Trump boycotts G20 Summit in South Africa over alleged abuse of white farmers
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Washington: US President Donald Trump has announced a diplomatic boycott of this year’s G20 Summit in South Africa, citing alleged human rights abuses against the country’s white minority farmers.
In a statement posted to his social media platform, Trump condemned the summit’s location, accusing the South African government of enabling violence and land seizures targeting Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers. “It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” he wrote, adding that “no U.S. Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue.”
The move marks a rare US withdrawal from a major global forum. Trump also reiterated his intention to host the 2026 G20 Summit in Miami, Florida.
South Africa, which currently holds the rotating G20 presidency, has dismissed the allegations as unfounded. President Cyril Ramaphosa previously told Trump that claims of widespread persecution of white farmers were “completely false,” noting that white South Africans continue to enjoy higher living standards than the Black majority.
Trump’s comments follow remarks made earlier this week in Miami, where he suggested South Africa should be expelled from the G20 altogether. “South Africa shouldn’t even be in the Gs anymore, because what’s happened there is bad,” he said.
The boycott echoes an earlier decision by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who skipped a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, criticising the forum’s focus on diversity, inclusion, and climate policy.
Despite Washington’s absence, the G20 Summit is scheduled to proceed in Johannesburg from November 22–23, with global leaders expected to discuss economic growth, energy transition, and development cooperation.
(Inputs from IANS)