The Harare Declaration 2021

The Harare Declaration 2021 is a statement adopted during the inaugural African Conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD). It calls for a 'New Debt movement' to reform the global financial architecture, which the document describes as broken and skewed toward the interests of creditors and former colonial powers. The declaration advocates for African countries to transition from being 'rule takers' to 'rule makers' through measures such as debt cancellation, the creation of regional financial institutions, and the establishment of an African Accountability Mechanism.

• The global financial architecture is described as broken and designed to profit from debt, failing to reform key elements such as credit rating agencies, credit market behavior, and restructuring mechanisms since the HIPC and MDRI processes.
• Current sovereign debt narratives and IMF frameworks are criticized for prioritizing creditor interests over social and environmental justice, assessing debt sustainability based on repayment ability without considering necessary social tradeoffs.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated debt risks, with projections that approximately 39 million Africans would enter extreme poverty in 2021 and governments prioritizing debt servicing over the protection of lives.
• Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM) in Africa is hindered by an architecture that encourages illicit financial flows, aggressive corporate tax planning, and overly generous tax incentives, creating a cycle of revenue shortfalls and debt accumulation.
• International public finance is viewed as being rooted in colonial and neo-colonial relationships, fostering dependency on former colonial powers and promoting 'donor sponsored capitalism' over public good investments.
• The declaration proposes that African governments develop a common position on sovereign debt that may include debt cancellation or collective default, and calls for the creation of an African Monetary Fund, an African Development Bank, and an African Investment Bank.
• The document calls for the establishment of an African Accountability Mechanism to improve the governance, transparency, and accountability of Africa's debt architecture.

APA

African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (2021). The Harare Declaration 2021. https://afrodad.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-Harare-Declaration-2021.docx-5.pdf

Chicago

African Forum and Network on Debt and Development. The Harare Declaration 2021. 2021. https://afrodad.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-Harare-Declaration-2021.docx-5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=African Forum and Network on Debt and Development |title=The Harare Declaration 2021 |date=27 August 2021 |url=https://afrodad.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-Harare-Declaration-2021.docx-5.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{africanforumandnetworkondebtanddevelopment2021harare, author = {{African Forum and Network on Debt and Development}}, title = {{The Harare Declaration 2021}}, publisher = {African Forum and Network on Debt and Development}, year = {2021}, month = aug, url = {https://afrodad.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/The-Harare-Declaration-2021.docx-5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }