At the UN’s sustainable development conference in Sevilla, Spain, a new mechanism called the Borrowers’ Forum was inaugurated on Wednesday to help countries struggling with debt coordinate their actions and amplify their voice in the global financial system.
The forum aims to address the rising debt distress affecting many developing nations. Supported by the UN and featured in the Sevilla Commitment outcome document, it offers a platform for debtor countries to share experiences, receive technical and legal advice, and promote responsible lending and borrowing standards.
Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), highlighted that many developing countries face creditors individually, weakening their negotiating power. “Voice is not just the ability to speak, it’s the power to shape outcomes,” she said, noting that 3.4 billion people live in countries where debt service payments exceed spending on health or education.
The Borrowers’ Forum is one of 11 recommendations by the UN Secretary-General’s Expert Group on Debt and is seen as a step toward more inclusive decision-making in a debt system historically dominated by creditor interests.
Finance ministers and foreign ministers from the Global South welcomed the forum as a milestone in reforming international debt architecture. Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Special Envoy on financing the 2030 Agenda, described the forum as a response to the long-standing isolation of debtor countries, emphasizing fairness and prevention of future debt crises.
The Sevilla Commitment, adopted by consensus, includes calls for enhanced debt transparency, better coordination among creditors, exploration of a multilateral legal framework for debt restructuring, and support for borrower-led debt sustainability strategies. It also endorses debt payment suspension clauses for climate-vulnerable nations and promotes debt-for-nature and debt-for-climate swaps with stronger safeguards.
However, civil society groups criticized the agreement as falling short of meaningful reform. Jason Braganza of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development said the document lacked ambition and was watered down, noting that nearly half of African countries face debt crises that divert funds from essential services like health and education.
Despite these criticisms, Braganza praised the leadership of the African Group and the Alliance of Small Island States for advocating a UN Framework Convention on sovereign debt and welcomed the establishment of a new intergovernmental process that could pave the way for future reforms.
