Africa: UN Inaugurates New Forum to Help Debtor Countries

Africa: UN Inaugurates New Forum to Help Debtor Countries


A new mechanism has been introduced, offering debt-distressed countries a way to coordinate their actions and amplify their voice in the global financial system.

The mechanism, the ‘Borrowers’ Forum’, was inaugurated on Wednesday at the UN’s pivotal sustainable development conference in Sevilla, Spain.

The inauguration comes at a time of rising debt distress across the developing world.

The new forum is being supported by the UN and emerging as a key part of the Sevilla Commitment outcome document.

Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that developing nations often faced creditors as a united bloc when negotiating alone.

According to her, voice is not just the ability to speak, it’s the power to shape outcomes.

“Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries that pay more in debt service than they do on health or education.”

She said that the forum, one of 11 recommendations by the UN Secretary-General’s Expert Group on Debt, would allow countries to share experiences and receive technical and legal advice.

“It will also allow countries to promote responsible lending and borrowing standards, and build collective negotiating strength.

“Its inauguration will addresses long-standing calls from the Global South for more inclusive decision-making in a debt system dominated by creditor interests,” added.

Finance ministers from the Global South and foreign ministers hailed the Borrowers’ Forum as a milestone in efforts to reform the international debt architecture.

UN Special Envoy on financing the 2030 Agenda, Mahmoud Mohieldin, said the forum was a direct response to a system that has kept debtor countries isolated for too long.

“This is about voice, about fairness, and about preventing the next debt crisis before it begins,” he said.

The commitment, known in Spanish as the Compromiso de Sevilla, was adopted by consensus at the conference and includes a cluster of commitments on sovereign debt reform, alongside support for borrower-led initiatives.

“It calls for enhanced debt transparency and improved coordination among creditors, as well as the exploration of a multilateral legal framework for debt restructuring.