Ottawa: Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, has warned that global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot be achieved while systemic exclusion persists. Speaking at the Pride Caucus Breakfast, held on the sidelines of the 2026 Ottawa Civic Space Summit, currently underway in Ottawa, Canada, Letsike called for inclusive development and the protection of human dignity, emphasising that inclusion must move from rhetoric to reality, if the world is to meet both SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

According to South African Government News Agency, Letsike is representing South Africa at the summit and contributing to the plenary on ‘Defend What Makes Democracy Possible: Civic Space in a Time of Rupture’. The summit, taking place from 21 – 23 April, brings together civil society organisations, governments, donors, media, academia, and private sector representatives to discuss strategies to defend civic freedoms, strengthen collaboration across sectors, and explore new tools and approaches to support inclusive democratic engagement.

The event also examines how civic space contributes to progress across areas, including human rights, gender equality, climate action, education, and humanitarian response. Letsike anchored her remarks in a deeply personal narrative, recounting the experience of a young transgender individual in a South African township clinic who was denied care due to prejudice. The story, she said, illustrates how exclusion often manifests quietly but with profound consequences.

Comparing this exclusion, Letsike highlighted Vilakazi Street, one of the most historically significant sites in South Africa, where the struggle against apartheid was lived and fought in real terms, as a site of transformation. Once defined by exclusion and control, the street now hosts annual Soweto Pride, where Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities gather openly in affirmation of identity and belonging.

Letsike warned that while visibility for marginalised groups is growing, civic space globally is under increasing pressure. Rights once considered secure are being reopened and debated, and identity is increasingly turned into a political battleground. She pointed to rising inequality, global conflict, and the climate crisis as compounding factors that disproportionately affect already vulnerable communities. These dynamics, she argued, reinforce exclusion and justify further restrictions on participation and dissent.

Highlighting cooperation between South Africa and Canada, Letsike acknowledged Canada’s role in supporting human rights and civil society initiatives. However, she stressed that civil society ‘cannot and should not carry’ the burden of inclusion alone. She called for sustained investment in grassroots organisations, particularly those led by women, youth, and LGBTQIA+ communities, noting that many remain underfunded despite their critical role.

Letsike also addressed narratives framing gender and LGBTQIA+ rights as ‘un-African’, or incompatible with culture and religion, arguing that such claims often ignore historical and cultural complexities shaped by colonial legacies. She emphasised that returning to the core of African values reveals connection and recognition of shared humanity.