PHOTO ESSAY
Pomp, pageantry and protests as BRICS Summit begins
Delegates from across the globe arrived for the 15th BRICS Summit, taking place in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 August. As planes touched down, officials were met with flags, music and traditional performances.
More than 40 heads of state and delegates from around the world will engage in talks at the Sandton Convention Centre. The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have significant global importance due to their collective economic strength, population size, and emerging market potential.
The missing head of state is of course Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia will be represented by its minister of foreign affairs, Sergey Lavrov. Putin will take part in talks via video link, unwilling to risk attending in person after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for him and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova on 7 March, following an investigation into war crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The people in blue (and brown) are out in full force. On Monday, in the lead-up to the event, Police Minister Bheki Cele addressed hundreds of law enforcement officers. He said the security contingent would make the lives of criminals “very difficult”. Sandton will no doubt be the safest area of Johannesburg this week while the rest of the city will be forced to contend with the gap in policing.
Our protest today with @AmnestySAfrica and the @HelenSuzmanFdn to call on the world leaders attending the #BRICS summit to demand that russia stops its war in Ukraine, to return Ukrainian children, and to stop sabotaging Ukrainian agricultural exports
🎥: @jaans_kepaans pic.twitter.com/E1IX2hP8uE
— Ukrainian Association of South Africa (@UkrainianAfrica) August 22, 2023
A handful of demonstrators gathered to call for an end to the war in Ukraine and human rights abuses by Russia. Protesters from the Helen Suzman Foundation, the Ukraine Association of South Africa and Amnesty International were forced to keep their distance; the closest they were allowed to brandish their placards and shout slogans was more than 3km from the venue where leaders were holding talks.
More than 40 countries want to join the BRICS club, including Cuba, the United Arab Emirates, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Gabon.
The bloc gained formal shape in 2006 when foreign ministers from the four BRIC countries met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. South Africa was invited to join in 2010, transforming BRIC into BRICS. The purpose was their shared vision to collectively address global economic challenges and advocate for reforms in international financial institutions to better represent their growing influence as emerging economies. DM
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