Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

Across the region, the political context revealed a worrying convergence of debt dependency and austerity. In Sri Lanka, debt restructuring dominated national politics, with IMF IMF
International Monetary Fund Along with the World Bank, the IMF was founded on the day the Bretton Woods Agreements were signed. Its first mission was to support the new system of standard exchange rates.

When the Bretton Wood fixed rates system came to an end in 1971, the main function of the IMF became that of being both policeman and fireman for global capital: it acts as policeman when it enforces its Structural Adjustment Policies and as fireman when it steps in to help out governments in risk of defaulting on debt repayments.

As for the World Bank, a weighted voting system operates: depending on the amount paid as contribution by each member state. 85% of the votes is required to modify the IMF Charter (which means that the USA with 17,68% % of the votes has a de facto veto on any change).

The institution is dominated by five countries: the United States (16,74%), Japan (6,23%), Germany (5,81%), France (4,29%) and the UK (4,29%).
The other 183 member countries are divided into groups led by one country. The most important one (6,57% of the votes) is led by Belgium. The least important group of countries (1,55% of the votes) is led by Gabon and brings together African countries.

http://imf.org -driven reforms eroding livelihoods while opportunities for more progressive solutions were squandered. As IMF supervision deepened social inequality and political instability, Pakistan continued to grapple with a “debt dilemma”. In India, rising state-level debt threatened the country’s federal structure and further entrenched austerity. Bangladesh faced growing external debt burdens and mounting pressure from IMF conditionalities, triggering inflation Inflation The cumulated rise of prices as a whole (e.g. a rise in the price of petroleum, eventually leading to a rise in salaries, then to the rise of other prices, etc.). Inflation implies a fall in the value of money since, as time goes by, larger sums are required to purchase particular items. This is the reason why corporate-driven policies seek to keep inflation down. and rising discontent among the population. Nepal remained heavily reliant on remittances and foreign loans, a dynamic that perpetuated economic dependency and exposed the country to long-term risks, particularly given its vulnerability to climate change. In the Philippines, abusive microcredit practices and debt-driven migration continued to entrench working-class precarity. At a transnational level, issues such as debt–migration chains, securitisation of borders, and the global climate crisis revealed how international finance continues to exploit and destabilise communities in Asia.

The Colombo South Asia Meeting, held between January 29 - February 2025, brought together activists, researchers, and grassroots organisations to debate the challenges of debt restructuring, IMF conditionalities, and the search for people-centered alternatives. The gathering produced the Colombo Declaration 2025, which articulated a strong collective position against IMF-imposed austerity and illegitimate debt agreements. Participants criticised Sri Lanka’s ISB restructuring process, expressed solidarity with the people of Pakistan and India in resisting fiscal centralisation and debt burdens, and called for citizen-led debt audits and the suspension of illegitimate debt payments. This meeting was significant not only for strengthening regional solidarity but also for reaffirming CADTM Asia’s role in shaping public debates around debt justice including ecological debt in South Asia.

The South Asia workshop in Colombo was enriched by the participation of international activists and experts from Spain, France, Belgium, Morocco, Brazil, and the Philippines. Their contributions brought comparative perspectives on debt struggles, austerity, and social movements from different regions of the Global South and Europe. Presentations, case studies, and strategic discussions by these participants helped contextualize South Asian debt issues within broader global patterns of financialisation and creditor domination. The exchange of experiences not only strengthened regional solidarity but also inspired new ideas for campaigning, popular education, and cross-border collaboration.

