South Africa’s diplomatic resolve is being put to the test after the United States, under President Donald Trump, barred the country from the 2026 G20 Summit in Miami, Florida. This unprecedented move, rooted in widely discredited claims of a “white genocide” against Afrikaners, has ignited tensions between Pretoria and Washington, while also drawing the attention and concern of the broader G20 community.
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola made South Africa’s position clear in a statement on December 14, 2025: “South Africa will not attend the 2026 G20 Summit in Florida without a formal invitation from the United States.” Yet, he was quick to add that South Africa would not resort to a boycott if excluded, choosing dialogue over isolation. Lamola explained, “If we give them a boycott, we will be further giving them the opportunity to be working alone. So they must be engaged. Those countries, and we are glad that most of them are saying we are ready, we will go and engage with Washington on this issue and all issues affecting the globe.” According to Central News, Lamola’s approach underscores a commitment to engagement, even as US-South Africa relations face growing strain under the new Trump administration.
This diplomatic standoff comes on the heels of South Africa’s successful hosting of the 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg from November 18 to 19. The summit—guided by themes of solidarity, equality, and sustainability—brought together leaders from countries representing nearly 79% of the world’s population and 73% of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, as reported by The Conversation. Despite the US boycotting the event, the summit concluded with a strong declaration supporting the Paris Agreement, welcoming the outcomes of the COP30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil, and recognizing Africa’s unique climate and development challenges.
But the US’s decision to exclude South Africa from the next summit is rooted in controversial and unsubstantiated allegations. On November 25, 2025, President Trump posted on Truth Social, pulling South Africa’s invite and halting all US payments and subsidies to the country. He cited “horrific human rights abuses” and alleged “killing of white people” on farms, along with supposed land grabs, calling it a “shocking disregard” for rights that the media ignores. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio doubled down, stating that South Africa would not be invited unless it fixed its “broken system.” He accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of blocking US input during the Johannesburg summit and labeled the government “radical,” despite its broad 10-party unity coalition, as covered by Central News.
However, human rights experts and fact-checkers have repeatedly dismissed the notion of a genocide. According to Central News, farm murders—while tragic—have declined over time and affect all races, not just whites. The statistics are stark: approximately 50 to 70 farm killings occur annually in a country with more than 20,000 murders each year, far from the scale of a targeted extermination. Groups like AfriForum, which represent many Afrikaners, have also pushed back, arguing that Trump’s statements distort facts and overlook the reality that crime in South Africa is widespread and indiscriminate. Even Germany’s foreign ministry has called the “white genocide” narrative “widely discredited and unsupported by reliable evidence.”
At the heart of US criticism lies South Africa’s land reform program, a constitutional effort to address deep-seated inequalities left by apartheid. Whites, who make up about 7% of the population, still own the majority of farmland. Yet, as Central News points out, the new law allows expropriation only in rare cases, and no white-owned land has been seized without compensation. Instead, the focus is on fair redistribution to boost black farmers and reduce poverty—a policy endorsed by many G20 nations as a step toward justice and economic inclusion.
Throughout the 2025 G20 presidency, South Africa emphasized the principles of Ubuntu—solidarity, equality, and sustainability. The presidency hosted 177 official meetings, guided by 15 thematic working groups, and included dialogues on youth, business, women’s rights, science, and think tanks, according to The Conversation. The G20’s final declaration recognized Africa’s unique vulnerabilities to climate change and called for countries with higher emissions to provide funding, technology, and support, in line with the “common but differentiated responsibilities” principle adopted at the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit.
Yet, the declaration’s language on just energy transitions and climate finance was vague, failing to specify how countries should implement or fund these transitions. One concrete outcome was the introduction of a voluntary plan to make clean cooking fuels a global priority, aiming to address the fact that 80% of African households lack access to clean cooking fuel—a situation causing 3.2 million premature deaths annually, mostly among women and children. Still, countries can opt out, and the plan did not directly address energy poverty, building only on principles from the earlier Brazilian presidency.
South Africa also pushed for the G20 to tackle Africa’s debt crisis, which is closely linked to financing clean energy and climate adaptation. Most climate funding still comes as loans, increasing the continent’s debt burden. The G20’s Climate and Environment Working Group did finalize ministerial declarations on air quality and environmental crime, the latter being a new and crucial agenda item for African countries seeking to protect their biodiversity and natural resources.
After the US boycott of the Johannesburg summit, South Africa symbolically handed over G20 documents to a junior US embassy official when the US assumed the G20 presidency on December 1, 2025. The US’s exclusion of South Africa from the 2026 G20 engagements has left many G20 members uneasy. According to Central News, most G20 countries have pledged to continue dialogue with Washington regarding South Africa’s inclusion, highlighting the forum’s preference for engagement over division. Germany, for example, has already raised concerns, rejecting the genocide narrative and backing Pretoria’s participation.
In an open letter to Secretary Rubio, Lamola wrote, “Secretary Rubio, the world is watching. It is growing weary of double standards. We do not seek your approval for our path. Our path is our own, chosen by our people and guided by our sovereign laws. But we do seek, and we will always extend, a hand of respectful partnership.” A spokesperson for President Ramaphosa added that South Africa will pause its G20 work during the US presidency and resume fully under the UK’s leadership in 2027, calling it a “commercial break until we resume normal programming.” Deputy President Paul Mashatile, meanwhile, expressed determination for South Africa to join the Miami talks, signaling that Pretoria is not backing down.
As the G20 faces a pivotal test of its unity and purpose, the world is watching to see whether dialogue and solidarity can prevail over division. The outcome will shape not just South Africa’s role on the global stage, but also the G20’s credibility in addressing the pressing challenges of climate change, inequality, and international cooperation.