H.E. The President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Philémon Yang, Your Excellences, Permanent Representatives to the United Nations, Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen
Let me express my gratitude and that of my delegation for this opportunity to brief the United Nations General Assembly on the priorities of South Africa's G20 Presidency, a historical first for the African continent.
In July 2005, President Nelson Mandela said "As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest. We shall never forget how millions of people around the world joined us in solidarity to fight the injustice of our oppression. Those efforts paid off and we are able to stand here and join the millions around the world in support of freedom against poverty".
These ideals mentioned by former President Mandela resonate with our chosen theme for our G20 Presidency "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability".
Thus South Africa has a moral obligation and responsibility to advance these ideals.
We indeed take our cue from General Assembly resolution 71/327, entitled 'The United Nations in Global Economic Governance' adopted on 11 September 2017, where the General Assembly, amongst others, "welcomed the practice of informal engagement between the United Nations and intergovernmental groupings that make policy recommendations or take policy decisions with global implications, including the Group of 20 (G20), through informal briefings organised at the initiative of the President of the General Assembly".
As the resolution quite correctly stipulates, the purpose of this interaction is to amongst others, "promote transparency and coherence as well as strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation in matters of global economic governance".
Let me from the onset reiterate that for South Africa, the United Nations and its General Assembly, with its universal representation where every country participates on an equal footing, is and will always remain the chief deliberative, and policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations the community of nations, in every sphere, including in global economic governance. In this respect, the work being done in the G20, an informal grouping, seeks to support, contribute to and reinforce the reform efforts of already existing processes of the United Nations and its organs in a complimentary manner, rather than pursuing parallel processes.
The Pact of the Future, adopted at the UN's Summit of the Future in 2024, presents a significant opportunity to revitalise global governance. South Africa is working to ensure that the actions of the Pact of the Future are integrated into the G20 agenda to ensure its full implementation. We highly appreciate the leadership role that you, the President of the General Assembly, are playing in driving Pact implementation, including the dialogue on Means of Implementation that will be held this week.
Distinguished delegates,
As we convene here today, we are amidst what the United Nations Secretary-General has referred to as a global polycrises. The interconnected nature of the threats facing humanity today, from extreme poverty and hunger to escalating geopolitical tensions and fragmentation, global warming, pandemics, energy and food insecurity, extreme poverty and inequality to rising intolerance and armed conflict, is causing further hardship and suffering, jeopardizing our collective future, particularly that of generations to come.
One of the greatest impediments to growth, development and stability is the persistence of inequality within and between countries.
Furthermore, we are in a race against time to meet the deadline that we have set for ourselves to reach the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In this address at the G20 High Level Opening Session in New York on 25 September 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa remarked that "With less than six years to go before the 2030 deadline for the achievement of the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, we are at a crucial inflection point in humankind's history. The imperative of sustainable development has become all the more crucial. It cannot be business as usual. It cannot be more platitudes and empty promises".
In response to this dire state of the international situation that we have put forward as the theme of our G20 Presidency.
Through solidarity, we seek to achieve a future that is people-centred, development- orientated and inclusive. In an interconnected world, the challenges faced by one nation affect all nations.
By advancing equality we seek to ensure fair treatment, opportunities and advancement
for all individuals and nations, irrespective of their economic status, gender, race, geographic location or other characteristics.
Sustainability is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Interwoven in this theme is the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which underpins our leadership and vision for our G20 Presidency. The spirit of Ubuntu – the profound belief that 'I am because we are' – further reminds us of the interconnectedness of humanity. Likewise, our challenges can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership, because no challenge and no triumph exists in isolation. They require responses that are inclusive and coordinated. Cooperation is our greatest strength and our most powerful weapon.
Distinguished delegates,
South Africa's G20 priorities and deliverables are aligned to the original G20 mandate of promoting Strong, Sustainable, Balanced and Inclusive Growth.
Our four overarching priorities thus seek to address those challenges that stifle the ability of our world, in particular the Global South to achieve our desired levels of growth and development.
Firstly, we are working to strengthen disaster resilience and response.
Secondly, we are focusing on means to ensure debt sustainability for low-income countries.
Under this priority, we are also undertaking a Cost of Capital Review that is intended to deliver a comprehensive expert review on the issues impacting the cost of capital for developing economies which could help address future debt sustainability issues and the related fiscal space challenges.
Thirdly, under the priority of mobilising finance for a Just Energy Transition.
And finally, we are seeking to harness critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
Under this priority, South Africa is also taking forward the outcomes of the 2024 report of the UN Secretary-General's Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals.
