Oxfam reaction to Stiglitz Extraordinary Committee on Inequality Report for South African G20

In reaction to the Stiglitz G20 Extraordinary Committee Report on Inequality published today, Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International, said:

"This historic report could not be timelier. It is a high-water mark in international recognition of the inequality crisis. The Inequality Emergency is destroying our democracies, corroding our societies and undermining our economies. An Independent Panel on Inequality is an excellent proposal and long overdue. It will bring the same scientific seriousness and purpose to tackling the inequality crisis as the IPCC does to stopping climate breakdown.

"South Africa has shown great bravery in putting the fight for a more equal world at the heart of their G20 agenda. They are giving a voice to people crushed by inequality. They are showing that another world is possible: ruled not by and for billionaires, but by and for the rest of us instead.

"Governments have a sensible, practical and science-based step they can take to redress inequality – one that will help them too. We believe that a number of G20 governments who recognize the crisis of inequality will support the establishment of the new International Panel on Inequality and get behind South Africa in making this happen.

"There is no escaping that the G20 is taking place in the backdrop of unprecedented geopolitical upheaval – as the US is readily fuelling inequality at home and around the world, from reckless tariffs to regressive tax breaks. But it clarifies the clear choice for governments – between an international order set up to serve ordinary people in every country, or one owned by oligarchs."