Around the workshop, there were public facing activities to introduce CADTM and its perspectives to a broader audience. This included a public lecture titled ‘Exiting the Debt Crises to Reclaim the Future’ by Eric Toussaint hosted by the semi-state Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies on January 29, which was attended by former diplomats, researchers, and students. On February 5^th, Eric Toussaint appeared on the Face-to-Face show on the leading Engish-language private media channel NewsFirst Sri Lanka (with 3 million subscribers on YouTube), where he spoke on ‘The Case Against Odious Debt’. The final public advocacy initiative was Eric Toussaint’s appearance on the podcast Satahan Radio hosted by one of the faces of the 2022 Aragalaya people’s uprising; which is followed by younger people; the programme was titled ‘How the IMF Stole Sri Lanka’. There was also engagement by a CADTM delegation with the National Peoples Power government through a bilateral discussion at the Treasury with Harshana Suriyapperuma (then deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, and currently Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Planning). CADTM advocated with the deputy Minister for an audit of Sri Lanka’s external debt, offering its expertise.

In the Philippines, CADTM Asia coordinated several key initiatives. The 13^th Asian Regional School in Quezon City provided a training hub where activists from across Asia engaged with the histories, legacies, and present-day impacts of financial institutions on the Global South. CADTM members also presented on the ecological crisis. Linked to this was a major symposium at the University of the Philippines, titled “Debt Chains and Displaced Lives: Confronting Financial Institutions’ Legacies in the Global South.” This gathering emphasised the urgency of resisting debt chains and debt dependency while also creating space to articulate transformative alternatives rooted in solidarity and justice. Complementing these, CADTM also supported a symposium in Iligan City on “Debt Chains and Displaced Lives”, which brought together communities from Mindanao to examine how debt interacts with displacement, migration, and environmental crises. By grounding regional critiques in both academic and grassroots spaces, these activities in the Philippines not only built activist capacity but also highlighted how struggles against debt are inseparable from broader fights for dignity, livelihoods, and social justice.

Beyond these two central events, CADTM Asia continued to intervene in country-specific contexts. Analyses of government policies and ISB restructuring in Sri Lanka exposed the loss of opportunities for progressive debt relief. In Pakistan, research highlighted the contradictions of IMF dependency and its devastating social costs. In India, attention turned to the alarming rise of state-level debt and the accompanying erosion of federalism. In Bangladesh, advocacy and regional analysis exposed the dangers of external debt build-up and austerity policies. Nepal’s situation was increasingly framed in terms of the remittance–debt trap and climate vulnerability, making clear that the debt problem cannot be separated from questions of migration and environmental justice. CADTM also addressed transnational and thematic concerns, publishing critiques of microcredit as a systemic tool of financial subordination, drawing attention to debt and migration in the context of securitisation and border regimes such as Frontex, and promoting ecosocialism as an alternative to capitalist crises.

These activities produced several tangible outcomes. The Colombo Declaration established a unified regional voice opposing IMF-led austerity. The regional school and symposium in the Philippines provided training and analysis that linked debt struggles with migration, microcredit, and financialisation. In Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Philippines, CADTM’s interventions reinforced visibility and campaign momentum, while in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, the network helped shift public discourse towards recognising the structural nature of debt dependency. By incorporating the specific situations of Bangladesh and Nepal into its regional agenda, CADTM ensured that their struggles would not remain isolated but would instead inform a collective South Asian and Asian strategy.

Looking ahead to 2026, CADTM Asia intends to deepen its work in several priority areas. Debt audits and litigation support will be a key focus in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India. In Bangladesh, the network will monitor IMF conditionalities and work with civil society to resist austerity. In Nepal, efforts will concentrate on the remittance–debt trap and the growing risks of climate debt. In the Philippines, pilot projects will test alternatives to debt financing, while across the region a campaign on migrant debt will be developed, with a practical toolkit designed for use in Nepal, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. We will continue to gather evidence on abusive microcredit practices and explore legal avenues for accountability. The next Asian Regional School will be expanded to ensure broader participation, particularly from Bangladesh and Nepal. Finally, multilingual outreach will strengthen communications and advocacy, amplifying local struggles within the global debt justice movement.

Taken together, CADTM Asia’s work in 2025 demonstrated both the urgency of the debt crisis and the vitality of regional resistance. The year’s events and analyses not only reinforced solidarity across South and Southeast Asia but also laid the groundwork for a stronger, more cohesive movement to challenge debt, austerity, and financial domination in 2026 and beyond.