President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announces debt swap plan in August (Photo: Presidencia/Télam)
The resolution was approved last night with support from 124 countries, while 11 voted against the proposal and 41 states abstained.
“Today is a special day for all Argentines. We should feel proud,” said President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner last night.
The resolution, which states that an international convention to deal with sovereign debt should be created before the General Assembly summit in 2015, had the backing of the G77 + China group.
“As the president of the G77 + China group said today ‘Argentina made us open our eyes’. That’s why we Argentines should feel proud,” said President Fernández.
The Argentine government said the overwhelming support received for the resolution vindicated its refusal to pay the vulture funds that have taken the country through a drawn-out court battle, ending with Argentina falling into a ‘technical default on 31st July‘.
“Those countries that voted no will one day understand that we need a more equal and fair world, with more doves and fewer vultures in all fields, not just the economy, but the military too,” added President Fernández.
The boost from the UN resolution comes before today’s vote in Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies on a new law to allow the country to pay holders of its restructured debt via domestic channels, thereby circumventing a US court ruling preventing credit payments through New York.
The proposal, which was approved last week in the Senate, will also include an offer for bondholders to swap their titles for ones of identical value issued under Argentine law.
It also declares the 2005 and 2010 debt restructuring to be an issue of public interest, and created a commission to investigate the history of the debt from 1976 until today.
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