En relación a la categoría ORTOGRAFÍA

One of the main obstacles on the road to economic recovery that countries emerging from conflict often face is the unsustainable level of their international

debt,159 _{sometimes coupled with arrears to one or more of the IFIs. Since the}

financial policy of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund — often applied by other creditors — does not allow them to extend new loans to countries in arrears, early access to debt relief and the availability of new loans are, consequently, essential components of most of the economic strategies of transition to sustainable development.

156 _{More than half of the assistance (US$435 million) has been extended to Iraq in September 2004. The second} largest recipient is the Former Republic of Yugoslavia ($135 million), while other beneficiaries, including six African countries, have received $10–20 million, on average.

157 _{Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) is the facility the IMF uses to extend concessional loans to} low-income members.

158_{A case in point may be Guinea-Bissau, which moved early to a PRGF arrangement after an EPCA, but quickly went off}

track.

159 _{The expression “odious debts” is sometimes used to describe large external debts contracted by dictatorial} regimes, largely to the exclusive benefit of the ruling family, clan or party, in order to finance, inter alia, the oppression of internal dissent. Recent events in Iraq — where the former regime had accumulated a huge debt — have re-launched the debate on the most appropriate means to handle such a hard and deeply unfair legacy. The political and legal implications of possible measures in this regard go far beyond the scope of this paper. For

To try to address this issue, IDA was authorized in 1999 to provide limited grants to post-conflict countries in arrears in order to support early recovery efforts in the context of an agreed economic recovery program and a concerted international assistance effort. Such grants can be used only as a last resort, when other sources are inadequate or inappropriate. This possibility has been reaffirmed and expanded in the subsequent IDA-13 and, more recently, IDA-14 agreements. However, meeting the requirements set by the Bank has proven extremely difficult for most post-conflict

countries, as the Bank itself has recognized;160 _{in Africa, only the Democratic}

Republic of Congo received a US$50 million grant in 2001.

The Bank has been considering for several years now how to enable early and systematic IDA grants in post-conflict situations, which are critical for supporting capacity-building and restoration of governance, as well as for implementing urgent measures to re-launch the economy. Despite the relevance of this issue, however, little progress has been achieved so far.161

It is worth noting in this context that the Bank has extended case-by-case grants to post-conflict countries from IBRD net income or surplus. However the criteria for these interventions are not clearly defined; in most cases, the political profile seems to have played a decisive role. Beneficiaries include the Palestinian Territories, Bosnia, Kosovo, and East Timor, but in Africa, only Rwanda in 1994 received a $20 million grant.

As for the IMF, its Board has so far come to the somewhat contradictory conclusion that its current policies are sufficiently flexible for assisting post-conflict countries, although it has recognized that in some areas they could be enhanced. This applies both to the criteria and time-table for HIPC-eligibility,162 _{and to the issue of} clearance of arrears. To ensure a coordinated response to the latter, in 2001 it was decided, jointly with the World Bank, to prepare an arrears clearance plan in each interested country, in consultation with all its major creditors, once the country had satisfied certain criteria. However, it does not appear that this idea has been realized so far.

160 _{“The use of such early recovery grants is restricted to situations where all creditors allow arrears accumulation, and where}

the country has made convincing steps towards social and economic recovery. These requirements may be too burdensome for countries where state institutions are not functioning. This type of IDA grant would therefore not be appropriate to finance the initial stage of engagement in the most severely devastated countries. Thus, the Bank is not now well positioned to provide adequate support to post-conflict countries arrears that must quickly take advantage of windows of opportunity to start and then consolidate economic and social recovery.” International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Assistance to Post-Conflict Countries and the HIPC Framework. Paper prepared jointly by the staffs of the World Bank’s Resource Mobilization Department, and the IMF’s Policy Development and Review and Treasurer’s Departments (Washington: April 2001)

161 _{The criteria for receiving grants in IDA14 are based only on debt vulnerability. Highly vulnerable countries will be}

eligible to receive 100% IDA grants, the less severe 50%. It remains to be seen to what extent post-conflict countries will benefit from these new provisions.