In this guest blog, responding to the context of the 2026 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, SCIAF Intern Rebecca Foster turns our attention away from the physical hurdles faced by athletes towards the invisible hurdles faced by many previously colonised nations. Read on to learn more about the high-level roundtable on debt justice hosted by the Scottish Government in partnership with SCIAF, attended by Scottish Fair Trade among others.
The Glasgow Commonwealth Games showcased athletes from across the world. But beyond the stadium, a spotlight shone on different pursuit with deeply unfair hurdles: the global debt crisis.
A striking one out of three Commonwealth Nations are in debt crisis – the worst in over three decades.
In July, as part of the diplomatic programme for the Commonwealth Games, SCIAF and the Scottish Government hosted a high-level roundtable on debt justice. The roundtable, chaired by Cabinet Secretary Gillian Martin MSP, brought together the Zambian and Malawian High Commissioners among other experts.
The roundtable forged a new statement welcomed by all three countries calling for urgent reforms to the international debt system. The roundtable was a reminder that debt justice is not an abstract policy debate, but rather a question of political will and global solidarity.
The Zambian High Commissioner to the UK, Macenje Mazoka, said: “Our experience has shown that debt justice is not only about easing immediate pressures, but about creating a fairer international system that allows countries to invest in their people, strengthen resilience, and pursue sustainable development.”
Beyond affirming their joint support for establishing a new international framework for debt resolution, Scotland, Malawi, and Zambia made tripartite plea for domestic legal reform to ensure private lenders engage fairly with debt restructuring initiatives. This alliance places pressure on the UK Government because almost 90% of global debt contracts are governed by English law.
At the roundtable event SCIAF and Debt Justice UK shared a new report outlining key challenges and opportunities for addressing unjust debt. The report entitled “Debt Crisis in the Commonwealth: A call for UK Global Leadership” highlights the staggering financial scale of debt crisis.
Between 2020 and 2026, the Commonwealth countries in debt crisis paid out $265 billion on external debt payments. The report explains how Zambia and Malawi are on the front-line of climate change, of which they contributed little to cause. Consequently, they are pushed further into debt. First Minister John Swinney said: “The global south should not be forced to choose between repaying their creditors and helping their communities to recover from storms and droughts…”
Compounding the crisis is the UK’s unprecedented cuts to overseas aid from 0.7% to 0.3% since 2022. At the end of July 2026, the UK Government announced that Malawi will face a 90% slash in UK aid.
The new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, has stated that climate and development will be at the heart of UK foreign policy. And with an accomplished Scottish-based minister for international development, Kirsty McNeil MP, SCIAF’s hope is that the UK will stop stalling on action on both climate justice and a fairer approach to development aid.
However, the new UK Government’s decision in its first week to raid climate finance to fund a national bus fare cap quickly turned optimism about the change of tune, into disappointment. While affordable transport is important, it is wrong to pit domestic priorities against international responsibilities.
While restoring UK’s international aid budget currently seems out of reach, the Commonwealth of Nations could use its unique position to confront the global injustice of the debt crisis. Debt reform could free up fiscal space for many Commonwealth Countries and would be a way for vulnerable countries to deal with the aid cuts.
Through consensus-based diplomacy and shared legal frameworks, member states can leverage their collective influence to overhaul draconian debt. To achieve this, we need leadership and sustained political will from the UK Government.
Author: Rebecca Foster, SCIAF Intern & PhD Candidate at The University of Cambridge
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