National Assembly Deputy Speaker Dr Annalie Lotriet called on the parliaments of the G20 countries to collaborate in mitigating hunger and poverty and ensuring food security.
She said that through collaborative action, oversight, and policymaking, G20 parliaments can play a crucial role in shaping a more equitable future.
Dr Lotriet addressed the first working session of the 10th G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20), currently underway at the National Congress Palace in Maceió City, Brazil. The summit is organised in partnership with the Inter-Parliamentary Union from the 6th to the 8th of November 2024. It is convened under the theme, "Parliaments for a just world and a sustainable planet".
She reflected on the Global Peace Index 2024, which showed that 97 countries experienced a decline in peacefulness--the highest number since the index was created in 2008. She said these findings call for urgent global action to prioritise conflict-affected settings and ensure that no one is left behind in the pursuit of poverty eradication.
"They also imply the need for serious and sustained efforts to prevent further conflict from shattering crucial infrastructure, consequently rolling back progress and ballooning the cost of development," she added.
South Africa's primary focus in the discussions is on the role of parliaments in addressing hunger, poverty and inequality; promoting socio-environmental development and a just and inclusive ecological transition; and building a global governance framework adapted to the challenges of the 21st century.
Dr Lotriet said progress in poverty reduction has been set back by conflicts that have been intensifying in recent years, pushing millions of people into humanitarian crises.
"The G20 must collaborate with the international community, notably the United Nations, to offer tailored assistance, reconstruct disrupted systems and establish avenues for those significantly affected by conflicts," she said.
Together with the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Petroleum Resources, Mr Mikateko Mahlaule, and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Liezl Van Der Merwe, they are representing the South African Parliament as delegates to the 10th Summit of Speakers of the G20 countries, known as the P20.
The Deputy Speaker also addressed the second working session on the role of parliaments in promoting sustainable development. She also addressed the third session on perspectives of parliaments in the construction of global governance adapted to the challenges of the 21st century.
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The summit concludes on Friday, 8 November. During the closing ceremony, Dr Lotriet will, as Deputy Speaker and Head of Delegation, receive the handover of the P20 Presidency to South Africa. Assuming the presidency, South Africa will host the G20 and P20 summits in 2025.
The G20 Speakers' Summits (P20) aim to bring a parliamentary dimension to global governance, raise awareness, build political support for international commitments, and ensure that these are effectively translated into national realities. The Summits also seek to promote inter-parliamentary cooperation, enhance engagement between governments, parliaments and other stakeholders in the implementation of various G20 outcomes, and advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
