Pre-recorded message by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the UNGA81 International Panel on Inequality High-Level Event
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government;
Honourable Ministers, Ambassadors and High Commissioners;
Heads of Delegation;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;
President Lula, Prime Minister Støre, Prime Minister Sanchez and I welcome you as leaders of nations united by a common cause – to overcome extreme inequality.
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.
In the spirit of Madiba’s words, let today be a day of action.
The task before us is a formidable one, to build a new multilateral frontier and expand our global coalition against inequality.
At its heart is 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 centre of the global agenda.
As evidenced by the wide range of representation in this room today, the coalition in support of an IPI is growing.
It is time to accelerate the momentum, and to get the backing of the General Assembly for a resolution on the IPI.
As Professor Joseph Stiglitz reminds us, inequality is not and never has been inevitable.
It is a problem we can solve with evidence, analysis and cooperation.
Let us forge forward in the spirit of cooperation and common purpose.
An International Panel on Inequality is now firmly on the horizon, and fully within our grasp.
I thank you.
The time for an International Panel on Inequality is now.
