The World Bank’s controversial discussion paper on odious debt released last month has been met with disbelief and scorn. A review by Probe International’s executive director, Patricia Adams, concludes that it “is not a serious treatment of the rigorous scholarly debate now occurring over the concept of odious debts.”
Echoing this sentiment is the UK-based Jubilee Debt Campaign, saying that the paper “misses the point in several ways” and that it fails to address key issues of responsible lending and culpability. Meanwhile, the UK-based Bretton Woods Project argues that “The main message seems to be an attempt by the Bank to knock back the progress that has been made in bringing the issue to light.” Adams suspects that the Bank’s plan for “more practical” solutions and negotiated debt relief is simply an attempt to downplay the issues and protect itself from a potential flood of odious debt challenges.