ARCHBISHOP MARTINO ON EXTERNAL DEBT CRISIS AND DEVELOPMENT

VATICAN CITY, NOV 12, 1996 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato R. Martino, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, spoke yesterday in New York before the UN General Assembly on "Microeconomic Policy Questions - External Debt Crisis and Development."

He reminded the assembly of the "clear commitment" made at the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995 concerning "effective, development-orientated and durable solutions to external debt problems." He added that "the Holy See appreciates the recent steps which have taken place in this regard."

Archbishop Martino stated that "the delegation of the Holy See would like to emphasize ... two points concerning the current initiatives aimed at reducing the debt burdens of the poorest countries."

"The first concerns the definition of the term sustainability of the debt burden," he said. "Sustainability is too often considered in purely macroeconomic terms. ... Programs of economic reform which produce or increase dramatic inequalities in society are not sustainable, even in economic terms." "The second point of emphasis is to ensure that debt relief packages for the poorest countries be applied rapidly, and that the widest possible range of debts be eligible."

Archbishop Martino said in concluding remarks that "we must now move forward to foster a deeper ethic of solidarity, which will counter the current reluctance to provide the resources necessary to overcome the debt problem and above all to place the poorest countries in a position to invest in and assume responsibility for their own development."
DELSS/DEBT RELIEF/UN:MARTINO VIS 961112 (250)