Editing Debt relief (section)

==International debt relief==

===First World War reparations===
War debt payments by World War I Allies to the U.S. had been suspended in 1931—only Finland paid in full—and American public opinion demanded repayments resume as a condition of U.S. postwar aid. Germany had suspended its reparations payments due under the 1919 Versailles Treaty and payable to Britain,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11442892|title=Why has Germany taken so long to pay off its WWI debt?|date=2 October 2010|website=BBC News}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=November 2023}} France and others, as well as loans due to the United States. Chancellor [[Konrad Adenauer]] decided that permanent good will required their resumption. The 1953 [[Agreement on German External Debts]], which resumed German's [[war reparations]], is a notable example of international debt relief.<ref>{{cite book|author1=William N. Goetzmann|author2=K. Geert Rouwenhorst|title=The Origins of Value: The Financial Innovations that Created Modern Capital Markets|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-oi7Osz2Ss0C&pg=PA336|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=336–38|isbn=9780195175714}}</ref><ref>Timothy W. Guinnane, "Financial Vergangenheitsbewältigung: The 1953 London Debt Agreement" (Economic Growth Center, Yale University, 2004) [http://ssrn.com/abstract=493802 online]</ref>

===Less Developed Country Debt===
Debt relief for heavily indebted and [[Underdevelopment|underdeveloped]] [[developing country|developing countries]] was the subject in the 1990s of a campaign by a broad coalition of development [[Non-governmental organization|NGOs]], Christian organizations and others, under the banner of [[Jubilee 2000]]. This campaign, involving, for example, demonstrations at the 1998 [[G8]] meeting in [[Birmingham]], was successful in pushing debt relief onto the agenda of Western governments and international organizations such as the [[International Monetary Fund]] and [[World Bank]]. The [[Heavily Indebted Poor Countries]] (HIPC) initiative was ultimately launched to provide systematic debt relief for the poorest countries, whilst trying to ensure the money would be spent on [[poverty reduction]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Harold J. Johnson|title=Developing Countries: Status of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Hipc Debt Relief Initiative|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5KEe-YaEv3cC|year=1998|publisher=DIANE Publishing|pages=2–10|isbn=9780788179228}}</ref>

The HIPC programme has been subject to [[conditionalities]] similar to those often attached to International Monetary Fund ([[IMF]]) and World Bank loans, requiring [[structural adjustment]] reforms, sometimes including the [[privatization|privatisation]] of [[public utilities]], including water and electricity. To qualify for irrevocable debt relief, countries must also maintain macroeconomic stability and implement a [[Poverty Reduction Strategy]] satisfactorily for at least one year. Under the goal of reducing inflation, some countries have been pressured to reduce spending in the health and education sectors. While the World Bank considers the HIPC Initiative a success, some scholars are more critical of it.<ref>{{cite web|author=Jürgen Kaiser|title=Back to square one | date = 22 February 2016 | publisher = D+C, development and cooperation | url=http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/countries-have-been-granted-debt-relief-risk-renewed-insolvency}}</ref>

The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) is an extension of HIPC. The MDRI was agreed following the [[G8]]'s [[31st G8 summit|Gleneagles meeting]] in July 2005. It offers 100% cancellation of multilateral debts owed by HIPC countries to the [[World Bank]], IMF and [[African Development Bank]].<ref>{{cite book|author=International Monetary Fund|title=Regional Economic Outlook, October 2009: Sub-Saharan Africa - Weathering the Storm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lKsmVb2rm9oC&pg=PA41|year=2009|page=41|publisher=International Monetary Fund |isbn=9781451996012}}</ref>

One of the targets of the UN [[Sustainable Development Goals]], specifically [[Sustainable Development Goal 17|Goal 17]], is to "assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and [[debt restructuring]]". This will help poor countries "reduce debt distress".<ref name=":17">United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, [[:File:A RES 71 313 E.pdf|Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]] ([https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313 A/RES/71/313])</ref>