UN chief Guterres urges G20 to use power to ease global suffering

Johannesburg: The G20 nations hold enormous potential to ease suffering and set the world on a more peaceful course, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said, urging the bloc to lead the action required.

Guterres made the remarks at a media briefing shortly after arriving in Johannesburg on Friday to participate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit for the next two days.

“My message to G20 leaders over the next two days is simple. Now is the time for leadership and vision,” Guterres said as he cited conflicts, climate chaos, economic uncertainty, inequality and a collapse in global aid as causes of inflicting massive suffering around the world.   He added that rising military spending is drawing resources away from development.   "As the world’s largest economies, the G20 nations can hold enormous influence to ease suffering, ensure that economic growth is widely shared, and set our world on a better, more peaceful course for the future," he said.

Guterres said that during the Summit, he would call on G20 members to use their leverage to lead the required action needed.

“Developing countries – in particular in Africa – are suffering from a perfect storm of shrinking fiscal space, crushing debt burdens, and a global financial architecture that is failing to support – or even represent – them adequately.

“Today, Africa remains woefully under-represented across global institutions. This must change,” the UN chief said.

Guterres said many decisions at global financial institutions are disproportionately in the hands of some G20 members across the governance bodies of these institutions.   “Africa must have a fair seat in every forum where decisions are made – from the boards of international financial institutions to permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council, and to other global bodies,” he said.

“The G20 can help repair this historic injustice and drive reforms that give developing countries – and Africa in particular – a real voice in shaping global policies, and make global economic governance more inclusive, representative, equitable and effective in the years ahead,” Guterres proposed.   He urged G20 members to live up to the commitments made in June in the Financing for Development Conference in Sevilla to unlock more finance for developing countries, triple the lending power of multilateral development banks, and increase their role in leveraging more private finance.   Guterres also made a plea for G20 members to ease debt burdens with new instruments to reduce borrowing costs and risks, and expedite support for countries facing debt distress, drawing on recommendations from the UN’s debt expert group.  “Too many developing countries – especially in Africa – find themselves at the bottom of value chains, or locked out of trade opportunities. G20 members can lead the way by dismantling trade barriers and ensuring trade-free access to their markets for the poorest countries,” he said.

Other issues that the Secretary-General said he would raise with the G20 members included inequality that concentrated power and eroded trust in democracy; urgent attention to climate change; and the just transition to renewable energy.   “Corporations are pocketing record profits from climate devastation.  And lobbyists continue to greenwash the truth, while developing countries are locked out of a greener future,” he said.

Guterres said he would also ask G20 members to use their influence and voices to end the conflicts causing death, destruction and destabilisation around the world, including in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sahel, Mali, Ukraine, Gaza, Haiti, Yemen and Myanmar.