South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, highlighted several aims of the of the G20 Summit yesterday, 29 November.
Here are some of the notable main points he made:
“This is the second G20 Social Summit to take place since the concept was inaugurated by the Brazilian Presidency last year.
The breadth of representation and the depth of engagement is most impressive.
It is here, in this room, where we lay the groundwork for global action on the G20 priorities.
We know that global action will be credible because it is informed by the voices of the people.
South Africa’s G20 Presidency has been premised on ensuring the interests of developing economy countries are elevated on the G20 agenda.
We have sought to address poverty, inequality and underdevelopment.
We have worked to strengthen and reform the international financial architecture, to democratise the systems of global governance, and to promote the right of all nations to development, equality and dignity.
We have used our G20 Presidency to reiterate the call for the world’s leading economies to invest in sustainable development and in the conservation of the planet for future generations. But for the decisions taken at the upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit to stand tall, to grow, to have credibility and legitimacy, they have to be nourished by strong roots.
These roots are our civil society and community organisations, women’s organisations, youth formations, academia and think-tanks, business, labour and other grassroots formations.
We are fortunate to have secured the full and meaningful participation of all the formations in this Summit, including Women20, Youth20, Business20, Civil20, Labour20, Parliament20, Media20 and others.
There has been broad and far-reaching consultation over the last year.
There have been dialogues on issues as diverse as digital inclusion, equitable transformation and climate justice.
There have been discussions on just and sustainable finance, on media freedom, on strengthening democracy, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Delegates to this Summit have recognised the need to build resilience and inclusive value chains to protect vulnerable countries from increased volatility in global trade.
The Social Summit has reaffirmed the importance of an inclusive transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient economy that is guided by those most affected.
Delegates are calling on the G20 Leaders’ Summit to demonstrate leadership in scaling up global water investment for the benefit of all.
The G20 Social Summit has sought to ensure that global leadership protects society’s most vulnerable.
Today is World Children’s Day, when we commemorate the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
This was the first global UN convention ratified by the newly democratic South Africa.
This Social Summit has called for more resources to be devoted to eliminating child poverty and hunger and to ensure that children are protected.
The progressive deliberations at this Social Summit have culminated in calls for greater political commitment to advancing young people’s access to opportunities.
It has called for the health and wellbeing of women and children to be prioritised and for greater representation of women in all facets of society.
As South Africa, we have lent our support to the Global Leaders Network for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health.
As the Global Leaders Network, we are deeply concerned by the effects of the withdrawal of overseas development assistance on initiatives supporting health service delivery and health systems.
We are committed to work together to mobilise global health financing so that the most vulnerable are not further deprived of their rights to care.
It was the great African revolutionary Thomas Sankara who said there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women.
He said: “May my eyes never see, and my feet never take me to a society where half the people are held in silence.”
We cannot build societies rooted in equality unless those societies uphold the rights of women and girls.
Sustainable societies are those that recognise, value and compensate the labour and economic contribution of women.
No society can thrive for as long as gender-based violence and femicide continues and the agency of women is denied.
The violence perpetrated by men against women erodes the social fabric of nations.
It imposes a heavy burden that constrains development and weakens inclusive growth.
Men and boys are critical partners in transforming harmful norms and advancing gender justice.
They must be actively involved in challenging inherited attitudes, power imbalances and social structures that normalise violence and silence survivors.
Here in South Africa, we have declared gender-based violence and femicide a national crisis.
We have agreed, among all social partners, that we need to take extraordinary and concerted action – using every means at our disposal – to end this crisis.
The collective perspectives that have been expressed at this summit on all these issues and more will enable governments and decision-makers to better understand people’s practical, lived experiences.
They will be able to better understand what works and what doesn’t – and to better understand what must change.
Collectively, the members of the G20 represent 85 percent of global GDP, 75 percent of global trade and two-thirds of the global population.
For the G20 to fully live up to its mission of promoting international financial stability and deepening global economic cooperation there should be no unw
It cannot be that a country’s geographical location or income or army determines who has a voice and who is spoken down to.
In choosing the theme for our G20 Presidency, South Africa sought to advance a vision of meaningful, credible global cooperation.
It is our expectation that this Social Summit will be remembered for being far more than a marketplace of ideas.
Just as the Bandung Conference elevated the voice of the Global South and just as the Conference of the People harnessed global solidarity against apartheid, this year’s G20 Social Summit must be remembered for having given practical meaning to global solidarity.“
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