39 CSOs sign up urging EU to cancel Haiti’s debt
Almost 40 civil society organizations signed a letter calling upon Members of the European Parliament Committee on Development and European Development Ministers to take action with respect to Haiti’s debt.
The letter, a joint collaboration between Eurodad and Coordination Europe-Haiti, was timed to coincide with a Parliament Committee on Development meeting that took place on the 14th and 15th of July. The recent decision by the Swiss government to freeze the Duvalier family’s assets until proof of their legitimate origin is provided, as well as the call by the U.S. Congress to the Secretary of Treasury to use his influence at the World Bank to push for debt cancellation for Haiti, provide good context for a renewed call to European leaders to cancel bilateral debt and use their influence at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to push for the cancellation of Haiti’s debt.
The letter specifically targeted Spanish, French and Italian parliamentarians as these countries represent Haiti’s largest bilateral creditors. This action is part of an ongoing strategy advocating for debt relief for Haiti in the context of the French presidency of the European Union, which began on the 1st of July.