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 | IOM , OHCHR , UN WOMEN , WHO , WFP
WFP: Mass displacement from El Obeid as food stocks run low; IOM: Ebola outbreak in the East, Horn and Southern Africa region; OHCHR: Wave of unrest in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir; UN WOMEN: Report launch: Women on the Move in Europe and Central Asia
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNHCR , UNOG , 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 High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNOG , UN WOMEN , WHO , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of UN Women, WHO and WMO
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , IFRC , ICRC , UNHCR , WMO , UN80
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Policy, and spokespersons and representatives from the World Health Organization, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the World Meteorological Organization.
2
1
2
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Global investment is rising again. But it's becoming more concentrated, more selective and less accessible to many developing countries.
The recovery remains fragile. Growth is concentrated in a small number of economies and in capital- and technology-intensive sectors.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UN , ODET , ITU , UNESCO , PGA
Opening of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , UNHCR , IOM , WMO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization and the International Telecommunication Union.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , UNCTAD , UNDP , UNECE , UNHCR
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , IOM , ITU , OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP , WHO , WMO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the Pan American Health Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the International Telecommunication Union, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Food Programme, and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IPU
Briefing with IPU Secretary General-Elect Anda Filip
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC