Sovereign Debt Restructuring, National Development and Human Rights

Julieta Rossi describes how the Néstor Kirchner administration (Argentina) negotiated one of the most important debt swaps in the history of international finance. However, a court judgment in the United States of America, which held that the vulture funds could expect full repayment, undermined the sovereign agreement that had been reached with the majority of other creditors. This article examines how this decision led to international condemnation that the property rights of a few – the creditors - could be held to be more important than the rights of the many – those populations predominantly, though not exclusively, in the Global South. These people's economic, social and cultural rights would likely be negatively impacted by the financial instability of their respective countries if countries are forced to exhaust all resources to pay off their sovereign debt. Key resolutions have subsequently been adopted by the U.N. General Assembly and the Human Rights Council on the issue. Here Rossi examines the Basic Principles on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes, which constitute the main guidelines upon which the multilateral regulatory framework must be based. She calls on countries in the Global South to double their efforts to advance their own agenda on the creation of a more just, democratic and equitable international order that truly benefits its peoples and protects the sovereign equality of states