September 02, 2016

Should bonds that finance violations of human rights have to be repaid?

Sir, I find it hard to comprehend the big raucous one can often hear about financing what endangers the environment, or companies that employ children; and then reading “Venezuela’s hospitals do not have medicine, the stores do not have food or toilet paper, but there is an almost surreal confidence that bondholders will do quite well out of the coming restructuring, even with the damage done by governmental incompetence and corruption” “Chaos reigns as Caracas makes every effort to please foreign bondholders” John Dizard, September 3.

Sir, what if the International Court of Justice decided, as it should, those bonds should not be paid, on account they were financing the violation of human rights?

I have been for many years, soon many decades, been voicing support for the need of a Sovereign Debts Restructuring Mechanism, but that SDRM must begin by defining very clearly what is to be considered as odious credits and odious borrowings. If not, We the People, will get screwed.

Is Venezuela violating human rights? There’s food and medicine scarcity, and people are dying because of it, but petrol (gas) is being given away at US$ 1cent per liter (US$ 4cents per gallon). So you tell me!

@PerKurowski ©