Cape Town, 11 February 2026 — The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) hosted its Annual Review and Diplomatic Breakfast Meeting in Cape Town, on the eve of South Africa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA). The engagement brought together diplomats, inter-governmental representatives, civil society leaders, researchers, academics and members of the South African-based diplomatic community to reflect on a year of impact and to consider pathways forward in an increasingly turbulent global context.

Opening the meeting, IJR Acting Board Chairperson Mr Lorenzo Davids emphasised the urgency of renewed global dialogue grounded in equity and respect. He noted that as the world navigates collapsing political, economic and social systems, there is an urgent need for deeper engagement with Africa.

“The world needs to talk and engage more with Africa,” Davids said. “Even as we navigate through collapsing systems, we must ensure mutual respect for one another, with an equal seat at the table.”

Davids’ remarks set the tone for the briefing, underscoring the importance of Pan-African perspectives in reshaping a global order that is increasingly marked by geopolitical rivalries, violent inter- and intra-state conflicts, economic fragmentation, climate crises, and the rapid, largely unregulated growth of artificial intelligence. These dynamics, participants noted, are straining the legitimacy and effectiveness of multilateral institutions established in the post-World War II era.

IJR Executive Director Professor Cheryl Hendricks followed with an overview of the organisation’s impact and strategic direction. She highlighted IJR’s work in enabling policy actors to integrate peacebuilding and governance research and practice into policy processes; engaging communities to demonstrate agency in addressing and transforming relationships in divided societies; and supporting stakeholders to implement transitional justice policies, programmes and processes across Africa and beyond.

Professor Hendricks also introduced IJR’s renewed strategic focus, structured around four thematic ecosystems: Reparative Justice; Democratic Governance; Trade, Peace and Regional Integration; and Just Energy Transitions and Natural Resource Management. She noted that these interconnected areas reflect both the organisation’s core mandate and the evolving challenges facing the continent and the global community.

A central feature of the event was a panel discussion held under the theme “South Africa in a Turbulent World: Pan-African Perspectives on the Revival of Multilateralism.” The discussion explored the systematic dismantling of norms and practices that once underpinned the global order, and interrogated the role that Pan-African actors can play in revitalising multilateralism and reforming institutions such as the United Nations Security Council.

Panellists and participants reflected on the reality that the current global system is hierarchical and has never adequately served all those within it. Trust in institutions is fragile, power is shifting in destabilising ways, and the risk of conflict is increasing. At the same time, speakers noted that this turbulence also creates space for renewal, an opportunity to reimagine global cooperation so that it is more inclusive, ethical and grounded in lived realities.

The discussion highlighted South Africa’s historic ability to “punch above its weight” internationally, particularly when drawing on its own experience of negotiating deep difference, confronting injustice and holding together competing truths. Participants emphasised the need for a clearer, more proactive and forward-looking foreign policy, alongside a revival of Pan-Africanism as a substantive force rather than a rhetorical gesture.

Throughout the engagement, the importance of protecting international law and international humanitarian law was repeatedly stressed, alongside the need for principled leadership rooted in constitutional values, positive African values, and accountability at both domestic and global levels.

The Annual Review and Diplomatic Briefing reaffirmed IJR’s role as a convenor of critical dialogue and a contributor to rethinking multilateralism at a time of profound global uncertainty, while placing Pan-African perspectives at the centre of efforts to build a fairer and more representative international system.