UN General Assembly
1988

The problem of external debt is still a topic of the greatest concern. We will recall that at the end of 1987 the Organization of African Unity (OAU) deemed it necessary to convene a special Conference of Heads of State and Government to consider this pressing problem. At the close of that Conference, which was held in Addis Ababa, a declaration was adopted reflecting the joint position of Africa. This document spelt out the development, magnitude, structure and economic consequences of the continent's external debt} it defined a strategy aimed at reducing the burden of the African debt. The Conference expressed the hope that the creditor countries and institutions of Africa would take concrete measures to alleviate the burden of Africa's external debt. In addition, it asked the international community to take into consideration the will clearly expressed by Africa to convene an international conference on the external debt. This international conference should promote the establishment of a constructive dialogue based on the proposals put forward in the joint position on the crisis of Africa's external debt.