A/RES/67/198 External debt sustainability and development Recalling the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012, and its outcome document, entitled “The future we want”, 8 Recalling also its resolution 57/270 B of 23 June 2003 on the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields, Recalling further its resolution 60/265 of 30 June 2006 on the follow-up to the development outcome of the 2005 World Summit, including the Millennium Development Goals and the other internationally agreed development goals, Noting with appreciation the special event of the Second Committee, held on 25 October 2012, on the theme “Sovereign debt crises and restructurings: lessons learned and proposals for debt resolution mechanisms”, 9 Emphasizing that debt sustainability is essential for underpinning growth, underlining the importance of debt sustainability and effective debt management to the efforts to achieve national and international development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and acknowledging that debt crises tend to be costly and disruptive, including for employment and productive investment, and tend to be followed by cuts in public spending, including on health and education, affecting in particular the poor and vulnerable, Reaffirming that each country has primary responsibility for its own development and that the role of national policies and development strategies, including in the area of debt management, cannot be overemphasized for the achievement of sustainable development, and recognizing that national efforts, including to achieve development goals and to maintain debt sustainability, should be complemented by supportive global programmes, measures and policies aimed at expanding the development opportunities of developing countries, while taking into account national conditions and ensuring respect for national ownership, strategies and sovereignty, Reaffirming also that multilateral institutions, including entities within the United Nations system and other relevant organizations, should continue to play an important role, given their respective mandates, in assisting countries in achieving and maintaining debt sustainability, Reiterating that debt sustainability depends on a confluence of many factors at the international and national levels, and emphasizing that country-specific circumstances and the impact of external shocks, such as those derived from the world financial and economic crisis, should continue to be taken into account in debt sustainability analyses, Expressing deep concern about the ongoing adverse impacts, particularly on development, of the world financial and economic crisis, cognizant that the global economy remains in a challenging phase with significant downside risks, including turbulence in global financial and commodity markets and widespread fiscal strains, which threaten the global economic recovery, stressing the need to continue to address systemic fragilities and imbalances and the need for continuing efforts to _______________ 8 Resolution 66/288, annex. The sub-themes of the special event of the Second Committee were as follows: (a) “Are there missing links in the international financial architecture for debt restructuring?”; (b) “Lessons from past debt crises”; and (c) “Features of a possible debt resolution mechanism”. 9 2/8