蜜桃交友

By Pope

"The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have caused significant shocks to the global economy, while the monetary policies adopted by developed nations, with high interest rates, have worsened the debt crisis in many developing countries," states a joint communiqué from PASS and IPD. The document announces the establishment of a Commission of Experts, set to convene in 2025, to address the growing challenges of sovereign debt and development, which increasingly affect countries in the Global South. The Commission, led by Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz, will produce a special Jubilee Report.

The commission includes global experts on sovereign debt from academia, civil society, and religious communities. Its goal is to develop and propose reforms that help resolve unsustainable debt situations and prevent future crises, fostering sustainable economic, social, and environmental development. Additionally, the commission will propose a reform plan for the international financial system, aiming to make the debt burden of poorer countries more sustainable and facilitate greater investments in healthcare, education, clean energy, and climate adaptation.

A legacy of debt relief efforts

The communiqué recalls that during the Jubilee of 2000, a movement emerged advocating for debt cancellation in the most vulnerable countries, leading to significant debt relief. "However, that initiative failed to achieve the necessary reforms in the global financial system, resulting in the continuation of the debt crisis to the present day," the statement reads. "The money that poorer nations allocate to debt servicing comes at the expense of investments in education, healthcare, and efforts to improve living standards or address climate challenges. The debt crisis is, therefore, also a development crisis."

The upcoming Jubilee of 2025 presents an opportunity to revive this effort for justice. "Pope Francis has made debt relief one of the central priorities of this Jubilee, recognizing that the current financial system is inadequate to address these growing challenges and requires urgent global reforms."

During a June 2024 conference on sovereign debt, co-organized by PASS and IPD, Pope Francis advocated for an international mechanism for debt restructuring and urged financial leaders to "adhere to an international code of conduct with ethical standards to ensure fair negotiations." The conference generated several key policy recommendations. Given the scale of the challenges, the Catholic Church remains a point of reference for those working toward a more just and equitable society.

The scale of the debt problem

The communiqué highlights data from the World Bank, which reported that in 2023, developing countries spent a record $1.4 trillion on debt servicing鈥攏early 4% of their gross national income. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 54 countries allocate more than 10% of their fiscal revenues to interest payments on debt. Additionally:

• 3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on healthcare.
• 2.1 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on education.

The World Bank notes that low- and middle-income countries now face significantly higher debt levels than in the decade before the pandemic, making it difficult for them to invest in critical infrastructure, clean energy, and climate adaptation.