Jubilee 2000
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Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of
third world debt The debt of developing countries usually refers to the external debt incurred by governments of developing countries. There have been several historical episodes of governments of developing countries borrowing in quantities beyond their abilit ...
by the year 2000. This movement coincided with the
Great Jubilee The Great Jubilee in 2000 was a major event in the Catholic Church, held from Christmas Eve (December 24) 1999 to Epiphany (January 6) 2001. Like other previous Jubilee years, it was a celebration of the mercy of God and forgiveness of sins. T ...
, the celebration of the year 2000 in the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. The campaign has been generally hailed as very successful. As planned, the Jubilee 2000 Coalition dissolved at the end of the millennium year but left a legacy of organisations around the world.


Concept

The concept derived from the biblical idea of the year of
Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
, the 50th year. In the Jubilee Year as quoted in Leviticus, those enslaved because of debts are freed, lands lost because of debt are returned, and community torn by inequality is restored. It aimed to wipe out $90 billion of debt owed by the world's poorest nations, reducing the total to about $37 billion. The idea was first articulated by
Martin Dent Martin Dent (8 February 1979 in Woking, UK) is an English-born Australian Olympian marathon runner, who ran at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He made his season best time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 29 seconds in the marathon in 28th place. Dent at ...
, a retired lecturer in politics at the
University of Keele Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University Coll ...
, who with his friend, retired diplomat
William Peters William, Willie, Willy, or Bill Peters may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Peters (painter) (1742–1814), British painter * William Theodore Peters (1862–1904), American poet and actor *William Wesley Peters (1912–1991), American ar ...
, linked the biblical Jubilee to a modern
debt relief Debt relief or debt cancellation is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particu ...
programme and founded the Jubilee 2000 campaign in the early 1990s.


Early activism

The activities were initially directed through church channels, and youth groups, in particular, became heavily involved. Campaigns were launched via a secretariat in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, franchising the "trademark" to any who directed campaign in the spirit of Jubilee 2000. The
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
supported the movement; then-
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
George Carey George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During his time as archbishop the Ch ...
addressed a rally in
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
with Dent and Peters, and also made Jubilee 2000 the subject of his New Year’s Day address on
BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
. Several of the UK ministers in charge of the relevant government departments after Labour came to power in 1997 were Scots. These included
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
and
Alastair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member ...
in the Treasury, and
Robin Cook Robert Finlayson "Robin" Cook (28 February 19466 August 2005) was a British Labour politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 until his death in 2005 and served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001 whe ...
as Foreign Secretary, all of whom would support the initiative. Jubilee 2000 Scottish Coalition attracted widespread support from Trade Unions, charities and different church denominations working together, and held events across Scotland. A feature of the campaign was that local groups were active in letter-writing, advocacy and education on international debt issues across the whole of the UK. Perhaps the best known part of the movement was the global campaign created to engage the music and entertainment industries called
Drop The Debt Drop the Debt is the slogan of the late 1990s campaign for international debt cancellation led by the organisation Jubilee 2000. The phrase was coined by filmmaker Mike Christie. He and Jubilee 2000's Jamie Drummond set out to create a mainstrea ...
. Among the supporters were
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
of rock band U2,
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
,
Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is an American salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist and also sings, writes, produces and acts. He is also involved in the politics of New York City. Colón ...
,
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
,
Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...
,
Youssou N'dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...
,
Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...
,
N.T. Wright Nicholas Thomas Wright (born 1 December 1948), known as N. T. Wright or Tom Wright, is an English New Testament scholar, Pauline theologian and Anglican bishop. He was the bishop of Durham from 2003 to 2010. He then became research profe ...
and others. Jubilee 2000 staged demonstrations at the 1998 G8 meeting in
Birmingham, England Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. At the Birmingham meeting, which, among other things, focused on achieving sustainable economic growth in the context of environmental protection and good governance, between 50,000 and 70,000 demonstrators participated in a peaceful protest in an effort to put debt relief on the agenda of Western governments. The protestors made headlines around the world for their activities aimed at increasing awareness, such as forming a human chain around Birmingham City Centre, passing out petitions, and holding workshops.


Impact on debt policy

The protests caught the attention of
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
and
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
, who met with the directors of Jubilee 2000 to discuss the issue of heavy debt in poor countries. Subsequently, the Prime Minister publicly expressed his personal support for, and dedication to, debt forgiveness. While the UK's move to cancel significant third
world debt The global debt is 305 trillion US $ in 2022, including debt by public and private debtors. (A trillion is defined here as a million millions, or 1012.) This debt consists of * 23% private household debt * 38% private debt of non-financial corporat ...
was also influenced by the
millennium development goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenniu ...
, Gordon Brown's decision to support debt cancellation at a Jubilee 2000 rally at
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
underlies the significance of the movement in influencing UK policy. Later, a promise from the United States during the G-7 (G-8 financial ministers, excluding Russia) meeting in
Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...
in 1999 to cancel 100% of the debt that qualifying countries owed the US was attributed in part to the influence of the campaign. Jubilee later lobbied the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
to make good on this promise. Congress responded to the growing pressure to address debt relief issues in 2000 by committing $769 million to bilateral and multilateral debt relief.


