South Africa was missing at the first Sherpa and Finance Track meetings held this week ahead of next year’s G20 summit in Miami, USA, following Donald Trump’s disinvitation of the continent’s largest economy, seen widely as political punishment. Trump invited Poland in its place.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the African Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom. Poland also attended as the only full guest participant of the U.S. host year.

The meetings, held in Washington, give sherpas — representatives of heads of government — an opportunity to discuss progress, key priority areas, and collective outcomes ahead of the leaders’ summit in November.

The absence follows deepening tensions between Pretoria and Washington, with South African officials blaming unfounded allegations, unilateral actions by the United States, and what they describe as political retaliation linked to South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

U.S. Government officials have criticised South Africa’s policies, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterising its government as pursuing a “radical agenda”.

But legal scholar and international relations analyst, Prof. Patrice Lumumba, said South Africa has an unquestionable right to attend the 2026 summit by virtue of its founding membership and dismissed Trump’s claims of a “white genocide” in the country as extremist propaganda.

“The allegation of white genocide in South Africa is not new. It did not arise in a university seminar or a human rights report. It grew in the swamp of extremist propaganda among people who are still angry that majority rule came to South Africa at all,” Lumumba said.

“Do violent crimes happen on farms? Yes. Are farmers being killed? Yes. Is that a tragedy? Absolutely. But crime in South Africa does not discriminate kindly. Black people are killed in squatter camps, on trains, in taxis and in villages. Violence is a national disease, not an ethnic policy. There is no government programme to eliminate white people. There is no parliamentary resolution to wipe out Afrikaners. There is no executive order declaring war on a race.”

He warned that elevating such claims into official foreign policy risks destabilising multilateral institutions.

“When this falsehood is taken from the fringe and installed at the heart of foreign policy, what do we see? We see a president in Washington using it to justify boycotting a summit and threatening that South Africa will not be invited to the next G20 meeting on American soil. Acting as if G20 membership is a favour he can grant or withdraw like an invitation to his private golf course. Membership of the G20 is not a certificate of sainthood,” he said.

Civil society figures have also framed the dispute as retaliation for South Africa’s legal action against Israel. Tebogo Mashilompane, leader of the Forum for South Africa, said President Donald Trump was punishing South Africa for refusing to drop its ICJ case.

On December 1, the United States assumed the G20 2026 Presidency, which coincides with America’s 250th birthday. Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States is committed to returning the G20 back to its core economic agenda and delivering real economic results. President Trump will host the G20 Leaders’ Summit from December 14-15, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami.

At the first event of the U.S. G20 presidency, the United States reiterated its core thematic priorities: unleashing economic prosperity by limiting regulatory burdens, unlocking reliable and affordable energy options, and pioneering new inno…