Cancel the Debt

Call on the creditors to put people before profit

Some of the world’s richest banks have made a fortune over the last year, profiting during the pandemic, while funds are being drained from the poorest countries in the world.

As Covid-19 pushes over 150 million people into extreme poverty, many large banks and speculators, including Blackrock, JP Morgan, HSBC and UBS, continue to demand debt repayments from some of the poorest countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

This is leaving some poorer countries with less money to spend on tackling Covid-19, the climate crisis and to provide essentials like education and health.

This is a matter of justice and we must act now by demanding big banks #CancelTheDebt.

Call on private creditors to:

Cancel the debts for low- and middle-income countries that request it to help them respond and recover from the pandemic.
Play a full part in international processes including the G20’s Common Framework, granting requests for debt relief through this process.
If countries can’t pay, don’t force them to by taking them to court.

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As the world looks for a way out of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are calling on you to do the right thing and cancel the debts of all low and middle-income countries who need it.

150 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty as a consequence of the pandemic. It is not acceptable that countries such as Zambia have to choose between saving lives and repaying companies such as yours.

While many bilateral donors have suspended debts for 43 countries, banks and speculators have not done the same. It is immoral to continue to demand these repayments at a time of deep global crisis.

The World Bank President, David Malpass, has already urged you to stop collecting funds that are critically and urgently needed elsewhere.

I write to echo that call. Please do the right thing by immediately cancelling these debts when requested to by countries that need it, including through the G20 Common Framework process. This will enable people in some of the world’s poorest nations to recover from the pandemic with dignity.

I also urge you to take longer term action and publicly declare your support for new legislation in the UK and the USA to help tackle debt crises in the world’s poorest nations.

Kind regards,

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Cancel the Debt

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