Debt Relief Initiative

The immediate cancellation of international debt by all developing countries, with no reciprocal obligations, and the payment of compensation to Third World countries for historical as well as ecological debt.

The external debt of Third World countries has a historical past. At independence, newly formed governments of Third World countries inherited the debts incurred by colonial powers. And with their natural resources in the hands of the former colonial powers or international corporations, these countries had no other way to repay these debts but to borrow additional funds from international financial institutions. This meant devoting all their financial resources to the payment of debt—thus plunging them into an endless cycle.

Third World countries are entitled to receive compensation for the huge transfer of wealth represented by their decades of servicing debt, especially odious ones. They are also entitled to compensation for ecological disasters resulting from the extraction devastation of natural resources in an effort to gain revenues.

Learn more about this issue:

• Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt
• Jubilee Debt Campaign