Debt Paper Series Launch with the Institute for Economic Justice

The debt crisis disproportionately impacts Global South countries, with recent debt restructuring attempts occurring on a case-by-case basis - and ultimately failing to achieve sustainable outcomes, perpetuating cycles of unsustainable debt. The absence of a coherent international legal framework further complicates these issues, leaving negotiations inequitable and opaque.

On Monday, April 21 from 3:00-5:00PM alongside the 2024 International Monetary Fund/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC, the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) will launch a series of papers on debt which focus on (i) embracing a human-rights-based approach to debt restructuring, (ii) considerations towards a Global South debtor’s club and (iii) the Africa’s debt crisis as a constraint to growth and ways to deal with it.

The Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) will present a paper on a human-rights-based approach to debt restructuring that invokes international human rights norms. The second presentation by Fadhel Kabour and Andres Chiriboga discusses how trade imbalances and external dependencies create conditions for perpetual debt accumulation and dependency. The final presentation by the Boston University Global Development Policy Center and IEJ highlights how the current debt service burden is undermining Africa's development prospects.

Speakers:

- Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics and Professor at Columbia University

- Zane Dangor, Director General, Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Republic of South Africa

- María Emilia Mamberti, Research and Policy Lead Manager, Center for Economic and Social Rights

- Penelope Hawkins, Senior Economist, Debt and Development Finance, UN Conference on Trade and Development

Marina Zucker Marques, Senior Academic Researcher, Boston University Global Development Policy Center

- Kamal Ramburuth, G20 Project Lead, Institute for Economic Justice

- Gilad Isaacs, Executive Director, Institute for Economic Justice

- Mzwanele Ntshwanti, Lecturer, University of South Africa

Register to attend on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GlUbhh_dSRabp52xKyd10Q#/registration