The Dakar 2000 Summit on Debt will convene in Senegal this December 11th through the 17th to gather activists from organizations in Africa and around the world who reject the condition of the African debt. The Jubilee 2000 Campaign, which demanded the cancellation of the impoverished countries' debt, added new energy to the decades-long debt cancellation movement and has mobilized millions of people world-wide. As the year 2000 comes to an end, organizers have recognized the need for new strategies that will continue building momentum. African organizations have already taken the initiative to carry the movement forward by organizing events throughout Africa last year to call attention to the urgency of finding a solution to the African debt crisis.

The Counsel of Developmental Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGAD), a Senegalese umbrella organization for developmental NGOs, working with other international organizations, will be hosting the conference. Plans for the conference were initiated during a June 1999 meeting in Paris with the Belgian Committee for the Cancellation of the Debt of Third World Countries and the Belgian National Center for Cooperation and Development. The conference intends to strengthen the coalition and galvanize public opinion in Franophone Africa on debt cancellation by bringing together a number of grassroots associations, other developmental NGOs, trade unions, media representatives, artists, musicians, writers and a variety of influential figures.

The coalition of activists will address and review the severe impact of the "new slavery" created by the debt burden and severe structural adjustment polices. The resources allocated toward paying off accumulated debts significantly outweighs the resources used for education and health put together! Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) mandated by World Bank and International Monetary Fund have deepened the economic and social crisis of many African countries, which account for 33 of the 48 least developed countries (LDCs). SAPs have exacerbated social and gender inequality, large-scale spread of poverty, threats to the access of food and water, inflamed regional conflicts, and have led to re-colonization through privatization and other daunting free-trade policies which undermine any attempts at long-term economic and social development in the region. In addition, in many countries the debt was originally acquired by dictators for failed projects, and non-democratic and/or corrupt governments (who were often supported by cold war politics) and was often used for the purpose of financing repressive or even genocidal policies (as in Rwanda, Zaire, Argentina, Haiti, Philippines, and Indonesia). This abhorrent and "odious debt" mocks those whom are now obligated to pay it off. In these countries, the same people who were repressed are now required to starve themselves in order to repay the debt that was used as an instrument for their oppression in the first place!

Given the history of slavery and oppressive colonization in Africa, there is no disputing that Africa has more than paid her debts. The Dakar 2000 Summit will address these issues of the African debt by:

1. Assessing the status of the debt and evaluating the impact of the Jubilee 2000 campaign of "debt alleviation."
   
   
2. Gauging the affects of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) on key sectors such as education, health, employment and income distribution.
   
   
3. Formulating short, medium and long-term strategies. The Dakar conference anticipates more than 250 people from around the globe.

With the cancellation of Africa's debt, released resources would be made available for investments in education, health services, and other basic infrastructures thereby stimulating the flow of the economy and the morale of the people. Canceling the debt would be a major victory in the fight against recession, unemployment, poverty and other detrimental conditions in Africa and throughout the global south that the World Bank and IMF have exacerbated with their programs and policies.

From Dakar 2000 Conference documents