wfn.org | Buenos Aires: International Consultation on Illegitimate

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

Buenos Aires: LWF Churches Co-Host International Consultation on Illegitimate Debt
External Debt Has Led to the Impoverishment of Millions

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina/GENEVA, 20 September 2005 (LWI) * An international
consultation on illegitimate external debt called for by the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) member churches in Latin America and the Latin
American Council of Churches  (CLAI), will take place in Buenos Aires,
Argentina, September 21-23. The meeting's objective is to improve the
ecumenical partners' knowledge of the Latin American perception about the
illegitimacy of external debt.

Thirty-five participants from Latin American LWF member churches, from
Germany, Kenya, Norway, Sweden and the United States of America are
expected at the consultation. The church representatives hope to develop
common goals and strategic programs concerning illegitimate debt with a
view to achieving the cancellation of external debt.

The meeting will be organized by the Argentina-based program on illegitimate debt sponsored by the LWF member churches in the Latin America and
Caribbean region, in cooperation with the Latin America and Caribbean Desk
of the LWF Department for Mission and Development (DMD). The working theme
of the consultation is "Illegitimate External Debt: From Prophetic
Denunciation to Political Action."

Keynote speakers include Argentinean Nobel Peace Laureate Adolfo Pérez
Esquivel, honored in 1980 for his non-violent action to protect human
rights in Argentina and other countries in Latin America. Also expected to
address the conference is local economist and debt expert, Claudio Lozano,
also a Member of Parliament; as well as former Ecuadorian Minister of
Economy and Finance, Dr Rafael Correa.

According to Rev. Juan Pedro Schaad of the Evangelical Church of the River
Plate in Argentina (IERP), the conference will focus on the illegality,
illegitimacy and injustice of the Latin American countries' immense
external debt, which has led to the impoverishment of millions of people
over the last 30 years. Schaad and Rev. Angel F. Furlan of the United
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Argentina are jointly responsible for the
Latin American churches' program on illegitimate debt.

Schaad said that the record should be set straight regarding the fact that
most of the countries have long since paid off their external debt. He
pointed out that since 1985, Argentina alone has paid 2.4 times the amount
of its original debt. The former president of the IERP emphasized that the
illegitimacy of external debt needed to be proven with examples of solid
evidence.

Rev. Martin Junge, LWF/DMD Area Secretary for Latin America and the
Caribbean, said the aim of the consultation was to discuss and reflect on
the various approaches to debt management used by churches and non-governmental organizations. "We also want to develop concrete steps and models in
order to drive forward the issue of illegitimate external debt and to
encourage political action at regional, national and international
levels," he explained. A broad international campaign supported by the
churches and partner organizations was required, he noted.

Junge underscored that debt relief or any type of debt management that
failed to take into account the illegitimacy of external debt would not be
viable from the point of view of the Latin American churches.

Junge particularly welcomed the participation of Bishop Zachariah Wachira
Kahuthu, Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church, who has been invited with the
aim to link the Latin American illegitimate debt discussion process with
that of the African LWF member churches. (549 words)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140
member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of nearly 66 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in
areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations,
theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the
various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is
located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an
article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

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