Standing Up Against Poverty – and Vulture Funds
The action was a huge success with over 173 million people worldwide campaigning for the issue of worldwide and extreme poverty to be noticed and acted upon by the world’s governments. In the UK alone 100,000 people took part in Stand Up and Take Action: The Great Persuasion, attending public Stand Up events, lobbying over 200 MPs and signing campaign actions. Hundreds of people in towns across Britain “stood up” alongside Jubilee Debt Campaign and others to show their support for the issue.
In particular debt campaigners highlighted the issue of “Vulture funds”, private companies which profiteer from the debts owed by the world’s poorest countries. We are calling for a new law to outlaw these funds.
In Chester, debt campaigners set up a stall in the city centre and got hundreds of End the Vulture Culture petition signatures, plus a visit from Chester MP Christine Russell. Around 100 people joined a multifaith Stand Up in Birmingham city centre, including an interfaith group from Amsterdam, while lots of other local stand ups took place across the city. Over 600 signed the End the Vulture Culture petition during the week.
This event has been a massive worldwide achievement, breaking a Guinness World Record in the process. It underlines that international solidarity is needed for governments to take a committed step in tackling global poverty, as we approach 5 years since the Make Poverty History campaign.
Archbishop of York Dr. John Sentamu added his support to the events by saying: "The time has come for each of us to speak truth unto power, and that truth is that we will no longer be content to wait for justice for the poorest of the poor whilst the world's biggest economies shore up their rich. It is high time we started talking about material welfare instead of material wealth"
STAND UP PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE WORLD >>
END THE VULTURE CULTURE CAMPAIGN >>