our historical material! See http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/support/volunteerArchivist.asp
COMING SOON—check out our 2005-2006 education campaign! Water: Life Before Profit will be shared with our member Development and Peace and will be a fully bilingual education and action campaign with a focus on privatization. We’ll also take a look at the bottled water industry. It all starts in September—watch this space for further details.
HAPPY SUMMER to one and all.
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