International campaign for debt relief and compensation in southern Africa

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The International Campaign for Debt and Reparations in Southern Africa ( English International Apartheid Debt and Reparations Campaign ) was founded in 1998 by non-governmental organizations from southern Africa , Europe and the USA. She campaigned for the cancellation of the debts incurred under the apartheid regime and for compensation for the victims of apartheid .

Creation of the campaign

On June 16, 1998, the 22nd anniversary of the bloody suppression of the uprising in Soweto , the campaign was launched on the initiative of the umbrella organization of South African non-governmental organizations ( Sangoco ), trade unions and churches and with the support of numerous organizations from neighboring countries in South Africa . Several organizations in Switzerland, Great Britain, the USA and Germany joined the call. In Germany, the campaign work was carried out by medico international and KASA (Kirchliche Arbeitsstelle Südliches Afrika).

requirements

The campaign demands were

  1. The granting of credit to the apartheid regime and its supporters has created debts that have been used to suppress the people of South Africa. Democratic South Africa cannot be held responsible for their repayment.
  2. As a result of the apartheid regime's policy of destabilization, the neighboring countries have borne themselves and suffered severe social and economic damage. Demanding repayment of these war-caused debts would jeopardize democratic reconstruction.
  3. The repayment of the bonds connected with apartheid has already taken place on the back of the suffering population. This money is to be returned for the reconstruction of southern Africa.
  4. Companies and banks that ignored the international sanctions demands benefited from apartheid. They helped to keep the apartheid regime in power and thus prolonged the suffering of the people of southern Africa. The companies and banks involved should now pay compensation to the people in southern Africa.

The demand for debt relief in South Africa was based on the international law doctrine of " Odious debts ". This states that the successor governments of illegitimate regimes can refuse to repay the debts of their predecessors, especially if the debtor has illegitimate intentions to use the credits and if the creditor fails to check the legitimacy status of the recipient government.

Working method

Initially, the campaign relied primarily on public pressure. Through the creation of media events, through information, international congresses and lobbying, their demands should be enforced. A central demand of the campaign was the organization of an international conference at which the companies, politicians, campaign organizations and victim groups concerned should find a solution together. Actions to support the campaign took place mainly in South Africa, Germany and Switzerland, also in Zambia , Namibia , Ireland and the Netherlands and worldwide as part of the Jubilee 2000 campaigns. It was an international movement in over 40 countries that worked for debt relief at the turn of the millennium.

Lawsuit in the United States

After their demands went unanswered, the organizers of the campaign took legal action and began filing compensation claims against banks and corporations by victims of apartheid in the USA in 2002. 20 international companies and credit institutions - including Deutsche Bank , Dresdner Bank , Commerzbank , Daimler Chrysler and Rheinmetall - were sued for damages. All 91 plaintiffs were members of the Khulumani group , the largest association of apartheid victims in South Africa.

In 2002, the New York District Court ruled not to allow the lawsuit. The court of appeals, however, decided in 2007 that the action must be admitted. The Supreme Court, the highest court in New York State, declared jurisdiction in 2008, but too many of its judges were biased because they owned shares in the sued companies. So the lower federal district court was commissioned, which had initially rejected the lawsuit. The proceedings were reopened on April 8, 2009. The lawsuit was finally dismissed in 2013.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b campaign page from medico ( Memento from December 27, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b Joe Dramiga: South Africa: Apartheid victims sue the German banks. In: SciLogs - Diaries of Science. June 2, 2010, accessed November 27, 2019 .