The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Press conference UNCTAD: Developing countries crippled by debt need urgent relief, stresses UN trade agency
Developing countries crippled by debt need urgent relief, stresses UN trade agency
Far too little constructive support has been provided to help developing countries escape from crippling debt related to the COVID-19 outbreak, leading UN economists said on Thursday.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), urgent measures are needed to head off what it has called a “looming debt disaster” in emerging economies.
It’s calling on international investors and creditors to agree to write off debt relief to developing countries.
Some welcome steps have already been taken, including the decision on 13 April by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cancel debt repayments due by the 25 poorest developing economies for the next six months.
This alone was estimated at around $215 million.
That IMF decision was followed two days later by the leaders of the Group of 20 leading economies (or G20), who announced the suspension of debt paybacks for 73 of the world’s poorest countries from May to the end of the year.
Welcoming these measures, UNCTAD economist Richard Kozul-Wright said that they would free up sorely needed resources which are needed to respond to the pandemic, and which are normally dedicated to paying off external debt.
But he insisted that more “systematic, transparent and coordinated measures towards writing off developing country debt across the board” are urgently needed.
A trillion dollar write-off would be closer to the figure needed to prevent economic disaster across the developing world, Mr Kozul-Wright added.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OCHA , OHCHR , UNCTAD , UNHCR , UNOG , WHO , WMO
Rolando Gómez of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the WMO, IFRC, OCHA, WHO, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNEP
UNEP Press conference: Minamata Convention on Mercury COP6
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
5
1
1
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Press conference on the launch of the Sevilla Forum on Debt, on the margins of the sixteenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16).
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNFPA , WFP , WHO , OCHA , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director, United Nations Information Service Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Populations Fund, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
1
1
Statements , Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN trade and development (UNCTAD) briefs the media following the opening of the 16th Conference of the United Nations on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) in Geneva.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNCTAD , WMO , WFP , UN WOMEN , WHO , OCHA
Rolando Gómez, Chief of Section, Public Information, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Food Programme, UN Women, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
2
1
Press Conferences | WMO
WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , UNICEF , UNDP , ICRC , WHO , OCHA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Meteorological Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
2
5
1
2
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
UNCTAD / 16TH CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
As the global economy undergoes tectonic shifts in trade, finance and technology, global economic and development leaders will gather in Geneva this month to chart a path through mounting uncertainty and fragmentation. Ahead of the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16), Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan outlines how countries can navigate record debt, disrupted supply chains, volatile investment flows and accelerating digital transformation. UNCTAD / UNTV CH
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Health Organization.