A new report released earlier this week by Jubilee USA Network finds that G20 leaders have made shockingly little progress on development commitments to the world’s poorest.

“The G20 pats itself on the back for increasing money given to the international financial institutions, yet even one year later, the G20 has delivered less than half of the resources they committed to low-income countries, and nearly all of this money comes as loans, not grants. Instead of  bearing ‘good results,’ as the draft communique claims, the G20 is promoting a new debt crisis in the Global South,” says Jubilee USA Network’s Executive Director Eric LeCompte.

The report, “Making the Grade? The G20’s Commitment to the World’s Poorest” evaluates the progress on commitments made by the G20 last April and makes recommendations for the June 26 - 27 summit.

“While the G20 asserts that it is ‘determined to be accountable for [its] commitments,’ these words ring hollow after the past year of falling far short.  The G20 must not only make good on its promises to the poorest, but also to heed the call of global civil society for real solutions, like debt cancellation without harmful conditions and fair and just financing to combat the urgent threat of climate change," says Melinda St. Louis, Jubilee USA’s Deputy Director.

The report also gives the G20 poor marks on inclusion of affected populations. Says Lidy Nacpil, the coordinator of the Jubilee South Asia/Pacific Movement on Debt and Development, based in the Philippines: “We believe that any process to address the global economic and financial crisis should include the voices of all affected peoples and nations. The G20 is not that process. However, as long as the biggest economies of the world are meeting, they should use their time to address the flaws of the global economic and financial system and take bold steps to transform the system.”

The report can be found at www.jubileeusa.org.