UN General Assembly 2021 - Debt highlights

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The 76th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 76) 2021 concluded on September 27.

The UNGA includes the representatives of all 193 Member States and is in session every year between September and December. 

As part of our Eurodad's advocacy efforts, we followed the interventions of heads of state with a focus on debt and climate issues at the United Nations General Assembly of 2021. This year's General Assembly was marked by the growing number of calls for reform of the international financial architecture. Adoption of measures such as the establishment of a debt workout mechanism, improved debt restructuring processes, immediate debt cancellation and relief, as well as the need to recognize and act on the increasingly important linkages between debt and climate were present throughout speeches and declarations made by leaders of developing countries.

As a public resource we share below a list of the relevant speeches on these issues:

  • Argentina: Came out guns blazing against the IMF. Called for multilateral debt workout mechanism, reform of CRAs and debt restructuring linked to climate goals.
  • Colombia: Called for exclusion of climate related investments from fiscal rules (and by extension DSAs). Also called for immediate relief and suspension of multilateral debts linked to climate goals.
  • Democratic Republic of Congo: Highlighted insufficiency of financial multilateral response to address challenges faced by Africa. Called for debt relief for African countries. 
  • Costa Rica: Cited climate change as an existential threat and need for additional financing for countries in Central America. 
  • Maldives: Cited climate change as an existential threat. 
  • Palau: Cited climate change as an existential threat and singled out lack of access to climate financing as the single biggest problem.
  • Sri Lanka: Called for debt relief linked to the 2030 Agenda.
  • Suriname: Called for additional support and debt relief for middle income countries. 
  • Malawi: Called for debt cancellation (Important to take note of consistent messaging on this issue and think of ways to amplify it).
  • Togo: Called for debt relief for countries in Africa.
  • Dominican Republic: Called for support for middle income countries and mechanism for concessional financing linked to SDRs. 
  • Spain: Called for expansion of Common Framework for middle income countries and mechanism for concessional financing linked to SDRs. 
  • Guyana: Calls for additional debt moratoriums and concessional financing. 
  • South Africa: Calls for on-lending of SDRs with a focus on Africa. 
  • Mexico: Called for support for middle income countries.
  • Seychelles: Called for establishment of a new vulnerability index for the provision of multilateral support. 
  • Bolivia: Called for debt relief for developing countries and the recognition of climate debts by advanced economies.
  • Nigeria: Called for debt cancellation and review of eligibility criteria. 
  • Mauritius: Called for support for middle income countries and the establishment of a new vulnerability index for the provision of multilateral support. 
  • Pakistan: Called for comprehensive debt restructuring and re-distribution of SDRs.
  • Jamaica: Called for support for middle income countries and the establishment of a new vulnerability index for the provision of multilateral support. 
  • Belize: Called for debt relief and the establishment of a new vulnerability index for the provision of multilateral support.  
  • St. Kitts: Called for a new vulnerability index for the provision of multilateral support.  
  • St. Lucia: Called for debt relief and the establishment of a new vulnerability index for the provision of multilateral support.  
  • St. Vincent: Called for debt relief and the establishment of a new vulnerability index for the provision of multilateral support.  
  • Fiji: Called for a revision of debt sustainability criteria. 
  • Antigua and Barbuda: Called for debt cancellation and the establishment of a new vulnerability index for the provision of multilateral support.  
  • Grenada: Called for the establishment of a new vulnerability index for the provision of multilateral support.  
  • Côte d'Ivoire: Called for debt cancellation.
  • Trinidad: Called for the establishment of a new vulnerability index for the provision of multilateral support.  
  • Nepal: Called for improved debt restructuring.

For any questions or comments, please reach out to [email protected]


You can check the Eurodad toolkit for advocacy at the United Nations, to navigate the politics and structure of the UN system and its main decision-making bodies. 

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  • Ilaria Crotti
    published this page in Blog 2021-10-11 14:34:46 +0200