New York, Saturday June 14, 2025 — A group of high-income countries - including the EU and UK - are stopping the global south from having a say in sovereign debt reform by blocking a key paragraph in the outcome document of the UN Financing for Development process, according to sources close to the talks. 

The paragraph would commit governments to launching an intergovernmental process at the UN aimed at addressing long-standing gaps in the international debt architecture. It would also give global south countries an equal seat at the table in talks on resolving the debt crisis for the first time. 

The paragraph in the latest version of the document seen by Eurodad reads: 

“Building on existing work, the review of the sovereign debt architecture envisioned in the Pact for the Future and the update by the United Nations Secretary-General on progress and proposals, we will initiate an intergovernmental process at the United Nations, with a view to closing gaps in the debt architecture and exploring options to address debt sustainability.”

During the past six months, when negotiations ahead of the conference have taken place, countries including Small Island Developing States (SIDS), members of the Africa Group, and Pakistan and Brazil have called for the creation of a UN Framework Convention on Debt. This initiative is seen as a critical step towards ensuring fair and transparent debt resolution mechanisms for deeply indebted nations that are struggling to provide public services and tackle the impacts of the climate crisis. 

Leading creditor countries—most notably the EU and UK—are opposing these proposals, advocating instead for maintaining the current system in which high-income countries control decision-making. The EU has reportedly made the paragraph on sovereign debt reform a "red line," focusing its efforts on diluting or removing the reference entirely.

Iolanda Fresnillo, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) said: “The refusal by the EU and UK and other creditor countries to support a meaningful debt reform process at the UN is deeply concerning. Millions of people are being denied access to essential services because governments are forced to prioritise debt repayments. We need bold, systemic reform—not more delays and aggressive political obstruction.. This also risks a no-agreement at the conference in Sevilla, which would be a blow to multilateralism. 

“As negotiations continue through the weekend, the outcome of these talks will have far-reaching consequences for the global financial system and the lives of billions across the Global South. ”

Jennifer Larbie, Head of Campaigns and UK Advocacy, Christian Aid: "It’s utterly shameful that the UK government is actively blocking fair debt reform in the run up to the Financing for Development Conference in Seville. These reforms — backed by the Global South — would cost the UK nothing but could free up billions for countries spending more on debt than on health or education. With aid slashed and climate finance at risk, the need for fairer debt rules has never been greater. The UK Government promised a new relationship with the Global South built on respect. Instead, it is defending a broken system built to serve the powerful. Twenty-five years after leading global debt relief, the UK now stands in the way of justice."

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 48 of the world’s poorest countries now spend more on debt interest than on health or education. This affects an estimated 3.3 billion people—more than seven times the population of Europe.

The final text is expected to be tabled on Monday 16th June and adopted the following day. The Fourth UN Financing for Development Conference will take place in Sevilla, Spain from June 30-July 3. 

ENDS

Media contact: Julia Ravenscroft, [email protected]/ +44 7958184695

Notes to editors: 

• The group of countries that are blocking the paragraph are the European Union, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. 
• You can find the most recent statements from the Financing for Development CSO Mechanism - the coordination space for global civil society here: https://csoforffd.org/resources/ffd4-outcome-document-under-silence-procedure-response-by-the-civil-society-ffd-m/  and https://csoforffd.org/resources/letter-civil-society-urges-ffd4-co-facilitators-to-uphold-ambition-in-ffd4-outcom/