Protect Vulnerable Communities from Financial Crisis

Written on: November 28, 2016

Please consider signing this petition by clicking on any of the green sections of the message below. Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart have long supported Jubilee USA as part of our way to carry out our corporate stand to support debt cancellation for impoverished nations.

Thanks and a blessed Advent,

Sister Diane Bardol

At Jubilee USA we focus on changing the structures that cause poverty and inequality. Our work on debt, tax and trade protects vulnerable communities from financial crisis.

While our victories include over a 130 billion dollars in debt relief, powerful global anti-corruption efforts and greater accountability in the financial system – world leaders have not enacted a system to prevent financial crisis.

Since its founding, Jubilee USA has never been closer to implementing a global bankruptcy process that can resolve financial crisis and address what the IMF calls the reason for global inequality, debt.

Can you sign our petition calling on leaders to move forward a global debt resolution process?

Over the last few years, Jubilee USA won a series of United Nation votes to create a process, we ‎won reforms at the IMF and in the global financial system. But we have more work to do to achieve a full bankruptcy process.

We look to Haiti to see that debt relief, while essential, is not enough.‎

Recently Hurricane Matthew struck one of the poorest nations in the world. Over the last 7 years, ‎we won two campaigns for debt relief in Haiti and their debt is now considered to be low. Because there is no formal process that can evaluate Haiti’s debt burden and financing needs in light of another tragedy, we need you to sign our petition.

Let Congress, the new White House and world leaders know that we need to be ready to prevent the next financial crisis –  whether it’s a global crisis, a crisis in Zambia or El Salvador or St. Lucia or Illinois – we can stop it.

Jubilee USA, working with religious partners across Puerto Rico and the US, passed innovative bankruptcy legislation this past summer. The Puerto Rico legislation advances debt payment moratoriums, measures to stop so called “vulture funds,” neutral debt arbitration procedures and protections on vulnerable populations. This year I testified to Congress on how a process like this can protect Puerto Rico. Last week I went to Puerto Rico and testified in front of Puerto Rico’s Oversight Board and offered a road map on restructuring Puerto Rico’s debt and insights into how a process can work for our world. Both presidential candidates supported this type of bankruptcy process for Puerto Rico.

Because of our work on ‎Puerto Rico, the majority of Republicans and Democrats understand what words like financial crisis and bankruptcy actually mean. They also understand why a global bankruptcy process is important. Please join me and let our leaders know we want to address inequality, prevent financial crisis and protect vulnerable people. 

Puerto Rico and Haiti represent too many Caribbean islands dealing with financial crisis. Leaders across the Caribbean, dealing with debt crises and high poverty rates, continue to call for a global or even regional bankruptcy process. We are sitting at the table to address as many of these crises as possible – but without better ways to restructure debt, we are playing a game of whack-a-mole.

As crisis continues to unfold in many countries like Brazil, Venezuela, Ghana, Mozambique and Barbados, we can act.

Congressional Quarterly cites Jubilee USA’s work as the last bipartisan efforts on Capitol Hill. Sign our statement calling for world leaders to create a global bankruptcy process to promote transparency, resolve debt crisis and reduce poverty.

Gratefully,

Eric LeCompte
Executive Director
Twitter: @Eric_LeCompte
https://jubileeusa.nationbuilder.com/donate

This entry was posted in With a Heart for Justice and tagged: Barbados, Brazil, Caribbean Islands, debt crisis, financial crisis, Ghana, global bankruptcy, Haiti, Hurricane Matthew, Jubilee USA, moratoriums, Mozambique, poverty, Puerto Rico, religious partners, restructure debt, United Nations, Venezuela, vulnerable