By Nkateko Chauke, Acting Director, Oxfam South Africa
Understanding civil society engagement in multilateral processes
Like many other people, I thought that something like the G20 was really for government leaders only. However, having been part of the G20 process last year through our affiliate, Oxfam Brazil, I became convinced of how important it is for local NGOs to be part of the G20 processes and for donors in tur m to support civil society to be able to do so, and to participate themselves where they can.
Having worked in civil society for many years, I am deeply aware of the pulls on the time and resources of NGOs and broader civil society actors. The idea of having to add another layer of time and staff resources on to an already full agenda made me hesitant to think about the benefits for the sector and society at large for active involvement. But the last two months have shown me something very different. I do think that it is really important to have an active civil society presence at the G20, and it is critical that the sector receives very clear support, to be able to be as productive as possible.
About the G20
The G20 was created as a forum for Finance Ministers and Central Bank “as a new mechanism for informal dialogue in the framework of the Bretton Woods institutional system, to broaden the dialogue on key economic and financial policy issues among systemically significant economies and to promote cooperation to achieve stable and sustainable world growth that benefits all”[¹].
The G20 is an example of a multilateral process that people both like and criticise in equal measures. It is the reworked prototype of an initial annual meeting between various Ministers of Finance who used to meet to address global financial red flags before they escalated into crises. This began in 1999, upon suggestion of the G7[²] Finance Ministers, after the Asian Financial Crisis.
However, the fact that the 2007/8 global financial crisis happened was evidence that these ministerial meetings were not sufficient to prevent huge financial meltdowns. A revised body, known as the G20, was formed in 2008 of 19 member states. The European Union (EU) is the 20th member, and for the first time ever this year, the African Union (AU) will have full membership. The scope of work of the G20 greatly expanded to include a development agenda (the Sherpa track) in addition to the financial agenda (the Finance track). The G20 is hosted annually by a member country, selected on a rotation system.
Criticism of the G20
The G20 has been roundly criticised by people for a number of reasons:
- The G20 is criticised for being an ‘old boys club’[³] that developed out of a grouping of Western countries which is not in touch with the global realities of the 21st Many countries rightly feel excluded, and the addition of the AU was an attempt to dilute that criticism. However, with just one representative for 55 member states, it is felt that this is a rather weak reform.
- The commitments made by member states in the Leaders’ Declaration have no teeth. They are not enforceable and because the G20 has no permanent secretariat there is no body that tracks implementation of each country’s commitments.
- Because decisions have to be made by consensus, as in many multilateral processes, disagreement by a single country act as a veto.
Why the G20 is important
Recent global events have affirmed one fundamental principle: in our highly interdependent world, we need to keep talking. Talking builds trust, and trust is critical for mutually beneficial relationships. Isolationism by contrast allows for the growth of fear and suspicion and zero-sum gain thinking. Striving for an understanding of difference of positions and interests through talking and negotiating rather than through aggression clearly is the way to a sustainable future for our world and our planet. This point cannot be overemphasised. But we cannot just have world leaders talking. We need ordinary people to be talking too.
The official G20 process is a high level, exclusive negotiation that takes place behind closed doors. The process culminates in the publication of a Leaders’ Declaration during the final November Summit. At that stage the G20 Presidency is handed over to the next host country, which in this case will be the USA, and the process starts again.
Supporting civil society participation
For civil society, this is a unique opportunity to get to work with civil society actors across the globe. Through the C20 (Civil 20) Working Groups and the final C20 Summit, members of civil society organisations get the opportunity to share their vision, their work and best practices and find global innovation in the work that they do. It is a chance to feed their victories and challenges into the final C20 policy pack that will be incorporated into the final Leaders’ Declaration, but it is also a chance to find renewal in their practice and ways of working through these engagements.
The 2025 C20 will comprise of nine thematic working groups. Each working group will be responsible for its own Terms of Reference about its work and progress towards the policy output. Working groups have one local and one international co-chair to ensure that the focus of the C20 is both global in perspective but local in context.
It is vital that civil society organisations are supported to be able to step up to this work. It is time intensive. This means that NGOs need to find additional human resources to carry their already committed programmatic work and have time to input into the C20 working groups that they sign up to. It also requires the implementation of activities. For those NGOs with community members, there is a need to have workshops and meetings to share the C20 work and to gather inputs from grassroots realities to feed up into the policy deliberations. In addition, civil society members will need support to enable them to attend the final Summit where the final wording is agreed upon, and people are able to celebrate their hard work.
Seizing the moment for formal and informal participation
Apart from the so- called ‘Insider Track’ of working with the formal C20 civil society engagement group, civil society groups also work on ‘Outsider Track’ activities. These activities are often more creative than the more formal policy work. Artivism, music concerts, photo exhibitions – these have taken place in the past and it is important for civil society to be able to find expression in ways other than words, especially in South Africa with our rich cultural expressions of creativity. It is also one of the best ways of including the Youth in a process that otherwise might be seen as irrelevant to their day to day lives.
In all, the G20 is an incredible process to host. Government is pulling out all the stops. Business and other engagement groups have begun their processes with colourful banners and engagements. Civil society’s voice is crucial, particularly because of its proud history within South Africa’s liberation story.
Help us seize the moment. From the local, to the regional, to the global, as Oxfam says.
[²] The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
[³] https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/g7-must-stop-being-an-old-boys-club-and-embrace-india-officially-5895160