Jubilee Scotland > Response Email to Hilary Benn

RESPONSE EMAIL TO HILARY BENN

RESPONSE EMAIL: HILARY BENN HAS RESPONDED TO OUR EMAIL CAMPAIGN DEMANDING THAT HE CUT THE STRINGS ATTACHED TO DEBT RELIEF. NOW IS THE TIME TO KEEP UP THE PRESSURE.

To read Hilary Benn's response please click here

Please fill in your details below and click submit to send a response email to Hilary Benn calling on him to cut the strings attached to debt relief.

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Dear Hilary Benn, Thank you for responding to my email on the strings attached to debt relief and I wish to congratulate you on your part in finalising the debt deal at the recent World Bank/IMF meetings. However, I would like to respond to some of the points you raised in your letter 1. You mention that to qualify for debt relief poor countries must fulfil certain conditions, which are drawn from their poverty reduction strategies. But in many cases these poverty reduction strategies are dictated by the World Bank and IMF, which inevitably end up pushing policies such as privatisation and trade liberalisation. I continue to call on you to push for radical reform of World Bank and IMF conditionality so that countries can truly determine their own development. 2. You emphasis that debt relief must be spent on poverty reduction and I completely agree. However do you recognise that because of spending restrictions imposed by the World Bank and IMF, for example on social spending, that poor countries are being hindered in their ability to spend debt relief on poverty reduction? 3. You recognise that World Bank conditionality (PRSC) is not an ideal condition to determine UK debt relief. I encourage you therefore to work outside of this mechanism when determining conditions to debt relief and to therefore extend your new policy on aid conditionality to debt relief. I look forward to receiving your response to these points. Yours sincerely Debt campaigner

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Last modified 31-May-2006