Campaigners like you have fought against the unfair debts that crippled some of the world’s poorest countries. We rightly celebrated when debt relief helped lift some of this burden.

Now that progress is under threat.

Vulture funds make money by buying up old debt against developing countries, and using the courts to sue them for it in order to reap massive profits. That’s just wrong.

The problem is, that while the vulture funds law brought in the UK last year finally stopped this activity happening here, this doesn’t currently extend to Jersey.

Sign up now to ask the Chief Minister of Jersey to extend the UK law to their courts too.

Right now, vulture fund FG Hemisphere is using Jersey’s courts to claim $100m from the Democratic Republic of Congo, on a debt thought to have been bought for $3.3m.

After having much of their debt cancelled by the IMF and World Bank just last year, the impact that this will have on the DRC, and people living in extreme poverty, is just unimaginable. This shouldn’t be happening – let alone so close to home.

Join ONE and the Jubilee Debt Campaign UK in asking Jersey’s Chief Minister to take a stand, by extending the law that already exists here in the UK. It’s simply not right to turn a blind eye.

Thanks for your support on this, and please ask your friends to sign up too.

The results of the referendum in South Sudan confirm that 2011 will see the birth of a new state in Africa. Rejoicing in the south has been unconfined, as people see the goal they have long dreamed of coming to reality after so many years of suffering and war. The Government in Khartoum have said they will accept the result. They should be taken at their word and held to it, whatever our doubts about their long-term intentions. Elsewhere in Africa, there is concern about the breaking of the convention against changing colonial boundaries, but a warm welcome for the new state nevertheless.

I have been to Juba several times over the last four years, and talked to many southern leaders and ordinary people. I share their sense of achievement. The question now is whether fears of South Sudan as a failing or even already failed state at birth are likely to be realized or whether the enthusiasm and commitment we see now can be turned into a new drive for progress and development. So, what are the opportunities and the challenges?

The opportunities lie in a renewed sense of purpose and unity among the southern leadership; the commitment to make a success of this adventure from their people; the new influx of talent and ideas from those returning to their homeland from the north and elsewhere; and what I hope will prove to be a lasting determination of the international community to accompany the south on this final leg of their journey, even if it takes 10 years of hard struggle. They also lie in the size of the new country, its ample fertile land and water, and the possibility of undiscovered resources beneath that land. Juba has boomed in the last few years, even if much of the growth is not so soundly based for now.

The challenges are clear and multiple. This is a country starting from a very long way back, even after more than five years of effort since the historic Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Government capacity remains very low. Basic services like health and education are poor to non-existent, and those that do exist too often provided by international NGOs, not the government. Infrastructure is also virtually non-existent, with still less than 100 miles of paved road in a country the size of France. Travel around many of the states is difficult at the best of times and more or less impossible during the rainy season. Rates of child and maternal mortality are among the highest in the world. Agriculture remains rudimentary in many areas, with for example much of the food for Juba coming from neighboring Kenya and Uganda – a scandal in such a fertile country. Even the ubiquitous cattle are regarded for the most part as a way of amassing and demonstrating wealth, not an active source of income.

The unresolved issues with the north need to be tackled decisively before they fester –- Abyei, debt, borders, oil, citizenship, etc. The list is long and many of the items on it are highly sensitive. There are also tricky questions about those left in the north, in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, who are also supposed to be consulted about their destiny. Some risk feeling abandoned in a potentially hostile environment without international help.

Many still depend on humanitarian aid to survive, as they struggle with the legacy of old conflicts, and unfortunately new internal ones too, and with the consequences of an unpredictable climate prone to flood and drought. The risks of aid dependency are high. Meanwhile the presence of the Lord’s Resistance Army along the southern borders is continuing to cause huge suffering and displacement.

Success in any of these areas will only be hard won through dedication by all concerned. The government needs to show quickly that it can turn itself from a liberation movement into a fully responsible authority, deal with the demobilization of much of the army and private militias, and leave behind corrupt habits.

