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IMF Must Consider Consequences for Poor and Social-Political Stability in Ukraine April 30th, 2014
IMF Reputation and Prospects for 2010 Reforms at Stake: Oblates join call for the IMF to consider the impact of their loan conditions on the people of Ukraine
Today, the IMF’s Executive Board of Directors is scheduled to review a $16.8 billion loan for Ukraine, which was endorsed by IMF staff last week. The IMF-Ukraine deal will impact the future of both Ukraine and the IMF.
The IMF deal comes with several conditions, including a move to a flexible exchange rate. Ukraine, with IMF assistance, made this change in February 2014. This has led to a 29 percent drop in the value of the Ukrainian hryvnia – making it even more difficult for Ukraine to pay its debt. Unfortunately, the IMF deal does not include any debt relief or “haircuts” – requiring creditors to accept a loss. Instead, the debt burden will carried by Ukraine’s citizens, almost a third of whom already live in poverty, according to an April 2014 UN Report.
“IMF-Ukraine negotiations have neglected the consequences for the citizens of Ukraine, and in this vein have disregarded how loan conditions will impact political and social stability in Ukraine” said Jo Marie Griesgraber, the Executive Director at New Rules for Global Finance, a DC-based NGO that pushes for responsibility in global financial institutions. “This is short-sighted and we strongly urge the IMF Executive Board to take this into consideration.”
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Missionary Oblate JPIC Lauches New Blog April 30th, 2014
The OMI JPIC Office has launched a new communications vehicle – the Missionary Oblates JPIC Blog – as a way to highlight interesting aspects of our work, and provide a venue for reflection. The goal is to reach out to and engage a wider audience on JPIC issues. A team of Oblates and associates have committed to write articles and reflection pieces on a regular basis.
Please visit the new blog and let us know what you think! Click here to access the blog..
Spring/Summer 2014 Issue of JPIC Report Available On-Line April 28th, 2014
The Spring/Summer 2014 issue of JPIC Report is now available on line as a PDF. It will soon be available in print form.
Please contact Mary O’Herron in the JPIC Office if you want to be added to the mailing list.
You can find all issues of JPIC Report on this website in the Resources section. (Download a PDF of the latest issue)
Solitary Nation April 28th, 2014
Last week, PBS FRONTLINE aired Solitary Nation, portraying the brutal reality of solitary confinement in a Maine maximum-security prison. FRONTLINE has made a significant contribution to the work to end torture by revealing, in graphic detail, the heart wrenching inhumanity of isolation.
Viewers meet a young father, desperate to earn his GED, who deteriorates repeatedly under the crushing reality of daily life in solitary confinement. And yet the inhumanity of isolation in this one prison is ongoing in prisons, jails and detention centers throughout the U.S. The full video is free and available for viewing here: http://to.pbs.org/1lNv83j
We invite you to view the video, and share it with members of your community. Thoughts and additional resources to consider when viewing the film are enclosed in a viewers guide below, and available for download here. This material is from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture: www.tortureisamoralissue.org, of which Oblate JPIC is a member.
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Fr. Finn Speaking at Islamic Forum at Harvard University April 24th, 2014
Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI has been invited to present a paper on Shared Risk and Shared Responsibility at the Eleventh Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance in April. The theme of the conference was Takaful and Alternative Cooperative Finance: Challenges and Opportunities. Takaful is an Islamic cooperative insurance system.
See here for conference details.
