The General Assembly,
 
     Recalling its resolutions 41/202 of 8 December 1986, 42/198 of 11
December 1987, 43/198 of 20 December 1988, 44/205 of 22 December 1989, 45/214
of 21 December 1990, 46/148 and 46/151 of 18 December 1991 and 47/198 of 22
December 1992, and reaffirming its resolutions 48/182 of 21 December 1993 and
49/94 of 19 December 1994,
 
     Reaffirming its resolutions 48/165 of 21 December 1993 on renewal of the
dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development
through partnership and 48/166 of 21 December 1993 on an agenda for
development,
 
     Noting the improvement in the debt situation of a number of developing
countries since the second half of the 1980s and the contribution that the
evolving debt strategy has made to this improvement,
 
     Noting with appreciation the debt-relief measures undertaken by creditor
countries both within the framework of the Paris Club and through their
cancellation and equivalent relief of bilateral official debt, and welcoming
the even more favourable terms of the debt-relief measures recently envisaged
by the Paris Club, namely the Naples terms of December 1994, for the poorest
and heavily indebted countries, to help them exit from the rescheduling
process, thus contributing to the prospects of those countries for resuming
growth and development,
 
     Reaffirming the urgent need for effective, equitable,
development-oriented and durable solutions to the external debt and
debt-servicing problems of developing countries, and to help them exit from
the rescheduling process,
 
    Emphasizing the importance for debtor countries of continuing to pursue
and intensify their efforts with respect to economic reforms, stabilization
and structural adjustment programmes, in order to raise savings and
investments, reduce inflation and improve economic efficiency, taking into
account the need to address the social aspects of development, including the
eradication of poverty, and their individual characteristics, as well as the
vulnerability of the poorer strata of their populations,
 
    Stressing the urgent need for further assisting developing countries, in
particular the poorest and heavily indebted countries, especially in Africa,
in their efforts to improve their debt situation in view of their continued
very high level of total debt stock and servicing burdens,
 
     Noting the urgent need for full, constructive and expeditious
implementation of various debt-relief measures undertaken by creditor
countries both within the framework of the Paris Club and through their
cancellations and equivalent relief of bilateral official debt,
 
     Noting also that, owing to uneven developments within the context of the
evolving international debt strategy, further progress, including new and
concrete measures and innovative approaches, is essential as regards
contributing to effective, equitable, development-oriented and durable
solutions to the external debt and debt-servicing problems of developing
countries, particularly the poorest and heavily indebted countries,
 
     Noting with concern the continuing debt and debt-servicing problems of
indebted developing countries as constituting an element adversely affecting
their development efforts and economic growth, and stressing the importance of
alleviating the onerous debt and debt-service burdens connected with various
types of debt of many developing countries, on the basis of an effective,
equitable, development-oriented and durable approach and, where appropriate,
addressing the full stock of debt of the poorest and most indebted developing
countries as a matter of priority,
 
     Noting that multilateral lending operations are excluded from debt
restructuring and, in this regard, emphasizing the need for the consideration
of comprehensive approaches to assist low-income countries with substantial
multilateral debt problems through the flexible implementation of existing
instruments and new mechanisms where necessary,
 
     Expressing its concern that, in a number of developing countries that are
making continuous and strenuous economic reform efforts, the burden of debt
and debt service continues to constitute a major obstacle to the
revitalization of the economic growth and development of those countries, in
particular the least developed among them,
 
     Noting that those developing countries that have continued, at great cost
to themselves, to meet their international debt and debt-service obligations
in a timely fashion have done so despite serious external and domestic
financial constraints,
 
     Expressing its concern that debt-relief measures taken so far have not
yet fully provided effective, equitable, development-oriented and durable
solutions to the outstanding debt and debt-servicing problems of a large
number of developing countries, in particular the poorest and heavily indebted
countries,
 
     Reaffirming the results, as agreed, of all major United Nations
conferences and summits held since the beginning of the 1990s on development,
relating to effective, equitable, development-oriented and durable solutions
to the external debt and debt-servicing problems of developing countries, as
well as the consideration of appropriate measures relating to the mobilization
of substantial, new and additional resources to enable developing countries to
achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable development,
 
