Enhancing International Cooperation Towards a Durable Solution to the External Debt Problem of Developing Countries

A/RES/51/164No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 94aExternal debt crisis and development, published in 1997.

What other versions does this mandate have?

7 versions · 1996–2003

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/57/240

2003A/RES/57/240Enhancing international cooperation towards a durable solution to the external debt problem of developing countriesLatestCompare with previous version
2001A/RES/55/184Enhancing international cooperation towards a durable solution to the external debt problem of developing countriesCompare with previous version
2000A/RES/54/202Enhancing international cooperation towards a durable solution to the external debt problem of developing countriesCompare with previous version
1999A/RES/53/175Enhancing international cooperation towards a durable solution to the external debt problem of developing countriesCompare with previous version
1998A/RES/52/185Enhancing international cooperation towards a durable solution to the external debt problem of developing countriesCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

13 topics

Debt Conversions Debt Restructuring Debt Servicing Development Assistance External Debt Financial Assistance Financial Flows Least Developed Countries Multilateral Trade Negotiations Programmes of Action Structural Adjustment Sustainable Development Trust Funds

What does this mandate say?

21 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the developing country debt situation as at mid-1996;

Recognizes that effective, equitable, development-oriented and durable solutions to the external debt and debt-servicing problems of developing countries can contribute substantially to the strengthening of the global economy and to the efforts of developing countries to achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable development;

Notes that further progress, including swift implementation of innovative approaches and concrete measures, is essential for contributing to effective, equitable, development-oriented and durable solutions to the external debt and debt-servicing problems of developing countries, particularly the poorest and heavily indebted countries;

Stresses the importance for developing countries of continuing their efforts to promote a favourable environment for attracting foreign investment, thereby promoting economic growth and sustainable development so as to favour their exit from debt and debt-servicing problems, and also stresses the need for the international community to promote a conducive external economic environment through, inter alia, improved market access, stabilization of exchange rates, effective stewardship of international interest rates, increased resource flows, access to international financial markets, flow of financial resources and improved access to technology for the developing countries;

Also stresses that the evolving debt strategy must be accompanied by a favourable and supportive international economic environment, including the full implementation of the results of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, and the Marrakesh ministerial decisions in favour of the least developed countries and the net food-importing developing countries;

Welcomes the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative endorsed by the Interim Committee of the International Monetary Fund and the Development Committee of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, designed to enable eligible heavily indebted poor countries to achieve a sustainable debt situation through coordinated action by all creditors on the basis of adjustment efforts by the debtor countries;

Recognizes that the implementation of the Initiative requires additional financial resources from both bilateral and multilateral creditors without affecting the support required for development activities of developing countries, welcomes the commitment made to provide additional resources for the Initiative, and invites bilateral donors to contribute to the Trust Fund for the implementation of the Initiative;

Stresses the urgent need for the developed countries to give the Initiative the support it both needs and deserves and to implement it flexibly to ensure that the performance already achieved is taken into account in determining the duration of adjustment required to reach, with the assistance of all creditors, an exit from debt rescheduling;

Also stresses the importance of implementing the Initiative's eligibility criteria flexibly, in a transparent manner, and with the full involvement of the debtor country, and further stresses the importance of continuously evaluating and actively monitoring the implications of the existing terms of the eligibility criteria in the implementation of the Initiative, so as to ensure sufficient coverage of heavily indebted poor countries;

Underlines the importance of the transparency and involvement of debtor countries in any review and analysis that will be conducted during the adjustment period;

Welcomes the decision taken by the Paris Club to go beyond the Naples terms to provide debt reduction, including some debt stock forgiveness for the poorest and most heavily indebted countries, stresses the need for the swift implementation of that decision, and urges all other bilateral creditors to make comparable contributions in the context of coordinated efforts by all countries;

Recognizes the efforts of indebted developing countries in regard to fulfilling their commitments on debt servicing despite the incurring of a high social cost and, in this regard, encourages private creditors and, in particular, commercial banks to continue their initiatives and efforts to address the commercial debt problems of middle-income developing countries;

Invites creditor countries, private banks and multilateral financial institutions, within their prerogatives, to continue the initiatives and efforts to address the commercial debt problems of the least developed countries and the requests for continued mobilization of resources through the Debt-reduction Facility of the International Development Association in order to help eligible least developed countries reduce their commercial debt;

Invites the International Monetary Fund to continue devising concrete measures and action to address the problems faced by indebted developing countries, including the provision of bilateral contributions and, if the need arises, to consider optimizing its reserves management in order to facilitate the financing of the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility;

Reaffirms the Mid-term Global Review of Progress towards the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s,in particular the appropriate actions in favour of those countries concerning their official bilateral, commercial and multilateral debt;

Notes with concern the continuing burden of debt and debt-service obligations of middle-income countries, including in particular those in Africa, and encourages creditors, including multilateral financial institutions and commercial banks, to continue to address their obligations effectively;

Stresses the importance of continued concessional Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility lending operations for low-income developing countries;

Also stresses the need for, in addition to debt-relief measures that include debt and debt-service reduction, new financial flows to debtor developing countries from all sources, and urges creditor countries and multilateral financial institutions to continue to extend concessional financial assistance, particularly to the least developed countries, in order to support the implementation of economic reforms, stabilization and structural adjustment programmes and the eradication of poverty by the developing countries so as to enable them to extricate themselves from the debt overhang and attract new investment and to assist them in achieving sustained economic growth and sustainable development;

Further stresses the urgent need to continue to provide social safety nets to vulnerable groups most adversely affected by the implementation of economic reform programmes in the debtor countries, in particular low-income groups;

Calls upon the international community, including the United Nations system, and invites the Bretton Woods institutions, as well as the private sector, to take appropriate measures and action for the implementation of the commitments, agreements and decisions of the major United Nations conferences and summits organized since the beginning of the 1990s on development related to the question of external debt;

Requests the Secretary-General, in close cooperation with the Bretton Woods institutions and other relevant bodies of the United Nations system, to closely follow the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative and to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-second session on the implementation of the Initiative and of the present resolution.

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