Exclusive Club of Self-serving 20

Summit incapable of Addressing Global problems when Global masses barred from table

Representing “Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America,” the Group of Twenty (G20) is “an international forum for governments and central bank governors”— that excludes the world’s “Third World” countries, large swaths of Asia East to West, all African countries except one, all Central American, Caribbean and small island countries, and all South American countries except two. 

T

his year’s G20 spectacle in Argentina claimed to be “people-centered, inclusive and forward-looking,” focusing on “the future of work, infrastructure for development, a sustainable food future and a gender mainstreaming” and most of its final statement was meaningless babble which means another photo op for bigwigs and not even crumbs where at least crumbs are needed.

The 31-point statement contains lots of “private-public partnership” and “stakeholder” language but nothing not a syllable about its members’ endless wars and costs of their wars, or the underlying causes — major among them foreign wars, violent aggression, conflict, invasion and destabilization — of global suffering and backwardness or inability to progress or develop in basic nor grandiose ways.

The closest they come to mentioning underlying issues is in statement No 17 (and possibly 16):

U

nderlying Causes

#17

“Large movements of refugees are a global concern with humanitarian, political, social and economic consequences. We emphasize the importance of shared actions to address the root causes of displacement and to respond to growing humanitarian needs.”

#16

…Migration and Displacement Trends and Policies (OECD et.al reports) … We will consider how to continue the dialogue on these issues under the next presidency.

I found nothing in the G20 concluding statement about human rights or international law, though there is some content about multilaterally working on issues of taxing, finance and corruption.

These are some items that seem to have a bit of reality-based substance

H

ealth, Education, Welfare

#15

Affordable Health Care mentioned in passing

“We reaffirm the need for stronger health systems providing cost effective and evidence-based intervention to achieve better access to health care and to improve its quality and affordability to move towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), in line with their ational contexts and priorities”

Hunger

#11

“We reaffirm our commitment to tackling the challenges of food security, which is crucial to achieving a world free of hunger and all forms of malnutrition.”

#15

“We will tackle malnutrition, with a special focus on childhood overweight and obesity, through national, community-based and collaborative multi-stakeholder approaches.

We reaffirm the need for stronger health systems providing cost effective and evidence-based intervention to achieve better access to health care and to improve its quality and affordability to move towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), in line with their national contexts and priorities. This may encompass, where appropriate, scientifically proven traditional and complementary medicine, assuring the safety, quality and effectiveness of health services. We will continue to strengthen core capacities required by International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005) for prevention, detection and response to public health emergencies, while recognizing the critical role played by (the World Health Organization) in this regard.”

#8

Education

“To equip our citizens to reap the benefits of societal and technological innovations we will promote coordination between employment and equitable quality education policies, so we can develop comprehensive strategies that promote key competences such as learning to learn, foundation and digital skills, in a lifelong learning perspective from early childhood. We acknowledge the need to foster evidence-based innovative pedagogies and methods for all levels of education.”

#14

Early learning

“We launch the G20 Initiative for Early Childhood Development and stand ready to join all stakeholders in enhancing quality and sustainably financed early childhood programs that consider the multidimensional approach of ECD, as means of building human capital to break the cycle of intergenerational and structural poverty, and of reducing inequalities, especially where young children are most vulnerable.”

M

ulti-nationalism

#5 (rule of law?)

“We renew our commitment to work together to improve a rules-based international order that is capable of effectively responding to a rapidly changing world.”

#3

Dialogue

“We have addressed our agenda promoting dialogue and the search for common ground. Building consensus requires the commitment of the society as a whole.”

#6

Technology

“Transformative technologies … the transition … will create challenges for individuals, businesses and governments. Policy responses and international cooperation will help ensure that the benefits of the technological transformation are widely shared.”

L

abor, Work

#7

“We remain committed to building an inclusive, fair and sustainable Future of Work by promoting decent work, vocational training and skills development, including re-skilling workers and improving labor conditions in all forms of employment, recognizing the importance of social dialogue in this area,  including  work  delivered  through  digital  platforms,  with  a  focus  on  promoting  labor formalization and making social protection systems strong and portable, subject to national law and circumstances.”

G

roups like this insult the intelligence.

They are always lacking in substance, practical matters whose implementation is measurable, to be reported on in the next meeting, matters of actual uplift for the world’s masses. Instead, they seem to promulgate a fiction that

• basic improvement, self determination, substantive infrastructural development

• permanent mechanisms for basics like clean water and hygiene, institutions of learning

• individual countries’ growth of native-born health professionals, educators and scientists

• cures for and prevention of disease

• implementation of conflict resolution and cessation of violent aggression and foreign interference —

all of these essentials to real advancement can realized by magic, Santa Claus, angels, or “thoughts and prayers.”

Sources

G20 Information Centre http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/

G20 Summit Argentina December 1, 2018 “G20 Leaders’ Declaration: Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development: to build consensus for fair and sustainable development through an agenda that is people-centered, inclusive and forward-looking… This year’s focus: the future of work, infrastructure for development, a sustainable food future and a gender mainstreaming strategy across the G20 agenda” http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/2018/2018-leaders-declaration.html

PDF in English http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/2018/buenos_aires_leaders_declaration.pdf

Wikipedia: G20 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G20

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