The international community must put resources and skill into this new venture and be prepared to go on doing so for a number of years, in a well coordinated way. The UN has a vital, leading role through its peacekeeping force, needed for some years yet, and the capacity of its agencies, as does the World Bank. But there must be no blank checks. Tough love needs to be the order of the day –- basic good governance is not too much to ask in exchange for generous aid. Private investment will also be vital if real jobs are going to be created. The government has to set up a favorable environment for this.

We must not forget also the wider context. The international community, not least its western members, has to find ways of working together with the Government in Khartoum more effectively. A hostile relationship and mutual denunciation will not serve anyone’s interests, least of all those of the new government in Juba. And if there is no progress towards a comprehensive peace in Darfur, the south’s chances of success will be so much less. Meanwhile if the south fails, the effects will be felt throughout the region.

On a note of optimism, southern failure has often been predicted in recent years, but ways have been found to muddle through and keep the peace process on track. Confronted with the prospect of failure and even renewed war, the necessary decisions have in the end been taken. Fear of the alternative may continue to be a powerful driver in both north and south.

Sir John Holmes is the former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. He has served the British government for more than 30 years and has extensive experience on conflict. Having worked on the Lebanon and Middle East peace processes, he was awarded a knighthood in 1998 primarily for his role in the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement.

Andrew Mitchell, the newly-elected UK Secretary of State for International Development, gave his first overseas speech last Friday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. There, he outlined the coalition government’s plan for international development, which would “put women front and center” of the development agenda.

Noting that development assistance is one of only two protected areas of the UK budget, Mitchell reaffirmed the coalition government’s commitment to allocating 0.7% of the UK’s gross national income (GNI) to foreign aid by 2013. He also promised the UK would continue to keep aid untied from commercial interests and urged the U.S. to follow suit. The government’s new development agenda will emphasize value for money, accountability, and transparency, with a strong focus outputs and results.

The UK development agenda will also have a major influence on the country’s approach to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). While progress on the MDGs has certainly been made, the MDGs concerning maternal health and child mortality are most off-track. Mitchell likened the plight of women dying from pregnancy-related causes in Nigeria to a jumbo jet crashing week in and week out in the same place. He called for more innovative approaches to improving maternal and child health, including cash incentives to promote women’s health and education, and using mobile phones for emergency referrals. In discussing family planning and safe abortion, Mitchell stressed the importance of empowering women to make informed decisions on their own lives. The present is the perfect time to address maternal health head-on Mitchell said, as “we have within our grasp a golden opportunity, a perfect moment when we have the technology and the political will—if not to eradicate maternal mortality—then to reduce it significantly.”

Mitchell concluded his speech looking forward towards the MDG Summit in September, calling on world leaders to arrive at the summit ready to fulfill their aid commitments, make new and ambitious pledges, and sign the Secretary-General’s Action Plan on women and children’s health. While he acknowledged the financial crisis, Mitchell maintained that nations should continue to focus on development, not only because of the moral imperative, but also because development is “the best return on investment you’ll find.” As the summit approaches, nations have the opportunity to show they are not indifferent to the suffering of the world’s poorest, especially women and children.

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After several gripping days of negotiations, we finally have a new Government in the UK, which is a coalition of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties.

How the coalition will work in practice remains to be seen, but as the new Prime Minister David Cameron said in his video for our ONE Vote 2010 campaign:

“…the major political parties do have major differences but we are agreed on this: Britain has a moral responsibility to help the world’s poorest people. This is about the kind of country we want to be”.

Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats who also recorded a message for our campaign, becomes Deputy Prime Minister.

ONE is glad to see the inclusion in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition agreement that “the target of spending 0.7% of GNI on overseas aid will also remain in place”. We will be asking that the commitment in each party’s manifesto to introduce legislation to make this promise legally binding, including a timeline for reaching 0.7 by 2013, be included in the new Government’s Queen’s Speech.

ONE also congratulates Andrew Mitchell on his appointment as Secretary of State for International Development and looks forward to working with him and his team in the future.

Over the last 13 years the previous Labour Government, and particularly former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, led the world in raising the fight against extreme poverty up the political agenda. This achievement should be built on by the new Government – by improving aid effectiveness and transparency; strengthening governance and accountability; making progress in international trade and climate change negotiations and keeping our aid promises to the world’s poor.

