The UN, through the deputy executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), argues that the public debt contracts of the most disadvantaged countries should be suspended in the event of a natural disaster.

"To deal with the challenges posed by a cascading set of crises, state debt instruments that link debt service payments to countries' ability to pay should be considered in future debt contracts," writes Hanan Morsy, arguing that "climate contingency clauses should be built into future debt contracts to postpone payments in the event of major climate shocks or natural disasters."

The suspension of payments in the event of natural disasters is one of the three measures she has put forward to deal with the debt crisis affecting the most disadvantaged countries, particularly those in Africa, and has prompted a number of global initiatives, the latest of which took place in Paris at the end of June, when French President Emmanuel Macron convened partners to outline a new global financing pact.

"The sovereign debt crisis is hitting Africa particularly hard and could lead to a lost decade of development; although the G20 has tried to ease the burden, its Common Framework has proven ineffective and needs to be reformed, and international institutions must make room for African countries in policy-making meetings," the UNECA deputy executive secretary said today, quoted by Lusa.

In addition to the suspension of debt servicing in the event of climate shocks, UNECA is also advocating a reformulation of the G20 Common Framework, the initiative created to ease debt payments, but which has had no effect due to the lack of participation by private creditors and the consequences of the downgrading of the rating of the adhering countries, which in turn has made access to international financing impossible in practice.

"Middle-income countries, which are also struggling with unsustainable debt, should be eligible," writes Hanan Morsy in a statement sent to Lusa, in which he says that debt servicing should be suspended under a transparent and credible timetable, and that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should finance essential spending in these countries for the duration of negotiations with creditors.

UNECA also suggests strengthening the legal framework for public debt requirements, challenging the state of New York, which legally regulates most debt issues, to lead this process, which would "prevent 'vulture funds' from attacking debtors in difficulty".

Finally, the UN organization also proposes that international institutions make room for African countries and other developing economies to be present at the main negotiating tables.

"If the African Union had a permanent seat in the G20, for example, the continent could fully participate in discussions on G20 initiatives, with the Common Framework," he says.

The growth in the ratio of public debt to GDP in African countries, as well as the ratio of revenue to interest on debt, has been on the rise, especially since the covid-19 pandemic, putting several African countries into Financial Default and with major difficulties in meeting financial obligations.

Countries "took advantage of historically low interest rates between 2010 and 2020 to borrow heavily on international markets and in China, which meant that debt volumes more than doubled in that period," Hanan Morsy recalls, noting that the problem is that the debt "has become much more onerous", added to which are the exogenous shocks of the pandemic, Russia's war in Ukraine, worsening weather conditions and the reduction in international aid and concessional financing, added to which are rising interest rates.

"By 2024, African countries will be spending around 74 billion dollars [68 billion euros] on debt servicing, up from the 17 billion dollars [15.6 billion euros] spent in 2010," he points out, noting that Ghana and Zambia are already in default, and Chad and Ethiopia are in restructuring negotiations.