Distinguished delegates,
The South African Presidency of the G20 has introduced three Task Forces that will bring together role players across the Sherpa and Finance Tracks and various Working Groups. These are:
- Task Force 1: on Inclusive Economic Growth, Industrialisation, Employment and Reduced Inequality.
- Task Force 2: on Food Security
- Task Force 3 on Artificial Intelligence, Data Governance and Innovation for Sustainable Development.
The work of this Task Force will complement the Global Digital Compact that was adopted as part of the Pact of the Future. We are pleased that the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies is one of our technical partners on this Task Force.
Additional initiatives under our Presidency include the following:
A Broadened Compact with Africa 2.0: Building on the German G20 Presidency's Compact with Africa deliverable, South Africa will work with all G20 members to pursue a G20 broadened and effective Compact with Africa (CwA).
Review of the work of the G20: A review of the work of the G20 during its first full cycle: A Reflection on Key Achievements and the way forward, feature as one of South Africa's deliverables
Building on the successes of the past three presidencies led by the Global South (Indonesia (2022); India (2023); and Brazil (2024)), South Africa is also, through both the Sherpa and Finance Tracks:
- Championing reform of the multilateral trading system and the international financial architecture, including strengthening of multilateral development banks,
- Addressing the challenge of Climate Change,
- Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion,
- Advocating for Gender Equality, and
- Pursing enhanced international tax cooperation and addressing illicit financial
Your Excellences,
2025 will mark the 80 th Anniversary of the United Nations and its lodestar document, the UN Charter, and the 20 th Anniversary of the World Summit on Social Development. In South Africa, we are celebrating the 70 th anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom Charter, which is the cornerstone of our democratic Constitution. Indeed, anniversaries provide us with the opportunity to assess progress, challenges and propose solutions relevant to the present.
South Africa strongly believes that we need to strengthen the multilateral system and enhance international cooperation to solve the complex challenges facing the world today. The erosion of multilateralism therefore presents a threat to global growth and stability, and it should be vigorously contested.
It is thus imperative that we place the respect for the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter, international law, international humanitarian law and human rights at the centre of our discussions on the global geopolitical situation.
We must also appreciate that the world today is a different place compared to what it was in 1945 when the United Nations was established. Today, most UN member states are from the developing world. We thus need to amplify the call for the UN to be reformed and made fit for purpose for today's realities. This includes the revitalisation of the General Assembly, ECOSOC and the reform of the United Nations Security Council.
Your Excellences,
We greatly welcome the African Union's inclusion in the G20, which is an opportunity to amplify Africa's voice in global economic governance, whilst ensuring that the development priorities of the African Continent and the Global South find expression firmly, and permanently onto the agenda of the G20.
As a group representing 80% of the world's population and 85% of global GDP, the G20 has a role to play in terms of providing impetus in pursuit of solutions to address some of the urgent challenges confronting humanity and the planet we share.
South Africa also notes the complementarities and synergies between our G20 Presidency, the Pact of the Future, the FfD4 process, the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025 and COP30. The G20 has held discussions on FfD4 and is considering the opportunity to contribute constructively to ambitious outcomes to close the sustainable development financing gap and reform the international financial architecture.
The United Nations and the G20 cannot work in isolation. And so, South Africa is championing cooperation, collaboration and partnerships– between countries, individuals and groups during its G20 Presidency.
There should be a collective recognition that the United Nations remains the most relevant global and international platform for tackling challenges and threats to peace and security, addressing poverty and development, and ensuring the protection of human rights.
Strengthening cooperation between the G20 and the UN is essential to foster coherence and synergy between both agendas.
The conflicts in Africa, Europe and the Middle East continue to exact a heavy human toll and heighten global insecurity. As the international community, we must continue to advocate for diplomatic solutions. Inclusive dialogue is the foremost guarantor of sustainable, lasting peace.
In line with the G20's New Delhi Declaration, "all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seeks territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. The threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible"
It is our strong conviction that today's era must be that of peace.
South Africa has showed firm resolve in its foreign policy, by promoting principles of justice, solidarity, equality, peace and respect, underpinned by its commitment to human dignity and to leaving no one behind.
We see the G20 Summit in November 2025 as a forum where cooperation and collaboration amongst global leaders will be taken to a higher level. This will be South Africa's enduring legacy in the G20.
Let me conclude your Excellences, by reminding this august gathering of very apt remarks delivered by former President Nelson Mandela at the UN World Summit for Social Development, 20-years ago on 12 March 1995. He said:
"We are gathered here to answer one question: how does humanity cooperate to build a better life for all. If this question sounds trite in its simplicity and too familiar in its rhyme, it is because this challenge has been with us for millennia….We either rise together as humanity, or together fall",
I thank you for your attention and look forward to engaging further.
