"[Press Release] G7 Hiroshima Summit Summed up as “Rainy” by Civil Society" 21 May 2023

On May 21, the final day of the G7 Hiroshima Summit, Civil7 (C7), one of the official Engagement Groups of the G7, held a press conference at the Hiroshima City Youth Center. The C7 evaluated the outcomes of the G7 Hiroshima Summit, including the G7 Leaders’ Declaration and related statements released on May 20, and rated the six Working Group issues and the summit as a whole using a five-point scale: “downpour” (most disappointing), “rainy,” “cloudy,” “cloudy with a chance of sun,” and “sunny” (most satisfied).

The six Working Group issues and overall ratings are as follows: “Nuclear Disarmament” – rainy; “Climate and Environmental Justice” – cloudy; “Economic Justice and Transformation” – downpour; “Global Health” – rainy; “Humanitarian Assistance and Conflict” – cloudy; and “Open and Resilient Societies” – downpour. The evaluation “as a citizen of Hiroshima” was cloudy with a chance of sun, and the “overall summary” was rainy with hope for sunny in the future.

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C7 Economic Justice and Transformation Working Group: Downpour (1 point out of 5)
(Shoko Uchida, Pacific Asia Resource Center)

Overall, the emphasis is on “economic security” set from the perspective of the G7, rather than on solving the problems faced by developing countries, and although the text calls for “cooperation,” in reality, it is fraught with the danger of bringing division and blocs to the world. 

(1) Debt: There are no concrete commitments by the G7, only “expectations for the G20” regarding a “common framework” for debt restructuring and improving the accuracy of debt data. In particular, “enforcement of binding national laws to allow private creditors to participate in the multilateral debt restructuring process,” “multilateral negotiations at the UN,” and “debt cancellation” are not considered. 

(2) Economic Security: The goal is to decouple the supply chain of strategic goods and mineral resources such as semiconductors from China while incorporating the “Global South,” assuming China is a “market-distorting actor,” “malicious actor,” and so on. Such decoupling, however, will further impose environmental and social burdens, especially on developing countries. 

(3) Business and Human Rights: The stance on initiatives referring to international standards such as the “UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)” has weakened, and there is no mention of the need for mandatory human rights due diligence measures that were in place until last year.

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