Excellencies,

In view of the upcoming special meeting of Heads of State on the margins of the 75th United Nations General Assembly on 29 September 2020, we are writing to express our deep concerns, as we are yet to see any meaningful pathway towards the necessary multilateral decisions to overcome the global economic crisis induced by the pandemic. The humanitarian and economic crisis triggered by the pandemic is threatening the well-being of billions of people and risks derailing the global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and respond to the expanding climate emergency.

We urgently need systemic solutions to the broken global economic architecture. National level decisions, while important, are insufficient to ensure the required policy and fiscal space needed for a decolonial, feminist and just transition for people and planet. We need to ensure the democratisation of global economic governance, recognising the right of every country to be at the decision-making table, and not only those concentrating power or resources. A new global governance should promote equality and common but differentiated responsibilities on global commons.

In the lead up to a recent meeting of Finance Ministers at the UN, a ‘menu of options’ for consideration by governments was published which includes key recommendations on issues such as debt, illicit financial flows, global liquidity and financial stability among others. It is now time for action. The world cannot afford any further delays. At the Heads of State meeting on 29th September, we call on governments to commit to implement the following recommendations in the ‘menu of options’ and highlighted in the Finance Ministers meeting on 8th
September 2020, while abiding by the human rights framework, as well as ensuring gender equality and environmental integrity (attached annex provides more detail):

• Extensive debt cancellations and the establishment of a Sovereign Debt Workout Mechanism at the UN that would comprehensively address unsustainable and illegitimate debt
• Liquidity injection commensurate with the level of need among developing countries through a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), combined with reallocation of unused ones
• UN Tax Convention to comprehensively address tax havens, tax abuse by multinational corporations and other illicit financial flows through a universal, intergovernmental process at the UN
• Mandate the organisation of an “International Economic Reconstruction and Systemic Reform Summit under the auspices of the UN” to move towards a new global economic architecture that works for the people and planet. Jamaica, in their national capacity, at the Finance Ministers meeting on 8 September 2020 called for the need for the United Nations to convene a conference focused on economic recovery from Covid-19.

Time for talking is over. Time for action now.

• Read the letter and supplementary annex
• Lee la carta y el anexo suplementario
• Lisez la lettre et l'annexe supplémentaire
• Leia a carta e o anexo suplementar