Debt and human rights in Argentina 

Center for Legal and Social Studies

This project focuses on Argentina, a major debtor to the International Monetary Fund. The initiative will explore the impact of sovereign debt on human rights related to labor, social protections and the environment—and will disseminate new, rights-based narratives regarding these impacts. The project seeks to strengthen national and international standards regarding sovereign lending and debt restructuring to ensure consistency with human rights obligations.  

Why it matters

Far from improving living conditions, sovereign debt in Argentina has created long periods of economic recession, increased poverty and widespread unemployment. Nevertheless, the public discourse on debt is regularly co-opted by experts that present the issue in exclusively technical terms, as a purely macroeconomic issue. This approach conceals the impacts of sovereign indebtedness on the daily lives of people, including the rights to employment, food and essential services. 2022 is an opportune moment to reframe the national debate on debt—and to propose solutions—from a human rights perspective.