This week in London we officially unveiled the ‘On the record’ responses from the political parties in the UK as part of our ONE Vote 2010 campaign.

Each party answered the questions put to them by ONE, based on our manifesto.

The leaders of Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats also recorded a personal video message, which together with their written answers gives the public a chance to compare and contrast each party’s plans ahead of next week’s leaders’ debate on foreign affairs:

ONE Vote 2010 is about raising the profile of international development in the election campaign and beyond. Getting our leaders ‘On the Record’ allows the electorate to hold them accountable for what they’ve promised, whoever wins the election.

Weldon Kennedy, Campaigns Manager here in the UK, was involved in the award winning ONE Vote ’08 campaign in the US and spoke at the launch:

“Candidates were talking about our issues, going ‘On the Record’, taking positions. This had never happened before. It helped make candidates realise this is an issue voters really care and made a real difference in helping put development at the forefront of the election debate”.

ONE Vote ‘08 had Obama, Clinton and McCain we have Brown, Cameron and Clegg – the political context may be different but we hope that ONE Vote 2010 will have a similar impact here in the UK. Regardless of who wins the election next month, we need to be sure that development is at the heart of the UK’s international policies, and that the next British government continues our proud tradition of global leadership in the fight against extreme poverty.

With just 4 weeks to go before polling day it’s a busy time here for the ONE team in the UK. If you want to get involved there’s a lot you can do:

• Forward or retweet the videos to your friend
• Vote for the issue you think is most important
• Contact your candidate or find out more the Global Poverty Project who we are partnering with

Please spread the word, your help can really make a difference.

On Tuesday morning the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, went to Buckingham Palace in London to ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament formally kicking off the UK General Election campaign.

The election will take place on 6 May and promises to be one of the closest races in years. Regardless of who wins, we want to be sure the British government continues the UK’s tradition of global leadership on international development.

Prior to the election being called ONE launched ONE Vote 2010 to make sure the fight against extreme poverty gets the attention it deserves during the election campaign.

ONE Vote 2010 follows in the footsteps of the ONE Vote ’08 campaign in the US, which both President Obama and Senator McCain supported, along with much of the Senate and Congress. One Vote 08 helped make a real difference in US development policy and we hope ONE Vote 2010 will have a similar impact here in the UK.

Our first step was to get the major UK political parties to go “On the Record” about their plans for fighting extreme poverty. We asked them 6 questions to clarify their intentions, and to try and get the philosophy behind their policies.

On Wednesday afternoon, we delivered our On the Record petition to Downing Street. And the great news is that we’ve now received responses from the 3 parties that are most likely to form the next government, together with other parties across the country.

But that’s just the beginning. In the coming weeks the ONE team in London, together with ONE members around the country will be urging parties and candidates across the political spectrum to join us and vote against extreme poverty.

We’ll update you soon as election day draws nearer!

Last week was an unofficial women’s week in the UK with a string of events starting with International Women’s Day on the Monday, the launch of ONE’s Women ONE2ONE campaign, and ending with Mothering Sunday (Mothers Day here in the UK).

On Friday I joined a gathering outside the Houses of Parliament in London to take part in the ‘Minute for Mothers’ event organised by our friends at Save the Children. The idea was to bring people together to remember the women and babies who unnecessarily lose their lives every day.

Everyone was given a tag to write a personalised message of support, which was then attached to a white rose and added to the display.

The singer and campaigner Annie Lennox spoke at the event, which also included a moving minute’s silence in memory of the women who die in childbirth every minute of every day, and for the 2 million babies who die on their first day of life every year.

Afterwards, just as the rain started (it’s Britain after all) we headed into the House of Commons for a mum’s cafe run by the online forum Mumsnet. Following some lovely tea and biscuits served by the Mumsnet folk dressed in brightly coloured dresses and aprons, we listened to moving speeches, which literally brought a tear to my eye.

Annie Lennox spoke passionately about the fact that HIV has become the leading cause of death and disease among women of reproductive age worldwide. Whilst Gareth Thomas MP, Minister of State in the Department for International Development talked about his trip to Sierra Leone and what he saw there, urging people to continue to advocate strongly on this important issue. Jasmine Whitbread, CEO of Save the Children in the UK closed the event, highlighting her recent visit to Niger and northern Nigeria where she saw firsthand the benefits of informal groups and networks of women supporting each other and passing on advice, particularly in the more remote rural areas.

