The extreme economic disparities between the Global North and the Global South have long been treated as an unfortunate but unavoidable reality of the international system. However, at the 81st United Nations General Assembly, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa challenged this narrative directly, demanding that world leaders move past empty rhetoric and take concrete institutional action to dismantle the global inequality crisis.
Speaking at a high-level event advocating for structural change, President Ramaphosa invoked the legacy of Nelson Mandela to emphasize the urgency of the moment. “As South Africa’s founding father Nelson Mandela reminded us, for as long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest,” Ramaphosa declared.
To tackle this massive challenge, Ramaphosa strongly pushed for the creation of a UN-backed International Panel on Inequality, a science-based body designed to monitor disparities and guide global policy. He stressed that the creation of such a body is a crucial step toward achieving the economic equity goals of Agenda 2063. “The task before us is a formidable one, to build a new multilateral frontier and expand our global coalition against inequality,” he stated.
Rejecting the idea that Africa must accept its economic disadvantages, the South African leader urged the international community to take immediate steps. “An International Panel on Inequality is now firmly on the horizon, and fully within our grasp,” he noted confidently. Borrowing insight from leading economists, he concluded with a powerful reminder: “Inequality is not and never has been inevitable. It is a problem we can solve with evidence, analysis and cooperation”.