Post-Jubilee 2000

From early 2001, Jubilee 2000 split into an array of organisations around the world; Jubilee South (encompassing many former Jubilee campaigns in Africa, Asia and Latin America);
Jubilee Debt Campaign Debt Justice (formerly Jubilee Debt Campaign, Jubilee Debt Coalition and Drop The Debt) is a UK-based campaigning organisation that exists to end unjust developing countries' debt and the poverty and inequality it perpetuates. The organisation’s ...
, Jubilee Scotland and Jubilee Research (hosted by the
New Economics Foundation The New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a British think-tank that promotes "social, economic and environmental justice". NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) with the aim of working for a "new model of wealth ...
) in the UK;
Jubilee USA Network Jubilee USA Network is a nonprofit financial reform organization based in Washington D.C. Jubilee USA's work began in conjunction with the global Jubilee 2000 movement, founded in the late 1990s to advocate for debt relief for developing countri ...
; Jubilé 2000/CAD Mali in Mali; and many other national organisations. These co-ordinate their actions through a loose global confederation. Jubilee USA, located in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, is the U.S.'s successor to Jubilee 2000. Erlassjahr.de is the German branch. There are also other organisations around the world which also carry forward the debt campaign. Former Jubilee 2000 UK staff founded the short-lived
Drop The Debt Drop the Debt is the slogan of the late 1990s campaign for international debt cancellation led by the organisation Jubilee 2000. The phrase was coined by filmmaker Mike Christie. He and Jubilee 2000's Jamie Drummond set out to create a mainstrea ...
to work in the run-up to the 2001 G8 Summit in Genoa, maintaining Jubilee 2000's combination of lobbying, celebrity work and mass activism. Jubilee Research at the
New Economics Foundation The New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a British think-tank that promotes "social, economic and environmental justice". NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) with the aim of working for a "new model of wealth ...
, located in London, took over from Jubilee 2000 in 2001 and now provides in-depth analysis and data on third world debt.
Jubilee Debt Campaign Debt Justice (formerly Jubilee Debt Campaign, Jubilee Debt Coalition and Drop The Debt) is a UK-based campaigning organisation that exists to end unjust developing countries' debt and the poverty and inequality it perpetuates. The organisation’s ...
is the UK's campaigning successor to Jubilee 2000, comprising much of the UK's original Jubilee 2000 membership, while Jubilee Scotland campaigns north of the border. The campaign calls for cancellation of debts owed by the world's poorest countries. Debt was one of the targets of 2005's
Make Poverty History Make Poverty History are organizations in a number of countries, which focus on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice. They generally form a coalition of aid and development agencies which work together ...
Campaign.


Appraisals

Although it did not meet all of its stated goals—which were hugely ambitious—the campaign did receive very positive assessments for its grassroots involvement, vision, and measurable impacts on policy and poverty. Jonathan Glennie called it "one of the most important global movements for justice of our time." Then-
UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of the Un ...
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...
wrote "Many events in the past few years have shown how powerful and influential NGOs can be ... We saw it with the campaign to ban landmines. We saw it with the
coalition for the International Criminal Court The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) is an international network of NGOs, with a membership of over 2,500 organizations worldwide advocating for a fair, effective and independent International Criminal Court (ICC). Coalition NG ...
. Perhaps most impressively of all, we saw it with the Jubilee 2000 campaign for debt relief." Archbishop
Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for jus ...
described it as "perhaps the churches' finest hour in dethroning
Mammon Mammon in the New Testament of the Bible is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke both quote Jesus us ...
... Sustained support from Christians and others across the world led to the cancellation of more than $100billion of debt owed by 35 of the poorest countries." Scholars have described the campaign as contributing to "a wider context of international demands for global justice" going on around the same time (for example, at the
World Conference Against Racism The World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) is a series of international events organized by UNESCO to promote struggle against racism ideologies and behaviours. Five conferences have been held so far, in 1978, 1983, 2001, 2009 and 2021. Founded ...
). As part of an academic study, one campaign participant described it as having "much tied and linked to the
reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation * Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin History *War reparations **World War I reparations, made from G ...
demand that many of us were making at that particular point in time."


References


External links


Jubilee SouthThe Birth of Jubilee 2000Jubilee Debt CampaignJubilee USA NetworkNew Economics FoundationJubilee ScotlandJubilee AustraliaErlassjahr.de (Jubilee Germany)Jubilee Ecuador


Further reading

* Dent, Martin and Bill Peters. ''The Crisis of Poverty and Debt in the Third World.'' Brookfield, Vt.; Ashgate: 1999. (Book.) {{Authority control Development organizations Third World debt cancellation activism