wfn.org | U.S. churchwomen press for debt cancellation

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4-December-1998 
 
 
U.S. churchwomen press for debt cancellation 
 
 
December 3, 1998    Contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York 
{711} 
 
 
HARARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) -- A 125-member U.S. delegation to the World 
Council of Churches' Ecumenical Decade Festival in Harare, Zimbabwe, has 
called for total debt cancellation for very impoverished countries. 
 
The delegation, which included United Methodists, targeted its Dec. 1 
letter to President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, 
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and the presidents of the 
International Monetary Fund and World Bank. 
 
They are being urged to "take steps toward the complete cancellation of 
debt for the most heavily indebted countries as a first step in changing 
the unjust economic policies which govern our world." 
 
The letter reflected one of the four priorities of the Ecumenical Decade 
of the Churches in Solidarity with Women, the end of which was being 
celebrated at the Nov. 27-30 festival and the experiences of 50 U.S. 
participants who had visited 10 African countries before the event. 
 
"We saw that the people of Africa suffer greatly because of the unfair 
burden of debt, which drains their economy," the letter stated. 
 
The delegation pointed out that many of the original debts had been 
paid. "It is only because of the unjust hikes in interest rates during 
the 1980s that debts increased so dramatically, making payback almost 
impossible." 
 
The Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) implemented by the 
International Monetary Fund and World Bank to reschedule loan payments 
"have further devastated the social and economic fabric of Africa and 
other regions. The SAPs have resulted in less spending on basic human 
needs such as health care, education and food subsidies. Furthermore, 
Structural Adjustment has forced many small subsistence farms to change 
over to export cash crops." 
 
Because African women are the primary agricultural producers, the debt 
burden has fallen most heavily on them and children, the letter said. 
Families are torn apart as parents seek work, eroding the cultural and 
social fabric of life. 
 
"In this 50th anniversary year of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, 
we call on you to ensure that U.S. policies do not violate the human 
rights of our global sisters and brothers. It is our responsibility as 
the world super-power to lead the globe in respecting and protecting the 
basic dignity of all of God's people," the letter concluded. 
*************** 
 
United Methodist News Service 
(615)742-5470 
Releases and photos also available at 
http://www.umc.org/umns/ 

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