Letter from the Editor continued...

Looking at the Jubilee from the social and material perspective, one can ask the following question: "Will we really be able to celebrate a 'Jubilee' liberation in the year 2000 - a release from debt burdens that stifle development and crush hopes for so many millions of people?" This question ensues from the reflections on the outcome of the G-7 meeting that took place in Cologne in June this year.

From the perspective of analysts and activists promoting cancellation, three major flaws mark the Cologne Debt Initiative. First, access to debt relief continues to be tied to the stringent reforms mandated by discredited structural adjustment programmes. Second, debt sustainability - amount of debt servicing a country can be expected to pay - continues, under the H.I.P.C. arrangements, to be based on purely economic factors (the ratio, for instance, of debt stock to export earnings) that do not take into consideration the levels of poverty and the financial resources needed to deal with this poverty. Third, the World Bank and I.M.F. are given even more say in determining the economic and social policies of the debtor countries.

Debt cancellation that does indeed benefit the poor is not only necessary; it is also possible. But much more needs to be done than has been offered by the Cologne Debt Initiative. Churches and civil society groups in creditor countries should lobby their governments to exercise the political will to cooperate with the forces of civil society within debtor nations to make that possibility a reality. Only in this way can we move beyond the half-measures of the Cologne Debt Initiative to full Jubilee measures that will ensure equitable debt mechanisms and effective development for the poor of the world. The CCJP/JCTR Debt Project continues to work for debt cancellation and invites your co-operation.

th to 16^th September 1999. The theme of this conference is "Looking into the Future: Setting Priorities for HIV/AIDS in Africa". We look forward to articles and letters on this topic from our readers for our next issue.

Alex Muyebe, S.J.