Reparations to Africa and the Group of Eminent Persons

In the last ten years, a worldwide movement has emerged for reparations to various previously subordinated groups for past wrongs. This paper discusses the movement for reparations to the continent of Africa. It begins with a discussion of the United Nations-sponsored World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, in September 2001. It then traces the discussion of reparations to Africa back to the Group of Eminent Persons (GEP) established in the early 1990s by the Organization of African Unity to pursue reparations for slavery and (perhaps) other wrongs perpetrated on Africa. Only three members of this group are still active: they are J. F. Ade Ajayi, Ali A. Mazrui, and Dudley Thompson. The present author interviewed all three in December 2002. An essay by J. F. Ade Ajayi is included in this volume. After discussion of the GEP, this essay looks at precedents for the demand for reparations to Africa. It closes with an assessment of the likelihood that a large social movement for reparations will develop

Africa\u27s Debt Crisis: Perspectives on Nigeria\u27s Escape from External Debt Trap

In sharp contrast with the image of an oil-rich country, Nigeria is paradoxically a heavily indebted poor country. While the country\u27s oil production reached 2.5 million barrels per day in 2004, its total external debt stock at the end of 2004 was estimated at $35.9 billion. The debt crisis has been aggravated by the burden of debt servicing, which has absorbed the nation\u27s budgetary and foreign exchange resources with deleterious impact on the critical sectors of the economy. The paper critically examines Nigeria\u27s external debt profile and efforts toward its alleviation. It argues that the debt burden constitutes a major constraint to the revitalization of the nation\u27s economy, and that its alleviation is imperative for sustainable growth and development

Debt Relief and the Millennium Development Goals

human development, millennium development goals, mdgs

THE CONCEPT OF ODIOUS DEBT IN PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

The concept of “odious debt” regroups a set of equitable considerations that have often been raised in the context of political transitions. This paper explores the grounds of the “odious debt” concept in international law and points out that obligation to repay debt has never been accepted as absolute, and has been frequently qualified by a range of equitable considerations, some of which may be regrouped under the concept of “odiousness.” Due to the complexity and variety of transitional contexts, there is no single legal forum for the adjudication or settlement of claims of odiousness. Depending on context, such claims might appropriately be raised in bilateral or multilateral negotiations, or they could be adjudicated in domestic litigation. However, invocation of the concept of odious debt in multiple forums risks inconsistent decisions. Thus, the examination of considerations of odiousness by a single special transitional tribunal may be an attractive solution.

Loans or Grants?

We argue in this paper that cancelling the debt of the poorest countries was a good thing, but that it should not imply that the debt instrument should be foregone. Debt and debt cancellations are indeed two complementary instruments which, if properly managed, perform better than either loans or grants taken in isolation. The core of the intuition, which we develop in a simple two-period model, relates to the fact that the poorest countries are also the most volatile, so that contingent facilities, explicitly incorporating debt cancellation mechanisms, are a valuable instrument.grants, loans, developing countries

Beyond HIPC: Secure Sustainable Debt Relief for Poor Countries

In 1999, the United States and other major donor countries supported an historic expansion of the heavily indebted poor country (HIPC) debt relief initiative. HIPC had two primary goals: reduce poor countries’ debt burdens to levels that would allow them to achieve sustainable growth; and promote a new way of assisting poor countries focused on home-grown poverty alleviation and human development. Three years after the initiative came into existence, we are beginning to see the apparent impact that HIPC is having, particularly on recipient countries' ability and willingness to increase domestic spending on education and HIV/AIDS programs. Yet it has also become clear that the HIPC program is not providing a sufficient level of predictability or sustainability to allow debtor countries (and donors) to reap the larger benefits, particularly in terms of sustained growth and poverty reduction, originally envisioned. An adequate amount of predictable debt relief can be an extremely efficient way of transferring resources to poor countries with reasonable economic management (indeed, more effective than traditional aid). But the full benefits of the transfer, in improved capacity to manage their economies, and in increased investor confidence in an economy's future, require that creditors, investors and committed recipient government officials have confidence that the improved debt situation will be sustained over the medium term. After reviewing some of the main critiques and proposals for change, we offer here a new way forward -- a proposal to deepen, widen, and most importantly insure debt relief to poor countries. We focus on the insurance aspect of our proposal, that would safeguard countries against external shocks for a decade, and on the advantages of financing such insurance by limited mobilization of IMF gold. We see this proposal as a practical way to make debt relief more predictably sustainable in HIPC countries, and a proposal around which international donors could consolidate their efforts in the near term.heavily indebted poor country (HIPC), debt relief, poverty, sustained development

