APPENDIX 23
Memorandum submitted by the Religious
Society of Friends in Britain
We welcome the International Development White
Paper "Eliminating World Poverty" and the work of DFID
in pressing for multilateral debt relief; abolition of the tying
of aid, and work on poverty reduction strategies. We remain concerned,
however, that a number of the poorest countries (for example Bangladesh
and Haiti) remain outside the HIPC process and that this initiative
has largely failed to address the issues of private and multilateral
debt. We wholeheartedly support the commitment of the Government
to the UN target of dedicating 0.7 per cent of GNP to development
assistance. While affirming the commitments to using development
assistance more effectively and harnessing private finance we
would wish to draw your attention to the following issues in particular.
1. Financial Architecture and capital flows
(Chapter four)
We are encouraged that the UK Government took
the lead in forming the Financial Stability Forum as a way of
coming to grips with the power of international financial markets.
The Financial Stability Forum currently has limited developing
country participation. Current evidence, from Argentina and Turkey
(FT 10-11-00 Bretton Woods Update December 2000) indicate that
financial crises continue to cause social unrest and increase
poverty. We are pleased that the UK Government supports flexible
approaches to the pace of capital account liberalisation. We would
urge:
— The UK Government works to include
more developing country government participation in the Financial
Stability Forum.
— The UK works with the IMF to promote
advice to countries that capital controls should be implemented
in order to protect the vulnerable smaller economies.
— The UK Government works with the
private sector and the international institutions to provide orderly
rules for debt resolution in the event of financial crises, and
in particular to stop hedge funds and other financial institutions
benefiting from developing country distress as shown in the Elliot
associate case.
2. Export credits and debt (Chapter five)
We welcome the assurance given that UK export
credits for HIPC countries will be given for productive purposes
only and the extension of this initiative to poor countries who
borrow on IDA terms (para 208). We would urge the extension of
this to all developing countries and press for:
— Restrictive criteria limiting the
provision of Export Credits to productive investments (and that
productive investment excludes arms-related business).
— That UK Government plays a leading
role in negotiating a multilateral agreement for the abolition
of export credits for military purposes.
— The publication of ECGD cover for
arms trade in annual reports on strategic exports in the interests
of making government reporting more transparent and accessible
to Parliament and public alike.
Religious Society of Friends in Britain
January 2001
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