Marked Absent
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the opening plenary session of the G-20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg on Nov. 22.Leon Neal/Getty Images
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa championed multilateralism at this weekend’s G-20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg. However, a notable absence from one of the bloc’s biggest powers—coupled with a series of broken traditions in response—resulted in what some experts are calling a symbolic diplomatic victory but a weak final declaration.
U.S. President Donald Trump boycotted the summit over unsubstantiated allegations of “white genocide” in South Africa, accusing Pretoria of discriminating against and even allowing the killing of white Afrikaners. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also denounced this year’s G-20 theme of “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” for promoting what he referred to as “DEI” (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and climate change initiatives.
Rather than bowing to the constraints of Washington’s empty chair, Ramaphosa capitalized on the United States’ absence to focus on global cooperation and African interests.
“The G-20 should send a clear message that the world can move on with or without the U.S.,” South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said. “We will mark them absent and continue with the business.”
Specifically, Ramaphosa broke with tradition by issuing the bloc’s 122-point final leaders’ declaration at the start of the summit rather than at its conclusion. The statement addressed several key concerns of all parties involved, such as Africa’s debt crisis, critical mineral access, and illicit financial flows. But it also highlighted several terms that U.S. officials had opposed ahead of the conference, including “just energy transitions,” “climate change,” and “gender equality.”
According to Ramaphosa, the declaration received unanimous support from all delegations present. Notably, that excluded the United States, but it also ignored the protests of Argentina, which was in attendance and sided with Washington’s demands; Buenos Aires has repeatedly backed Trump’s proposals after the White House granted Argentina with a whopping $40 billion bailout that was announced last month.
Still, experts warn that the declaration may have little effect, as the text is not binding, and the United States, with its massive economy, can still heavily influence the very institutions that the declaration addresses, such as the International Monetary Fund.
Much of the progress made during this weekend’s summit could also be reversed next year, when the United States hosts the gathering. The White House accused South Africa of weaponizing its time holding the bloc’s rotating presidency to undermine unanimous consensus and vowed to restore the conference’s “legitimacy” once the United States assumes the role, which is set to occur next week. Analysts expect Washington to narrow the G-20’s agenda next year to just the leaders’ summit and financial forum, scrapping other meetings on energy, health, and the environment.
But that didn’t stop South Africa from having the last laugh. Just two days before the summit, Trump asked to send a U.S. delegation to Johannesburg for the rotating presidency handover ceremony. However, Ramaphosa refused to present the gavel to a lower-ranking U.S. official and instead said that Washington’s representatives could come by the South African Foreign Ministry on Monday for the handover.