More than 220 civil society organisations and academics across the world are calling on the G20 and IMF to issue a vital new round of liquidity free of conditionalities, known as Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

In a joint letter the organisations write: “A new SDR allocation would send a strong signal of renewed multilateral coordination that puts life first and is within your immediate reach.” G20 Finance Ministers are due to meet this Friday, for the first time under the Italian Presidency and since the Biden administration took power.

The signatories to the letter are calling for US$ 3 trillion in order to address the needs on the ground in a decisive way. In 2009, the international community responded to a crisis far smaller in its scope and human impact with US $250 billion in SDRs.

Patricia Miranda, Advocacy Coordinator at the Latin American Network for Economic and Social Justice (LATINDADD) said: "A new and significant allocation of SDRs would bring the liquidity that countries urgently need, to finance health and social protection policies and to stabilise economies, with benefits for global recovery."

Chiara Mariotti, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) said: "The inability of G20 governments to agree on a new issuance of SDRs is denying a much-needed source of liquidity to poor countries struggling to cope with the pandemic."

ENDS

Contact: Julia Ravenscroft, Communications Manager at Eurodad: +32 486356814/ [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

What are Special Drawing Rights?

SDRs are an international reserve asset created by the IMF and distributed to its members in proportion to their quotas. The last general allocation of SDRs happened in 2009, in the wake of the global financial crisis, totalling around US$ 250 billion.