Cancellation of the Debt of Developing Countries

Organized by Mr. Guissée, Expert at the Sub-Commission

Thursday, 7 August 2003

The President of the meeting, Mr. Guissée, began the debate, stating that Third World debt was illegitimate from the point of view of international law. He then explained that the debt burden in Third World countries was contracted by the colonial powers before the political independence of African countries in the 1960s. He then compared the legal status of newly independent African countries' minors in national law.

According to the law of inheritance in most countries, minors do no inherit the liabilities of their parents, in case of their death, until the minor matures. The debt was imposed on African countries since their independence was conceded and not negotiated, and therefore the new African governments were not allowed to choose between liabilities and payable accounts inherited by colonizing powers. He added that jurisprudence of international law would weigh in the balance of the cancellation of debt since it was contracted to satisfy the needs of the populations of colonized countries. Subsequently, the population as a whole, particularly the defenders of human rights, must act in favor of justice by promoting the cancellation of the debt.

He then explained that according to some, globalization will lead to further economic equality in the world, however it is also believed to merely accentuate the gap between rich and poor. As an illustration, he noted that none of the top 100 multinationals were based in the South. He concluded the first part of his intervention by explaining that the cancellation of the debt would merely be partial reparation for the prejudice caused by slavery and colonization.

He then proposed the launch of a movement (based in Geneva) for the cancellation of the African countries' debt. He proposed the creation of a Committee which would work on establishing the status and rules of a new mechanism for a one year period. The goal is to elect a provisional secretariat next year. He summed up, calling for a more humane world.

The debate continued with the intervention of World Federation of Trade Unions which denounced "the domination of transnational companies on the economies of Third World countries" and the disappearance of public services directly linked to it.

Mr. Lazarro, a representative of an indigenous movement, condemned "the unjust and irrational policies of International Monetary Fund (IMF)" which imposed structural adjustment programs on all debtor countries, except the US which owes $US 400 billion! He then described the debt as being "economic slavery." Finally, ATD Quart Monde highlighted the desire of local populations living in difficult conditions to comprehend what the debt is.

The debate concluded, discussing whether or not to include the accompanying executive measures, post- debt cancellation, in the goals of the new organization. Mr. Guissée then insisted that one must not lose sight of the final objective behind canceling the debt: the benefits must spill over to local populations. Finally, he reaffirmed that debt is illegal in international law since its constraint annuls the validity of any Convention.

By : Clément Therme

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