International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Trade Union Confederation(ITUC), and Global Citizen have called for comprehensive emergency debt relief to enable developing countries to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in an open letter to G20 Finance Ministers.
The letter mentions a highly uneven and uncertain path forward for the global economy and the Sustainable Development Goals. Data from the authors' respective networks show the sustained impact that COVID-19 has had on human development, livelihoods, and productivity throughout the developing world—with significant downside risks in the months ahead.
In this context, the letter asserts that it is apparent that the G20 Action Plan agreed in April, while laudable in its intentions, is rapidly becoming insufficient to protect the real economy from long-term scarring. In this connection, authors' are deeply concerned about the growing impact of the pandemic on young people in developing economies—with new interventions urgently needed to mitigate the effects of school closures and tackle rising child mortality rates.
The letter depicts the authors' intention to urge Ministers to use next week's G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors Meeting to take concerted action to address this worrying "stimulus gap."
According to the letter, "As noted in our recommendations for action in April and July, we feel that this must be built on a comprehensive package of debt relief measures commensurate in scale and scope to the gravity of the COVID-19 crisis. To this end, we urge you to agree on a bold Action Plan to address the barriers that sovereign debt burdens present toward pandemic containment and economic stabilization while enabling a global recovery that prioritizes health and social protection, decent work, and growth of the real economy."
The letter is signed by:
John W.H. Denton | AO Secretary General, ICC
Sharan Burrow | General Secretary, ITUC
Michael Sheldrick | Chief Policy and Government Affairs Officer, Global Citizen
Read the full letter here.
