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This document is a speech delivered by a representative of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) regarding the domestic governance and economic priorities necessary to restore South Africa's international influence and internal stability.

The policy brief argues that while G20 initiatives are largely aligned with the AU's Agenda 2063 and the UN's 2030 Agenda, there are critical gaps in regional economic integration and the addressing of inequality. It recommends that South Africa and other African participants leverage the G20 to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development, while ensuring G20 actions are monitored and rationalized against African priorities.

This research paper explores the potential for establishing a Southern African Customs Union (SACU) development fund to deepen regional integration and mitigate trade constraints. By analyzing the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds), the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF), and the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD), the author provides recommendations on capitalization, governance, and project prioritization to move SACU beyond its current role of simple revenue sharing.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting for several NGOs, sent a letter to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) on 19 January 2018. The letter outlines the outcomes and commitments from a meeting held on 12 December 2017 regarding the implementation of the Highveld Priority Area (HPA), specifically addressing the DEA's delayed response to the 'Broken Promises Report' and the roles of NGOs in community representation.

A statement from the Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle campaign (comprising the Centre for Environmental Rights, groundWork, and Earthlife Africa Johannesburg) addressed to the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs. The letter seeks clarification and proposes amendments to the National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Regulations and the National Pollution Prevention Plan Regulations, citing ambiguities that could undermine climate reporting and transparency.

The Green Economy Barometer 2017 by the Green Economy Coalition analyzes the global transition toward sustainability, noting a contrast between booming green markets and persistent reliance on fossil fuels and systemic socio-economic gaps.

This executive summary from the 2018 'Brown to Green' report analyzes the progress of G20 countries toward a low-carbon economy. It highlights a significant gap between current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the goals of the Paris Agreement, noting that G20 energy-related CO2 emissions began increasing again in 2017 and that 82% of the G20 energy supply remains dependent on fossil fuels.

The ATI Network Shadow Report 2018, compiled by the South African History Archive (SAHA) and other civil society members, evaluates the effectiveness of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) in South Africa between 1 June 2017 and 31 July 2018. The report highlights systemic failures in public body compliance, including high rates of non-responsiveness and the misuse of legal provisions to delay information release, while also discussing the challenges of accessing data from private bodies and the impact of these barriers on rights to education and the environment.

This executive summary of a 2018 report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) examines the legal and practical regulation of wild animal welfare in South Africa. It argues that the current legal regime is outdated and provides little protection for wild animals, particularly those under human control, due to a divide between biodiversity conservation and animal welfare laws.

This 2018 report by the Climate Bonds Initiative and IFC provides a comprehensive guide for emerging markets to develop green bond markets. It emphasizes the necessity of national guidance to ensure market integrity and alignment with climate goals, while highlighting the success of China's regulatory approach and the innovation of green sukuk in Malaysia and Indonesia. The report introduces a 'Green Bond Market Development Toolkit' to help regulators move from nascent to robust markets through structured milestones and capacity building.

This report summarizes progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which focuses on strengthening forest governance, transparency, and the rule of law, while empowering indigenous peoples and local communities. It details developments in producer and consumer countries regarding illegal timber trade, the rising violence against environmental defenders, and the status of financial resources and data collection for land tenure security.

The South Africa Green Economy Barometer 2018 evaluates the country's transition toward a fair, green economy, awarding it a score of 5 out of 10. While South Africa possesses strong policy foundations, such as the National Development Plan and the 2011 Green Economy Accord, the report finds that the economy remains locked into carbon-intensive 'brown' systems, particularly in energy and mining, and fails to adequately include marginalized populations and the informal sector in its transition.

This 2018 fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice examines South Africa's fulfillment of economic and social rights ahead of its first UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights review. It argues that the government's adoption of fiscal austerity, combined with extreme systemic inequality and corruption, undermines the rights to health and education.

This case study examines the development of horizontal linkages in South Africa's mining sector, highlighting how specialized expertise gained from overcoming unique geological and technical constraints allowed local suppliers to diversify into other industries and international markets. It notes that these linkages were primarily driven by market forces and private sector innovation rather than government policy, though recent policy uncertainty and skills shortages have challenged the sector's competitiveness.

This case study examines South Africa's use of demand-side and supply-side policy options to promote local procurement in the mining sector, specifically focusing on reducing inequality through the empowerment of historically disadvantaged South Africans.

This policy brief examines the trends and statistical challenges surrounding violent crime on farms and smallholdings in South Africa, arguing that these crimes correlate with broader national trends in violent robbery and murder.

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies argues that crime statistics are an unreliable measure of police performance due to variables beyond police control, such as public reporting habits and the nature of contact crimes. It highlights systemic fragmentation within South Africa's criminal justice system (CJS) and recommends shifting toward alternative performance indicators and the implementation of the Integrated Justice System to identify operational bottlenecks.

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies examines the disconnect between the African Union's (AU) African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the African Governance Architecture (AGA). It argues that while poor governance is a primary driver of instability in Africa, the AU's responses remain reactive and fragmented due to institutional differences between these two frameworks. The author proposes several options to integrate governance and security, ranging from amending the Peace and Security Council (PSC) protocol to creating a unified 'Architecture for Stability in Africa' (ASA).

This report details a civil society training workshop held on April 17-18, 2018, in Windhoek, Namibia. The event, part of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Sensitisation Project in Namibia (ASPIN), aimed to engage civil society in the Namibian APRM process. Organized by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the workshop provided guidance on the APRM's structure, the importance of early civil society submissions, and lessons from other African nations.

The 2018 Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy (RISE) report provides a global inventory of policies and regulations supporting Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), focusing on electricity access, clean cooking, energy efficiency, and renewable energy across 133 economies from 2010 to 2017.