Dr. Grieve Chelwa (Associate Professor of Political Economy at The Africa Institute) questions the prevailing belief that countries in the Global South are at fault for the current global debt crisis. He points to the current and historical inequities in the current global financial system, which traps nations in debt cycles that undermine human rights, economic sovereignty, and progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). When debt is caused by external factors which countries have no control over, imposing crushing fiscal austerity to fix the debt situation is unlikely to work.

He presents the interlinkages between the human rights economy and his concepts of ‘Inclusive Economic Rights and Emancipatory Development’ and details how a human rights economy could revolutionize this system by outing the accent on people and ensuring governments can prioritize their human rights obligations for everyone’s health, education, and social protection.

Tune in for a compelling conversation on debt justice, economic reform, and what it takes to build a more equitable global economy.

Topics/Chapters
(00:00) Introduction of Grieve Chelwa and "Life and Debt: Why the SDGs cannot progress under austerity"
(01:53) The debt trap and austerity measures ‘false solution’, and how they are preventing States from meeting their people’s socioeconomic rights
(08:04) The debt crisis is getting worse with growing private bilateral debt
(10:58) The source of the debt crisis: an outdated and unfair international financial architecture and governance system
(15:48) The positive contribution a HRE approach can bring
(22:09) Human Rights obligations: not a burden but a tool to solve the problem
(24:54) ‘Inclusive Economic Rights’, ‘Emancipatory Development’ and the HRE
(32:10) Human Rights are a necessary condition for development

If you’d like to learn more about the Human Rights Economy, the work of OHCHR or UNSSC, check Economies that work-for all Podcast | Trello