Nigeria Foreign Policy and the Politics of Debt Relief

Abstract: With the return of civilian rule in 1999, Nigeria embarked on a relentless campaign for debt relief. As at December 2004, Nigeria’s external debt stood at US$35.94 billion. The unsustainability of the external debt necessitated President Olusegun Obasanjo’s quest for making debt relief a priority, upon assumption of office in May 1999. With President Obasanjo’s concerted efforts coupled with the ministry of finance, national assembly, debt management office, the economic management team, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders, the credible implementation of the country’s National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) as well as security of an IDA only status for Nigeria, the creditors and multilateral financial institutions began to positively consider Nigeria for debt relief. The campaign for debt relief reached a climax in 2005, when the Great Britain, acting as chairperson of Group of Eight Industrialized Nations brought to fore the African debt issues. At their meeting on Wednesday, June 20, 2005 the Paris Club Creditors announced its decision to grant debt relief to Nigeria. By 2006, this determination of President Obasanjo to obtain debt relief came into manifestation, when Nigeria was granted debt relief by the Paris Club creditors under the “Naples” term. That is 60$31bn, Nigeria then paid arrears which was about $6bn and then bought-back the remaining debt stock of about$7bn. Nigeria had virtually exited the debt owed the London Club Creditor countries on Thursday, 4th of April 2007, after it paid $82m in oil warrants (Faloseyi, 2007). While the Debt management office estimated Nigeria’s remaining external debt at about$3.035bn made up of $2.65bn multilateral agencies debt,$326m owed bilateral agencies and $101m of other commercial debt This paper attempt to analyse Nigeria’s foreign policy and the politics of External Debt Relief and its implication on national development.Key words:Debt Relief; Foreign Policy; Politics; National Development; Nigeria. Résumé: Avec le retour du régime civil en 1999, le Nigeria a lancé une campagne acharnée pour l’allégement de la dette. Au Décembre 2004, la dette extérieure du Nigeria s'est élevée à 35.94 milliards de US dollars. La non-durabilité de la dette extérieure a exigé le président Olusegun Obasanjo de faire l’allégement de la dette une priorité du pays, lors de sa prise de fonctions en mai 1999. Grâce aux efforts concertés du Président Obasanjo, couplé avec le Ministère des finances, l’Assemblée nationale, le Bureau de gestion de la dette, l'équipe de gestion économique, les organisations non-gouvernementales (ONG) et d'autres intervenants, la mise en œuvre crédible de la Stratégie de renforcement de l’économie nationale et de développement (SRED) ainsi que la sécurité d'un statut AID seulement pour le Nigeria, les créanciers et les institutions financières multilatérales ont commencé à envisager positivement l’allégement de la dette du Nigeria. La campagne pour l'allégement de la dette a atteint un point culminant en 2005, lorsque la Grande-Bretagne, en présidence du Groupe des huit nations industrialisées a mis l’accent sur la question de dette des pays africains. Lors de leur réunion le mercredi 20 Juin 2005, le Club de Paris a annoncé sa décision d'accorder un allégement de la dette au Nigeria. En 2006, la décision du président Obasanjo d’obtenir un allégement de la dette est en marche, lorsque les créanciers du Club de Paris a accordé au Nigeria un allégement de la dette dans le cadre des "Termes de Naples". C'est une annulation de 60% de la dette, ce qui a fait que la dette finale vis-à-vis du Club de Paris était d’environ 31 milliards de dollars. Puis le Nigeria a payé des arriérés qui était d'environ 6 milliards de dollars, et racheté le stock de la dette restante d'environ 7 milliards de dollars. Le Nigéria a pratiquement sorti de la dette des pays créanciers du Club de Londres le jeudi 4 avril 2007, après avoir payé 82 millions de dollars en bons de pétrole (Faloseyi, 2007). Bien que le bureau de gestion de la dette a estimé la dette extérieure restante du Nigeria est d’environ 3.035 milliards de dollars, composée de 2.65 milliards de dollars de la dette des organismes multilatéraux, 326 millions de dollars envers les organismes bilatéraux et 101 millions de dollar d’autres dettes commerciales. Cet article tente d’analyser la politique étrangère et la politique de l’allégement de dette extérieure du Nigeria et ses implications sur le développement national. Mots clés: Allégement de la dette; Politique étrangère; Politiques; Développement national; Nigeri

Financing Development in Africa: Trends, Issues and Challenges

Access to finance is critical to successful development in Africa. This paper presents recent trends in various aspects of development finance and provides a critical assessment of the costs of meeting the Millennium Development Goals in the region. It also examines recent proposals for financing the MDGs. Furthermore, it examines the key international commitments made to Africa as well as the extent to which donors have fulfilled these commitments. Finally, it examines issues and challenges arising from recent initiatives on aid and debt.Development; Finance; MDGs; Africa; Trends