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Ecuadoran Government Invites Lutheran Churches to Participate in Foreign Debt Audit New Commission Initiative Marks Milestone
QUITO, Ecuador/GENEVA, 14 August 2007 (LWI) * The Government of Ecuador has invited the Latin American member churches of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) to participate in Ecuador?s newly formed "Comisión para la Auditoria Integral del Crédito Público * CAIC" (Commission for the Complete Auditing of Public Debt). The invitation came in relation to the churches? illegitimate foreign debt program.
Set up by Ecuador's President Rafael Correa in early July, the commission will audit all of the South American republic?s public debt between 1976 and 2006. This will include an evaluation of the country?s contracts with their conditions and implementation, the amount of debt negotiated, later changes in debt conditions, and the contractually determined and actual usage of the funds.
The Ecuadoran government has guaranteed the commission access to all relevant information, and has instructed the country's public offices accordingly. In his July 5 decree, President Correa stipulated that internationally recognized and competent initiatives should be included in the commission?s work. The commission is chaired by Ecuador's Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr Fausto Ortiz de la Cadena.
The commission's opening session took place on 24 July in Ecuador?s port city of Guayaquil. Argentinean Dr Alejandro Olmos Gaona, a specialist, represented the LWF?s illegitimate foreign debt program there. He was appointed chairperson of the working group on related legal issues, because of his extensive experience in auditing debt, particularly in Argentina, as well as his broad knowledge of the legal side of foreign debt. Dr Gaona was also asked to evaluate the Brady Plan and audit the issuance of bonds by the Ecuadoran government that arose from the plan.
In a communiqué on the appointment of the commission in early August, the two members of the LWF illegitimate foreign debt program based in Argentina, Rev. Ángel F. Furlan, former president of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church [Argentina], and Rev. Juan Pedro Schaad, former president of the Evangelical Church of the River Plate [Argentina], wrote that the Ecuadoran government's initiative constituted a milestone. They pointed out that for the first time in the past 50 years, a government had decided to embark on a complete audit of its public debt as a means of determining the debt?s legitimacy and legality.
?What we, as churches of the regional communion, have been demonstrating for years with regard to foreign debt not only is now being confirmed by the sovereign decision of the Ecuadoran government, but also is providing support to our call for the cancellation of all illegitimate foreign debt,? Furlan and Schaad stated in their communiqué.
The director of the LWF Department for Mission and Development (DMD), Rev. Dr Kjell Nordstokke, expressed satisfaction over the global communion of member churches' response to the Latin American churches' plea at the 2003 LWF Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada, and its subsequent support for them through DMD work. He said ?the churches have translated their prophetic call into concrete action and are now participating in processes aimed at improving the deplorable state of affairs of the international lending system. This development shows clearly how we can engage in the concept of prophetic diakonia and put it to practical use.?
The LWF Latin American member churches have maintained an advocacy program working on the topic of illegitimate foreign debt in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2004. The program is supported by DMD and coordinated at the local level. Its goal is to raise awareness at various church levels about the illegitimacy of foreign debt, both in developing countries and in the industrialized world.
The delegates to the 2003 LWF Tenth Assembly put forth in a public statement that the debt burden was ?a major barrier against eradication of poverty and fulfillment of basic human rights for all." In the statement, the delegates called upon international financial institutions and ?the dominant nations in the world? to accept ?their responsibili ty for the bad policies, decisions and practices, which led to the current debt crisis.? The assembly delegates, further determined that there was ?an urgent need to develop mechanisms at an international level in order to find ways" to introduce justice-oriented debt management. (699 words)
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(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 66.7 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith 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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