Church must not lose voice in debt debate, says Lutheran head

Faith-based organisations such as the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and their leaders must not relent on their unequivocal responsibility to agitate for multilateral solutions that ensure fair and just lending and borrowing practices globally.

LWF President Bishop Mark S Hanson was speaking at the international consultation on illegitimate debt, held 21-23 October, in Norwegian capital Oslo.

"We must recognise the complexity of issues without allowing their complexity to immobilise us. We must not lose our voice," said Hanson, relating the current global financial crisis to the LWF co-organised International Symposium on Illegitimate Debt.

Hanson is presiding bishop of the 4.7-million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The over 60 representatives of church bodies, governments, international and regional financial institutions, United Nations organisations and civil society movement sought to jointly formulate practical approaches for further political and legal action on illegitimate debt.

Speaking to Lutheran World Information (LWI), Hanson underlined the mandate of the 2003 LWF Ninth Assembly, urging the LWF to prioritise illegitimate debt cancellation through actions that move beyond the economic viewpoint, and integrate instead a broader approach based on moral, ethical and legal obligations.

"We [church leaders] must always ask the questions: 'At whose expense are profits being made? 'What will be the long-term impact for people who live in poverty?' And, we must hold governments accountable," he said.

Seeking alliances with other stakeholders remains an important LWF strategy, as the global Lutheran communion on its own would not have the expertise to move to public discourse crucial issues such as the debt crisis.

"This symposium is our ability to convince others - lawyers, economists and policy makers - that solutions to the illegitimate debt crisis will depend on our capacity to push together for concrete steps," said Hanson.


Exemplary Initiatives

He noted the model to have one LWF region take up leadership of an issue, as is the case with the Latin American region on the debt programme, helps the other LWF regions to contextualise the implications for their own contexts.

Hanson moderated a panel dialogue, 22 October, during which the Norwegian Minister for Environment and Development Mr Erik Solheim and Ecuador's Attorney General Mr Washington Pesantez Munoz presented their respective governments'' initiatives on sovereign debt, hailed at the symposium as successful role models, which should also be built into the framework of global policies through organisations such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and international financial institutions including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Solheim elaborated Norway's decision in 2006 to cancel unilaterally the outstanding debt of £36 million owed by Ecuador, Egypt, Jamaica, Peru and Sierra Leone as a result of the 1976-1980 Norwegian Ship Export campaign involving 156 vessels and equipment. Pesantez explained further the process of the national Commission for the Complete Auditing of Public Debt, set up in 2007 to look into the legality and legitimacy of the country's external debt between 1976 and 2006.

Responding to comments from the floor, Solheim emphasised any loan acquisition process as fundamentally a two-way process entailing responsibility on the part of the lender and borrower. He challenged civil society in other countries to put pressure on their governments to ensure broader action on foreign debt cancelladefinition of illegitimate debt, it was obvious urgent action was needed especially in cases whereby the debtor could not honour obligations as a result of financial or political crises with serious consequences for the country's people, he said.

Pesantez explained that although CAIC's report had not been officially released, he expected its findings on irregular re-negotiation of credits and government failure to protect the rights of its citizens, would encourage other countries to carry out similar audits. "We are not questioning our obligation to repay debt, we are seeking solidarity" in determining the legitimacy, transparency and efficiency of indebtedness, he emphasised.