Jubilee 2000 South Africa hosted a "South-South Summit" November 18-21 just outside Johannesburg. It was designed to bring together campaigners for debt cancellation from Southern countries – in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America – to forge a common approach to the global Jubilee effort as we go into 2000. Jubilee South's slogan, DON'T OWE - WON'T PAY! , was roundly reaffirmed.

The conference was a tremendous success, with 150 participants representing some 40 countries. Highlights included an opening night presentation of a new popular play on the politics of debt in South Africa (designed to be adapted for other national situations) and keynote addresses by Njongonkulu Ndungane, Archbishop of Cape Town; Bishop Bernadino Mondlate of Mozambique, and Blade Nzimandeof the South African Communist Party.

 I was honored to be invited to attend, as a Kenyan working for debt cancellation, even though my work is in the North. The invitation came about because of the 50 Years Is Enough Network‚s five years of work against structural adjustment, our advocacy of debt cancellation de-linked from structural adjustment, and in appreciation of my Congressional testimony.

Most of the conference was dedicated to working meetings and to broadening the structure of the Jubilee South movement. The group appeared to reach consensus on 4 main points -- "the 4 Rs":

• Rejection of the HIPC Initiative and of the "HIPC" classification. The Initiative is an IMF/World Bank incentive for structural adjustment disguised as "debt relief," and is a poisoned chalice from which Southern activists shall take not one sip!
  
  
• Repudiation: a demand for Southern governments to disclaim the debts on the grounds of illegitimacy and the tremendous ecological and historical debt owed to the South by the North for centuries of exploitation, slavery, and colonialism.
  
  
• Restitution: a demand that the individuals and agencies responsible for corruption and debt in the South be prosecuted, with those found culpable being required to provide compensation.
  
  
• Reparations: a demand for the North to pay the South for the damage done by the machinery of exploitation and debt.

The Summit's secretariat has been working to produce consensus documents emerging from the conference deliberations. Since those are not yet ready, we include here a discussion paper, distributed last August.