     Noting, while addressing the external debt and debt-servicing problems of
developing countries, the situation in some creditor countries with economies
in transition,
 
     Stressing the need for continuing global economic growth and the
necessity for a continuing supportive international economic environment with
regard to, inter alia, terms of trade, commodity prices, improved market
access, trade practices, access to technology, exchange rates and
international interest rates, and noting the continued need for resources for
sustained economic growth and sustainable development of the developing
countries,
 
     Taking note of the results of the Eleventh Conference of Heads of State
or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries, held at Cartagena de Indias,
Colombia, from 18 to 20 October 1995, in particular, chapter III, entitled
"Economic issues", of the Final Document of the Conference,
 
     Taking note also of the communique of the Summit of the seven major
industrialized countries, held at Halifax, Canada, from 15 to 17 June 1995,
 
     Taking note further of the communique of the Interim Committee of the
Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund, held at Washington,
D.C., on 8 October 1995,
 
     Taking note of the Ministerial Declaration of the Group of 77 adopted at
the nineteenth annual meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of
77 and China, held in New York on 29 September 1995,
 
     1.   Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the developing
country debt situation as of mid-1995;
 
     2.   Recognizes that effective, equitable, development-oriented and
durable solutions to the external debt and debt-servicing problems of
developing countries can contribute substantially to the strengthening of the
global economy and to the efforts of developing countries to achieve sustained
economic growth and sustainable development;
 
     3.   Also recognizes that the evolving international debt strategy has to
be supplemented by appropriate external financial flows to indebted developing
countries;
 
     4.   Emphasizes the importance for developing countries of continuing
their efforts to promote a favourable environment for attracting foreign
investment, thereby promoting economic growth and sustainable development, and
stresses the need for the international community to promote a conducive
external economic environment through, inter alia, improved market access,
stabilization of exchange rates, effective stewardship of international
interest rates and increased resource flows, as well as improved access to
technology for the developing countries;
 
     5.   Stresses the need for finding effective, equitable,
development-oriented and durable solutions to the continuing debt and
debt-servicing problems of the poorest and most indebted developing countries
and the importance of a full, constructive and expeditious implementation of
the Naples terms, agreed upon in the Paris Club in December 1994, for such
countries, with a view to helping them exit from the rescheduling process on
the basis of sound economic policies in those countries, thus contributing to
the promotion of their prospects for resuming growth and development;
 
     6.   Recognizes the efforts of indebted developing countries in
fulfilling their commitments on debt servicing despite the incurring of a high
social cost and, in this regard, encourages private creditors and, in
particular, commercial banks to continue their initiatives and efforts to
address the commercial debt problems of middle-income developing countries;
 
     7.   Invites creditor countries, private banks and multilateral financial
institutions, within their prerogatives, to consider continuing the
initiatives and efforts to address the commercial debt problems of the least
developed countries and the requests for continued mobilization of resources
through the Debt-reduction Facility of the International Development
Association in order to help eligible least developed countries reduce their
commercial debt;
 
     8.   Notes the high proportion of multilateral debt of a number of
developing countries and invites international financial institutions to
examine proposals to tackle the problems of those countries with regard to
multilateral debt, taking into account the specific situation of each country,
while preserving the preferred creditor status of the multilateral financial
institutions, in order to ensure that they can continue to provide
concessional financing to those developing countries to assist their
development;
 
     9.   Reaffirms the mid-term global review of the implementation of the
Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s, in
particular the appropriate actions in favour of least developed countries
concerning their official bilateral, commercial and multilateral debt;
 
     10.  Notes with concern the continuing burden of debt and debt-service
obligations of middle-income countries, including in particular those in
Africa, and encourages creditors, including multilateral financial
institutions and commercial banks, to continue to address their obligations
effectively;
 
     11.  Stresses the importance of continued concessional Enhanced
Structural Adjustment Facility lending operations for low- income countries;
 
