UN aid meeting seeks end to Global South debt crisis
"The debt burden is crippling the developing world," UN chief Antonio Guterres told the conference in the Spanish city of Seville that reaffirmed support for lifting low-income nations out of their predicament.
"We must fix the global debt system which is unsustainable and unfair," Guterres pleaded at the gathering, which runs to Thursday.
The total external debt of the group of least developed countries has more than tripled in 15 years, according to UN data.
Developing nations now pay $1.4 trillion every year to service their debt -- its highest level in 20 years.
Global South nations contend with interest rates two times higher than their richer counterparts when they borrow, increasing the burden.
More than three billion people live in countries that fork out more on interest repayments than on health, according to a report commissioned by the late Pope Francis and coordinated by Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz.
A litany of international crises from the Covid-19 pandemic to conflicts have plunged the world economy into turbulence in recent years, with repercussions felt acutely in lesser developed countries.
Experts also blame the proliferation of costly and grandiose projects, particularly in African countries that have taken out billions in loans from China.
"Many low-income and vulnerable countries are trapped in a vicious cycle of debt, poverty and climate-induced crisis," said the Action Aid NGO, which warned of a "critical" situation.
The macroeconomic deterioration has real-world impacts for ordinary citizens, "notably on health policies", Francoise Vanni, of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, told AFP.
- 'Lack of commitment' -
In Seville, several world leaders from the Global South, including Kenyan President William Ruto and Senegal's Bassirou Diomaye Faye, called for a reform of the international financial system to resolve the vicious cycle.
The document adopted in Seville -- snubbed by key actor the United States -- calls for the general adoption of clauses in loans that allow borrowing countries to temporarily suspend repayments due to an external shock or natural disaster.
Storms, droughts and floods turbocharged by climate change disproportionately affect low-income countries that have historically contributed the least to the emissions that drive global warming.
The so-called "Seville Commitment" asks creditors to increase loans in local currency to limit risks caused by foreign exchange fluctuations.
It also urges the creation of a central database housed in the Washington-based World Bank "to harmonise and strengthen debt data reporting, enhance debt transparency and reduce reporting burdens".
The World Bank says only a quarter of poor nations declare information on their new loans, denying crucial information to lenders.
The Vatican-commissioned report also recommended "systemic reforms" and "essential investments" to tackle the crisis, suggesting an end to preferential treatment for private creditors and extending debt relief measures introduced during the pandemic.
But NGOs want to go much further than boosting transparency by cancelling debt altogether for the most stricken countries.
Hundreds of protesters marched through the stifling heat of Seville on Sunday to demand the measure, which has occasionally been applied in the past.
But donor countries, which face debt problems of their own, are reluctant to implement such an initiative, making it unlikely.
Action Aid denounced the Global North's "lamentable lack of tangible commitment to truly ending this debt crisis".
vab/imm/mdm/gv
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
19 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
US completes deportation of 8 men to South Sudan after weeks of legal wrangling
WASHINGTON — Eight men deported from the United States in May and held under guard for weeks at an American military base in the African nation of Djibouti while their legal challenges played out in court have now reached the Trump administration's intended destination, war-torn South Sudan, a country the State Department advises against travel due to 'crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.' The immigrants from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan arrived in South Sudan on Friday after a federal judge cleared the way for the Trump administration to relocate them in a case that had gone to the Supreme Court, which had permitted their removal from the U.S. Administration officials said the men had been convicted of violent crimes in the U.S. 'This was a win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American people,' said Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin in a statement Saturday announcing the men's arrival in South Sudan, a chaotic country in danger once more of collapsing into civil war. The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the transfer of the men who had been put on a flight in May bound for South Sudan. That meant that the South Sudan transfer could be completed after the flight was detoured to a base in Djibouti, where the men were held in a converted shipping container. The flight was detoured after a federal judge found the administration had violated his order by failing to allow the men a chance to challenge the removal. The court's conservative majority had ruled in June that immigration officials could quickly deport people to third countries. The majority halted an order that had allowed immigrants to challenge any removals to countries outside their homeland where they could be in danger. A flurry of court hearings on Independence Day resulted a temporary hold on the deportations while a judge evaluated a last-ditch appeal by the men before the judge decided he was powerless to halt their removals and that the person best positioned to rule on the request was a Boston judge whose rulings led to the initial halt of the administration's effort to begin deportations to South Sudan. By Friday evening, that judge had issued a brief ruling concluding the Supreme Court had tied his hands. The men had final orders of removal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have said. Authorities have reached agreements with other countries to house immigrants if authorities cannot quickly send them back to their homelands.