It was a powerful end to a week of events focussing on the situation that many women today find themselves in around the world. But it also showed that when women have access to education, health services, economic opportunities and political process, they, their children, their communities and their countries reap the benefits.

P.S. It’s not too late to take part. Send a virtual flower, which will be delivered to the party leaders in the UK.

Good news but there’s more to do

ONE volunteer Jennifer and staffer Tamar at the door of 10 Downing Street with the petition.

These are stormy times in Westminster – but the commitment to help those who most need it remains. And as the UK general election next year approaches it is more important than ever that our politicians understand they are being watched, and need to keep their promises.

Last week we asked ONE supporters to sign up to our petition to “prioritise legislation that makes the UK’s commitment of 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) as development assistance by 2013 legally binding”.

Yesterday ONE supporters Tamar, Jennifer and I delivered our petition to a friendly policeman who opened the black door of Gordon Brown’s house at 10 Downing Street. He promised to pass it on to the Prime Minister “at once”, which was nice of him.

Then the Queen, in her speech to open the new parliamentary session, announced, “draft legislation” to do exactly what we asked. So we won!

It’s a technical thing to ask for, but aid to developing countries is more useful if those receiving it know it is coming and can plan accordingly. It’s also a brave thing for the British Government to announce when the country is still in the grips of recession.

The UK first promised to spend 0.7% GNI on aid nearly 40 years ago. But it hasn’t ever happened. Now all the main political parties have committed to do it by 2013. Gordon Brown announced in September he would propose legislation on this, but it wasn’t a certainty that this promise would make it into the Queen’s Speech.

We didn’t get everything that we wanted however; the Queen announced “draft legislation”, meaning it is very unlikely to become law before the general election, while we want this to happen as soon as possible. But with the help of ONE supporters, and everyone else who cares about Africa and development, we’ll keep the pressure on the Government. There’s a lot of work to do to make aid better but every step in the right direction is a step worth noting. Thanks to everyone who signed the petition.

As Bono said today “the proposal to make the 0.7% pledge legally binding is not just a great announcement, it is transformative of real lives, by a government that has led the world in keeping its promises to the world’s poorest people. The next step is making sure this becomes law as soon as possible, in 2010”.

The ‘Africa Dream Team’ sticker album that was produced for the Conservative Party Conference

Well, now that we’re rested post party conference season, I thought it was about time we filled you in on last week’s Conservative Party Conference in Manchester and the successful reception we hosted there.

As with the reception we held at the Labour Party conference the week before, ONE’s Oliver Buston said a few words of welcome and showed a video message from Archbishop Desmond Tutu in which he praised the progress that has been achieved so far in Africa. We were then privileged to have two footballers at our event – South African footballer Quinton Fortune and World Cup winner Marcel Desailly. They spoke about the importance of education and the 1GOAL campaign, which aims to ensure that the lasting legacy of next year’s football World Cup is that every child can be learning in school by 2015. The Shadow International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell MP, also spoke outlining policies contained in the Conservative Green Paper. People seemed really interested in ONE and our issues and there was a positive atmosphere in the room.

As a way of linking our reception events with the World Cup, we proposed a ‘2010 Africa Dream Team’ of MPs. So, for the party conferences, we created a set of 10 football stickers to collect and the opportunity to ‘join the team’ as the 11th player. Everyone was given a blank sticker album and, just like being back in the school playground, a flurry of swapsies was necessary to harvest the complete 10. The stickers even featured in The Sun, the Telegraph and the Guardian newspapers here.

At the receptions, people could join in and become the goalkeeper of the Africa Dream Team by having their face photographed, speedily photoshopped onto a football player’s body, and then printed out onto their very own sticker. It was hard work but worth it as people seemed to really get a kick out of them!

All in all the receptions were great successes. But in the coming weeks and months we will want to hear much more detail about what all the parties are committing to in their manifestos. Stay tuned…

-Jessica Gomez-Duran

The sticker album produced for the Labour Party Conference