     12.  Also stresses the need for existing facilities to provide
debt-relief measures through various debt conversion programmes, where
possible, such as debt-equity swaps, debt-for-nature swaps,
debt-for-child-development swaps, and other debt-for-development swaps, to be
widely implemented so that the countries concerned may be ably assisted in
their development efforts, as well as to support measures in favour of the
most vulnerable segments of the societies of those countries and to develop
techniques of debt conversion applied to social development programmes and
projects, in conformity with the priorities of the World Summit for Social
Development, held at Copenhagen in March 1995;
 
     13.  Further stresses the need for, in addition to debt-relief measures
that include debt and debt-service reduction, new financial flows to debtor
developing countries, and urges creditor countries and multilateral financial
institutions to continue to extend concessional financial assistance,
particularly to the least developed countries, in order to support the
implementation of economic reforms, stabilization and structural adjustment
programmes and the eradication of poverty by the developing countries so as to
enable them to extricate themselves from the debt overhang and to assist them
in achieving sustained economic growth and sustainable development;
 
     14.  Stresses the need for the expeditious conclusion of the ongoing work
of the International Monetary Fund, in close collaboration with the World
Bank, on the steps to address the problems of those low-income countries that
are undertaking strong adjustment and reform programmes but whose debt
situation, including debt to multilateral institutions, may prove
unsustainable, even after debt reduction on the Naples terms, within this
context urging donor countries to fulfil promptly their commitments to the
tenth replenishment of the International Development Association and to
support a significant replenishment through the eleventh replenishment of the
Association, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General
Assembly at its fifty-first session on the outcome of the meeting of the
Development Committee scheduled for April 1996;
 
     15.  Notes the initiative to develop new, parallel financing
arrangements, complementary to the General Arrangements to Borrow, with the
aim of doubling the resources currently available under the General
Arrangements to Borrow;
 
     16.  Recognizes that the evolving debt strategy must be accompanied by a
favourable and supportive international environment, including the full
implementation of the results of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade
negotiations, and the Marrakesh ministerial decisions in favour of the least
developed countries and net food-importing developing countries;
 
     17.  Invites the International Monetary Fund to continue devising
concrete policy measures and actions to address the problems faced by indebted
developing countries;
 
     18.  Underscores the need for encouragement of private flows to all
countries, in particular developing countries, while reducing the risks of
volatility;
 
     19.  Stresses the urgent need to continue to provide social safety nets
to vulnerable groups most adversely affected by the implementation of economic
reform programmes in the debtor countries, in particular low-income groups;
 
     20.  Urges the international community, particularly the creditor
countries and multilateral institutions, as well as commercial banks and other
lending institutions, when continuing the implementation of various measures
aimed at contributing to effective, equitable, development-oriented and
durable solutions to the external debt and debt-servicing problems of
developing countries, as well as when exploring the need for additional and
innovative measures to alleviate substantially the external debt and
debt-service burden of developing countries, to ensure that the debt strategy
evolved through the years is fully implemented and taken into account;
 
     21.  Recognizes the urgent need for the international community to assist
developing countries, in particular the poorest and heavily indebted
countries, in mobilizing the resources needed for their development efforts,
and also recognizes that effective, equitable, development-oriented and
durable solutions to the external debt and debt-servicing problems of
developing countries could contribute towards releasing domestic resources and
sustaining their development efforts, in particular those for social
development;
 
     22.  Calls upon the international community, including the relevant
institutions, to build upon the momentum gained from the various meetings that
have addressed debt issues and to address the external debt and debt-servicing
problems of developing countries, particularly those of the least developed
countries, in the elaboration of an agenda for development;
 
     23.  Also calls upon the international community, including the United
Nations system, and invites the Bretton Woods institutions, as well as the
private sector, to take urgent measures and action for the implementation of
the commitments, agreements and decisions of the major United Nations
conferences and summits organized since the beginning of the 1990s on
development, addressing, inter alia, and where appropriate, the question of
external debt;
 
     24.  Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at
its fifty-first session on the implementation of the present resolution.