By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a message at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) International Panel on Inequality High-Level Event, urging for renewed international action to address extreme inequality.
Ramaphosa addressed the Global Inequality Crisis virtually during a high-level event on the International Panel.
He did not attend the UN General Assembly for health reasons: medics advised him to take time to rest and recover. His office did not disclose details about his condition. South Africa’s delegation is led by the International Relations minister Ronald Lamola.
Global leaders are attending the United Nations General Assembly, which is underway this week in the United States.
Under the South Africa’s G20 Presidency, Ramaphosa established the Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz.
The committee’s findings, delivered in late 2025, revealed a staggering “inequality emergency.”
The report found that between 2000 and 2024, the richest 1 percent of people in the world captured 41 percent of all new wealth, while the poorer half of humanity captured just 1 percent of new wealth.
In his keynote address Ramaphosa lauded the decision to establish the International Panel on Equity, describing it as a consequential outcome that places inequality at the centre of the global agenda.
Ramaphosa said, “The task before us is a formidable one: to build a new multilateral frontier and expand our global coalition against inequality at its heart, the international panel on inequality.”
The decision to establish the panel is one of the most consequential outcomes of the South African G20 presidency last year. It builds on the Brazilian G20 presidency that put inequality at the center of the global agenda, added Ramaphosa.
The South African president urged members to remain united as they work towards a common purpose.
Meanwhile Lamola said he will use his engagement with the Council on Foreign Relations in New York to outline South Africa’s foreign policy priorities.
He said South Africa will emphasize the human rights, multilateralism, and the United Nations’ role in upholding the international law and conventions.