South Africa has reaffirmed its commitment to an inclusive, people-centred G20, with Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola declaring that the 2025 G20 Social Summit has strengthened the role of civil society in shaping global governance.
Delivering closing remarks at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg on Thursday, Lamola said South Africa had fulfilled President Cyril Ramaphosa’s mandate to continue the social summit tradition established in Brazil during its 2024 G20 Presidency.
“We promised to carry forward the innovative practice and courageous example set by Brazil in holding an inclusive G20 that centred the voices of people on the margins. We also promised to extend the G20's work beyond engagement groups to include civil society organisations working at the grassroots level. I believe that we have kept that promise,” Lamola said.
He highlighted that civil society had played a decisive role throughout the summit, amplifying concerns that would otherwise be sidelined in high-level diplomacy.
“International relations are far too important to be left to governments alone. This has long been the mantra of civil society,” Lamola told delegates.
He said civil society movements had been instrumental in warning governments about the risks of a new global minerals boom, cautioning that without beneficiation, it could “usher in yet another era of extraction and plunder.”
They had also drawn attention to the social costs of the debt crisis, noting that women and children pay the price.
According to Lamola, the message from activists and grassroots organisations was clear: the Sustainable Development Goals will remain out of reach unless global inequality is tackled decisively.
“Your movements have constantly reminded us that inequality is bad for democracy,” he said.
He reflected on the urgent calls raised during the Summit from climate change and food insecurity to conflict and youth marginalisation. He applauded civil society’s insistence that developing countries must have meaningful representation on global platforms.
“You have said, loud and clear, that Africa must graduate from rule-taker to rule-maker in matters that affect our continent and its peoples,” he said.
Lamola emphasised that the outcomes of the Social Summit would enrich the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Declaration, expected to be adopted over the weekend. He urged delegates not to leave South Africa with resignation, but with “renewed vigour.”
Referencing Keorapetse Kgositsile’s poem Bandung Dance, he closed with a call for persistence: “Like this dancer, may we defy fatigue and dance on. May we refuse to waver in our commitment to solidarity, equality and sustainability.”
South Africa’s hosting of the G20 Social Summit marks one of its most significant efforts to elevate grassroots voices in global decision-making as it continues its G20 Presidency. – SAnews.gov.za
