Bishops in plea over G8 aid commitments
Irish Bishops today called on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to pressure leaders of the G8, the world’s richest countries, to meet commitments they have already given on aid and debt relief.
As they meet in Germany, the Irish Commission for Justice and Social Affairs (ICJSA) insisted the pledges made at the Gleneagles summit two years ago had to be fulfilled.
There the G8 leaders promised to cancel poor countries’ debt and increase aid by US 50 billion by 2010, including a doubling of aid to Africa.
But these promises are far from being met.
And the ICJSA handed in a letter to the German Embassy in Dublin demanding Chancellor Merkel, chair of the 2007 G8 summit, force world leaders to match their words with actions.
“Our protest is concerned with preserving life,” Bishop Raymond Field said.
“As Germany is hosting the annual summit of G8 leaders this week on 6 – 8 June, it affords us an opportunity to highlight how these powerful countries, which have made key promises in the past, have yet to fulfil them.”
He said every day 5,000 children die from drinking dirty water.
“This is intolerable in a world of plenty,” the Bishop said.
“This week the G8 leaders have a golden opportunity to set down concrete plans to deliver on the promises made in Gleneagles. In doing so such plans would have the potential to lift millions out of poverty.”
The ICJSA made five key demands of the G8 leaders.
1. A clear timetable for doubling aid by 2010 with each G8 country to commit to 0.7% of GNP on aid by 2015;
2. Ensure aid is delivered in a predictable, responsible and transparent manner.
3. Aid must not be conditional on buying of goods and services from donors.
4. Parliaments and citizens in poor countries must have a say in how aid is spent.
5. Fight corruption by blocking the use of tax havens to hide money; return stolen assets to legitimate authorities; and prosecute G8 companies that engage in corruption in developing countries.
Bishop Field said: “It is high time we stopped backsliding on commitments and treated the overwhelming majority of the people of the world as fellow human beings in a shared estate that respects our common humanity.
“Fairer use and allocation of global resources for the common good must be the dominant priority on the G8’s agenda.”
