African Sovereign Debt Justice Network (AfSDJN)

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens.

Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid.  

Focusing in particular on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal, the AfSDJN will also amplify African voices and decolonize narratives on African sovereign debt . Its activities include producing research outputs to enhance the network’s advocacy interventions. It also seeks to create awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond throughout 2021. 

New AfSDJN Policy Brief focuses on Debt, Climate Finance and Vulnerability for Countries in Africa

There is a correlation between climate change, climate finance, and unsustainable debt levels in Africa. In this African Sovereign Debt Justice Network (AfSDJN) Brief, we highlight this connection focusing on eight countries in debt distress currently (Chad, The Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) and one highly indebted country (Ethiopia) in sub-Saharan Africa. These countries (referred to here as Debt and Climate Vulnerable (DCV) countries) are also some of the most climate vulnerable countries despite having some of the least carbon footprints.

African Sovereign Debt Justice Network’s Statement on the 2022 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank: A Call for Governance Reforms

We reiterate our position that African countries did not take part in designing the current international financial architecture, embedded in their historical subjugation. Resultantly, as highlighted by the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, it is “skewed significantly against developing and emerging economies” in favor of rich countries. A reform of the governance structure of the Bretton Woods institutions is required as a significant step towards recognizing African countries and citizens as rule makers in the re-design of the international financial and debt architecture.

Fifty Second Sovereign Debt News Update: Of Unsustainable Public Debt, Pandemics, and Climate Change: The Global South's Call for an Overhaul of the Unfair and Outdated Global Financial Architecture in Light of the Present-Day Polycrisis

The 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly was convened on September 13, 2022 to September 26, 2022. Even as the globe faces a polycrisis driven by the global slowdown, the war in Ukraine, shortages of energy, fertilizer and food, rising interest rates and debt levels, and climate change, the Global South’s leaders joined leaders from around the world to discuss these pressing development issues and work with the relevant global partners to find solutions to these challenges.

Fifty First Sovereign Debt News Update: Africa and the Controversies Surrounding International Sovereign Credit Rating Agencies

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network brings to you an update of African sovereign debt news and updates on events and happenings on and about Africa that reveal how sovereign debt issues are engaged by the various stakeholders.

Inaugural Sovereign Debt Academy of the African Sovereign Debt Justice Network

Welcome to the inaugural Sovereign Debt Academy convened by the African Sovereign Debt Justice Network (AfSDJN). AfSDJN is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens.

Winners Announced: The African Sovereign Debt Network (AfSDJN) Essay Competition

The African Sovereign Debt Network, (AfSDJN), is delighted to announce the winners of its Essay Competition on “National Legal Frameworks for Debt Contracting, Prudent Management and Accountability in Africa.” The winners of this competition have been invited by the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) to present their winning papers at the second African Conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD II) from the 24th to 26th August 2022. Their papers will also be published on Afronomicslaw.org.