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Squandered summit did nothing to help 3rd world |
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July 24, 2000
NAGO, Okinawa (AP) - Declarations by G-8 leaders on rooting out poverty in the Third World failed to convince champions of the poor that rich countries are committed to forgiving their debilitating debt. Jubilee 2000, a global coalition of charity groups, on Sunday condemned the gathering of industrialized powers as a "squandered summit" that mapped out no concrete initiatives to help the developing world. "While the G-8 leaders have enjoyed Japan's dlrs 750 million hospitality, they have squandered a historic opportunity to cancel the unpayable debts of the poorest countries," said Ann Pettifor, Jubilee 2000's U.K. director. Even before the summit, summit countries were facing criticism they had not lived up to a debt relief pledge made in last year's meeting in Cologne, Germany. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan weighed said Friday he was disappointed that relief so far had been extended to only nine of 41 impoverished nations. "Where there is agreement in principle that debt relief is essential, and where delays have a profoundly negative impact on the lives of poor people, clearly more must be done," Annan said in a statement. Given that the G-8 leaders had touted the summit on Okinawa - Japan's poorest prefecture - as the first "development summit, the wording in the joint communique on debt relief was surprisingly mild. The document mainly reiterated the principles laid out last year in Cologne and encouraged poor countries that have not benefited from debt relief to devise "strategies" to make them eligible. Of the dlrs 100 billion in relief promised at last year's summit, only dlrs 15 billion has been canceled so far. The communique appeared to defend the slow progress by noting that many needy countries "are currently affected by military conflicts which prevent poverty reduction and delay debt relief." European Commission President Romano Prodi also tried to ward off criticism. "I think we've taken the problem seriously and in a responsible way," he told reporters, adding that leaders devoted more time to debt relief and other developing country issues than at any previous summit. Leaders found it impossible to avoid criticism, despite their well-publicized efforts to invite the participation of Third World nations in discussions on their plight. Before the summit, the G-8 met with the officials from South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria only to be condemned for being too slow on debt relief, foreign investment and the transfer of technology. Amid all the acrimony, G-8 leaders called the summit a success - but avoided specifics. |