G20 politics, and the future of UNHCR

This Week in Global Development · Nov 27, 2025 · 32m

This week, we unpack the major storylines emerging from the G20 Summit — the first ever held on African soil — where South Africa used its presidency to spotlight debt, inequality, climate, and critical minerals, even as the United States chose not to attend. With global development at an inflection point, leaders leaned into questions of how multilateralism must evolve as the global south asserts greater influence.

With the humanitarian system stretched thin and displacement at record highs, we also examine the race to lead the UN Refugee Agency. A crowded field — largely European, with one…