UN General Assembly
1988

There is no other solution. Let us not delude ourselves. If we are not able to devise a multilateral mechanism to meet these objectives, we shall become passive witnesses to an economic and social disaster that will embrace all countries, whether developed or not. It is not possible to remain wealthy for long if that wealth is based on the ruin of others; far less so in today's interdependent world. The economist and university professor Carlos Diaz Alejandro once said: "To blame the victims is a tempting way to shirk responsibilities, especially when the victims themselves are far from virtuous." We have repeatedly maintained that debt is a joint responsibility and that, accordingly, seeking solutions to overcome its traumatic effects must necessarily also be a joint decision, one that is rational and equitable, agreed to by creditors and debtors.