Committee for the Abolition
of Illegitimate Debt

There are some who contend, incorrectly in my view, that excessive debt is not a human rights issue. As the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action underscores, the promotion and protection of human rights requires a holistic approach. In other words, it is critical that we address the causes of and context within which human rights violations occur if we are to ensure the full realization of human rights.
The diversion of scarce funds from programmes designed to provide basic social services such as education and health, to servicing debt, the principal amount of which has, in many cases, already been paid off, places many developing countries in a position that they are unable to fulfil their human rights obligations, particularly those relating to economic, social and cultural rights.
In recent years, many countries have gone through the creditor managed multilateral debt relief initiatives that have provided some fiscal space for them to implement some social programmes. However, these initiatives are fraught with problems and do not appear to have offered a permanent exit from the debt problem.

Additionally, the little that has been offered by way of relief has been diluted or remains under threat from the activities of unscrupulous secondary debt market participants, commonly termed “vulture funds Vulture funds
Vulture fund Investment funds who buy, on the secondary markets and at a significant discount, bonds once emitted by countries that are having repayment difficulties, from investors who prefer to cut their losses and take what price they can get in order to unload the risk from their books. The Vulture Funds then pursue the issuing country for the full amount of the debt they have purchased, not hesitating to seek decisions before, usually, British or US courts where the law is favourable to creditors. ”. These unethical commercial entities have no useful role to play in the global financial system and must be outlawed. It is incumbent upon every country, particularly creditor countries that are the preferred jurisdictions of vulture funds, to take robust legislative measures to curb the activities of these predators.

As civil society actors, you are well placed to advocate for such measures.
I hope that policy makers concerned with debt and human rights will take note of the outcomes of this conference.