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 | UNOG , UNICEF , WHO , UNHCR , HRC , UNCTAD
Alessandra Vellucci of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of UNICEF, WHO, HRC, UNCTAD, UNHCR
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
Press conference of the UN Special Rapporteur on the freedom of opinion and expression and the UN Special Rapporteur on the freedom of peaceful assembly and association
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Publication of the World Investment Report 2025
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Launch of the latest report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
2
1
1
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
Heavy fighting in Sudan continues to escalate as a “direct result” of the continued flow of arms into the country meaning that the war is far from over, top independent human rights investigators said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , WHO , UNWOMEN , WMO , ICRC , UNCTAD
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Health Organization, International Committee of the Red Cross, United Nations Women, United Nations Trade and Development, the Human Rights Council, and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ILO , OCHA , UNCTAD , UNODA , OCHA , UNDP , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, and the International Labour Organization.
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
59th regular session of the Human Rights Council (16 June to 9 July 2025)
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ILO , WFP , UNICEF , ITU , UNHCR
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the World Food Programme, the International Telecommunication Union, the International Labour Organization, Giga Initiative, and the United Nations Refugee Agency.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | FAO , ILO , OHCHR , UNDP , UNHCR , WHO
Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the International Labour Organization, the UN Refugee Agency, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OCHA , UNCTAD , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the International Federation of the Red Cross, the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Trade and Development, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Humanitarian Aid in Gaza
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , OCHA , UNRWA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the International Telecommunication Union.