{"id":1998,"date":"2025-10-15T08:00:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T23:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.janic.org\/en\/?p=1998"},"modified":"2026-04-30T09:26:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T00:26:04","slug":"civil-society-urges-south-africas-g20-presidency-to-take-far-stronger-position-on-debt-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.janic.org\/en\/2025\/10\/15\/civil-society-urges-south-africas-g20-presidency-to-take-far-stronger-position-on-debt-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"Civil society urges South Africa’s G20 presidency to take “far stronger” position on debt reform"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

165 civil society organisations have written to the South African Presidency of the G20 critiquing the “lack of demonstrable progress” on debt and urging them to take action on debt reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Download the letter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The open letter, addressed to President Ramaphosa, calls for South Africa to take a “far stronger” position on the debt crisis facing Africa and many other countries worldwide. Specifically the co-signing organisations encourage the Presidency to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start, support and constructively participate in the intergovernmental process at the UN towards recommendations for a debt architecture reform, as agreed at the 4th Financing for Development Conference (FfD4). In this sense we are calling for a UN Framework Convention on sovereign debt that encompasses all the reforms needed to build a new debt architecture that centers human rights and equity; one that explicitly aligns debt processes with states\u2019 obligations, prohibits austerity measures that undermine essential services and rights realization, binds private creditors to human rights standards, and delivers on a global mechanism for fair and transparent restructurings under UN auspices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radical reform to debt restructuring processes, considering lessons learned from the Common Framework and other debt restructuring processes, as called for by African Heads of State and Finance Ministers. Reforms must deliver far deeper and faster debt relief, introduce a timebound aspect, establish a universally accepted methodology for comparability of treatment, suspending debt servicing for all borrowers embarking on a debt restructuring with no accumulation of arrears, during the whole debt restructuring process, and establish a legal mechanism for enforcement purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A declaration from the Finance Ministers that explicitly supports the establishment of an African Credit Rating Agency, and an international, accessible and public Global debt registry, including details on all external sovereign loans, bonds and other debt instruments as well as details on debt workouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support the establishment of a Borrowers Club, as agreed at the FfD4 Conference, that will facilitate cooperation among debtor countries to share information, improve transparency and strengthen negotiation positions. This club would serve as a counterweight to creditor groupings like the Paris Club and the London Coalition to improve the institutional efficiency of the global debt architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development of binding principles of responsible lending and borrowing, as well as debt sustainability analyses, aligned with developmental goals and designed to enhance countries\u2019 capacity to respect their human rights and climate obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agreement on the sale of IMF gold reserves to finance a debt relief fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledgment of the debt and development crisis, and the urgent need for debt relief that protects essential social spending on education, health, gender equality and climate resilience. Civil Society is calling for the cancellation of all unsustainable and illegitimate debts, from all creditors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Global and regional networks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n