San Francisco Chronicle
29 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
US completes deportation of 8 men to South Sudan after weeks of legal wrangling
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eight men deported from the United States in May and held under guard for weeks at an American military base in the African nation of Djibouti while their legal challenges played out in court have now reached the Trump administration's intended destination, war-torn South Sudan, a country the State Department advises against travel to due to 'crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.' The immigrants from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan arrived in South Sudan on Friday after a federal judge cleared the way for the Trump administration to relocate them in a case that had gone to the Supreme Court, which had permitted their removal from the U.S. Administration officials said the men had been convicted of violent crimes in the U.S. 'This was a win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American people,' said Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin in a statement Saturday announcing the men's arrival in South Sudan, a chaotic country in danger once more of collapsing into civil war. The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the transfer of the men who had been put on a flight in May bound for South Sudan. That meant that the South Sudan transfer could be completed after the flight was detoured to a base in Djibouti, where they men were held in a converted shipping container. The flight was detoured after a federal judge found the administration had violated his order by failing to allow the men a chance to challenge the removal. The court's conservative majority had ruled in June that immigration officials could quickly deport people to third countries. The majority halted an order that had allowed immigrants to challenge any removals to countries outside their homeland where they could be in danger. A flurry of court hearings on Independence Day resulted a temporary hold on the deportations while a judge evaluated a last-ditch appeal by the men's before the judge decided he was powerless to halt their removals and that the person best positioned to rule on the request was a Boston judge whose rulings led to the initial halt of the administration's effort to begin deportations to South Sudan. The men had final orders of removal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have said. Authorities have reached agreements with other countries to house immigrants if authorities cannot quickly send them back to their homelands.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Major housing markets in metro areas rebounding after pandemic
Housing inventory in a significant number of major metropolitan areas hit levels higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from The real estate marketplace said nearly half of America's 50 largest metros had real estate markets whose number of active listings as of May had surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Advertisement The ten metro areas that had the largest jumps in active inventory from their averages in 2017-2019 all posted double-digit percentage increases, according to Eight states had representation among the ten areas that identified as having the 'most dramatic improvement in active inventory,' with Texas claiming three spots within the top-five. Denver, Colorado 6 According to nearly half of America's 50 largest metros had real estate markets with more active listings as of May than they did pre-pandemic. Tricia – 6 Denver was the metro with the largest increase in active housing inventory, with a 100% jump. Kevin Ruck – Advertisement Denver stood out as the metro with the largest increase in active housing inventory from pre-pandemic levels, seeing a 100% jump, the report said. linked the surge in inventory to factors like increased construction and the time homes remain on the market. The city serves as the capital of the Centennial State. Austin, Texas 6 Inventory in Austin was up 69% in May from where it stood before the COVID-19 pandemic. Raymond – Austin is located in Central Texas. Inventory in the metro was up 69% in May from where it stood before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Seattle, Washington 6 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 780,000 people live in Seattle. be free – Advertisement The real estate marketplace pegged Seattle's change in active inventory at 60.9%. More than 780,000 people call the city home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas 6 Homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area had a median price of $440,000 last month. trongnguyen – Skyline of downtown Dallas, TX on a partly cloudy day. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, inventory rose 55.5% from pre-COVID, the report said. Homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area carried a median price of $440,000 in May. San Antonio, Texas Advertisement San Antonio's active inventory posted a 58.3% jump from pre-pandemic levels, per 6 San Antonio's active inventory experienced a 58.3% jump from pre-pandemic levels. trongnguyen – The metro areas of San Francisco, Nashville, Orlando, Las Vegas and Tuscon rounded out top-10 when it came to having notched the 'largest gains' in inventory. Their increases compared to before the pandemic ranged from 53.5% for San Francisco to 23% for Tuscon, according to the real estate marketplace. 'In general, we're seeing strong inventory reboards in metros that have built more in the last 6 years,' Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. 'This milestone underscores both the importance of enabling housing construction and the growing divide in housing conditions across regions, where some markets are rapidly normalizing and others remain stuck in low-supply dynamics.' The national housing market appears to be moving towards being a 'buyer-friendly' one, according to The U.S. had over one million homes on the market in May, a level that the U.S. hadn't climbed above since the winter of 2019, a separate June 5 report found. In March, the real estate marketplace said the U.S. was contending with a supply gap of about 3.8 million homes. Supply and affordability have been two major issues that many homebuyers have been dealing with in recent years.
