A Tale of Two Emergencies: The Debt Policies of International Financial Institutions and Fiscal Injustices from a Global South Perspective

Summary of the Session:

Debt policies by the international financial institutions have attracted intense controversy over the past decades, exemplified most recently by the popular discontent expressed in most of the Global South countries following several rounds of austerity measures proposals. Situating the Global South financial crisis, the session will explore how to effectively solve the debt and fiscal conditionality crises in a way that will allow these countries to advance development goals.

Objective of the Session:

• Review the debt policies of IFIs and the fiscal risks they pose to the indebtedness of African countries and their peers in the global South
• Presenting how IFIs’ fiscal conditionality approaches have not lived up to the realization of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in most of the Global South Countries.
• Exploring what lessons can be learned from past debt management policies vis-à-vis the fiscal conditionalities used by IFIs in the Global South while also suggesting alternative (s) policy recommendations

Reference Materials:

1. Analysis of the Debt Management Policies of International Financial Institutions and Multilateral Groups amid Multiple Crisis:  Their Potential and Alternative Policies to Address Current Debt Challenges
2. Debt Restructuring under the G20 Common Framework and Alternative Policy Solutions. 
3. Legal Review of Contractual Agreements on African Debt

Join link