Join the biggest global movement for debt cancellation in twenty-five years.
Campaigners and activists around the world are uniting to demand action on unjust debt. It’s a huge year for the campaign – the first Jubilee since we won $130bn in debt cancellation is mobilising people of all faiths and none, all over the world.
Jubilee Years are declared every 25 years by the Pope. They’re inspired by the biblical idea of Jubilee as a time when debts were cancelled, and slaves were freed. Pope Francis has set out his vision for Jubilee 2025 where rich countries should cancel debts, not out of generosity but justice.
We know it’s possible. It’s a moment to hope – and a moment to act.
Action on debt can’t come quickly enough – not in thirty years has the world seen a global debt crisis on this scale.
In the words of Sri Lankan Debt for Climate activist, Melani Gunathilaka:
“I am demanding that our debt be cancelled so Sri Lankan people are given the chance to make decisions that are good for us.”
This crisis is coinciding with key international meetings this year where lower-income countries will have the chance to force their priorities onto the agenda. It could be a pivotal moment for change.
Pivotal international meetings throughout 2025 will give lower-income countries an opportunity to put debt at the top of the agenda. This could be a big moment for action on the global debt crisis.
The first UN Financing for Development conference in a decade, the second is the G20 Summit hosted by South Africa, and finally, the UN climate talks in Brazil. All three will be critical moments for countries and campaigners to force action on the debt crisis.
Our demands
- Stop the debt crisis now by cancelling unjust debt.
- Support debt justice laws to make private lenders take part in debt relief.
- Prevent future debt crises through a new debt framework within the United Nations
Add your name to the global petition and let’s show world leaders that now is the time for action on the debt crisis
FAQs
Countries in crisis have struggled to get debt cancelled because private lenders have been refusing to agree to the same terms as other lenders. Instead, these financial giants have been dragging out negotiations as they hold out for big profits – at the expense of millions of people living in countries in debt crisis.
90% of the debts owed to financial giants by lower-income countries are overseen by UK law, this means parliament could pass a debt justice law that would force private lenders to take part in debt cancellation.
This law could:
- Make sure that no private lender could sue a country for more than they would have got if they had taken part in debt restructuring through existing agreements
- Allow the courts to force private lenders to take part in debt cancellation if other lenders, like governments, have agreed to it.
The other place which governs debt contracts is New York. The New York Assembly is already considering bills that aim to achieve the same outcomes as a debt justice law in the UK. We are working closely with campaigners in New York to push for reforms that would win justice for all countries in debt crisis.
The Drop the Debt campaign during Jubilee 2000 saw an unprecedented number of people all around the world join together to demand debt justice. Campaigners and activists won billions in debt cancellation for lower-income countries, allowing money to instead be spent on vital public services like education and healthcare. But while a record amount of unjust debt was written off, the underlying causes of the crisis were never addressed – and now many countries are back in crisis. This time we need long lasting change. That means cancelling debt for countries in crisis, new debt justice laws to make private lenders take part in debt relief, and a new global debt framework to prevent future crises from happening.