SDGs Goal 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
SDGs Goal 16 is "Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions" - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
SDGs Goal 16 is “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
Conflict, insecurity, weak institutions and limited access to justice remain a great threat to sustainable development.
The number of people fleeing war, persecution and conflict exceeded 70 million in 2018, the highest level recorded by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in almost 70 years.
Freedom to express views, in private and in public, must be guaranteed. In 2019, the United Nations tracked 357 killings and 30 enforced disappearances of human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists in 47 countries.
And the births of around one in four children under age 5 worldwide are never officially recorded, depriving them of a proof of legal identity crucial for the protection of their rights and for access to justice and social services. Birth registration has occurred for 73% of children under 5, but only 46% of Sub-Saharan Africa have had their births registered.
Among the institutions most affected by corruption are the judiciary and police.
Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion cost some US $1.26 trillion for developing countries per year; this amount of money could be used to lift those who are living on less than $1.25 a day above $1.25 for at least six years
Approximately 28.5 million primary school age who are out of school live in conflict-affected areas.
The rule of law and development have a significant interrelation and are mutually reinforcing, making it essential for sustainable development at the national and international level.
The proportion of prisoners held in detention without sentencing has remained almost constant in the last decade, at 31% of all prisoners.
Violence against children
Violence against children affects more than 1 billion children around the world and costs societies up to US$ 7 trillion a year.
50% of the world’s children experience violence every year. Every 7 minutes, somewhere in the world, a child is killed by violence
1 in 10 children is sexually abused before the age of 18.
9 in 10 children live in countries where corporal punishment is not fully prohibited, leaving 732 million children without legal protection.
1 in 3 internet users worldwide is a child and 800 million of them use social media. Any child can become a victim of online violence. Child online sexual abuse reports to NCMEC has grown from 1 million in 2014 to 45 million in 2018.
246 million children worldwide affected by school-related violence each year. 1 in 3 students has been bullied by their peers at school in the last month, and at least 1 in 10 children have experienced cyberbullying.
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/peace-justice/
What’s been suggested?
Goal 16 “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” has got the following 12 targets (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/peace-justice/).
16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.4 By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime
16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
16.8 Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance
16.9 By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
16.A Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime
16.B Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development
Why that’s important?
The link above also has got a brief report Why It Matters
People everywhere need to be free of fear from all forms of violence and feel safe as they go about their lives whatever their ethnicity, faith or sexual orientation.
Crimes that threaten the foundation of peaceful societies, including homicides, human trafficking and other organized crimes, as well as discriminatory laws or practices, affect all countries.
Even the world’s greatest democracies face major challenges in addressing corruption, crime and human rights violations for everyone at home.
How far are we?
In addition to “Why It Matters” above, Progress and Info is updated for each year and Sustainable Development Goals Report shows the key points of the latest situation and prograss related to Goal 16.
The world is still a long way from achieving the goal of peaceful, just and inclusive societies. Hundreds of millions of people are living in fragile and conflict-affected States. At the end of 2020, about 1% of the global population – 82.4 million people – had been forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict or generalized violence.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and intensified inequality and discrimination. The pandemic is disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable worldwide, with children at high risk.
Millions of children around the globe face different forms of exploitation, including trafficking and child labour. The risk to children is increasing due to the combined effects of pandemic-related school closures and economic distress. Trafficking in persons is found in every country. Perpetrators engaged in this criminal activity target the marginalized and impoverished, including children. Globally, one in three trafficking victims detected in 2018 were a child; in low-income countries, the share was one half. Girls are primarily victims of sexual exploitation (72% of detected girl victims), while boys are mainly subjected to forced labour (66% of detected boy victims).
Child labour and child trafficking are interrelated. In countries with a larger share of trafficking victims that are children, there is also a higher prevalence of child labour. Global trends point to a rise in child labour for the first time in two decades. At the start of 2020, the number of children engaged in child labour (not including its worst forms, such as children in bonded and forced labour or in commercial sexual exploitation) totalled 160 million (63 million girls and 97 million boys). This translates to almost 1 in 10 children worldwide.
Since 2015, the killings of human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists have been reported in over one third of Member States. These deaths have persisted despite the pandemic. In 2020, the killings of 331 human rights defenders were reported in 32 countries (an 18% increase from 2019), along with 19 enforced disappearances in 14 countries.
National human rights institutions (NHRIs) are independent bodies that promote and protect human rights. In 2020, 82 countries had independent NHRIs that successfully achieved compliance with international standards, a 17% improvement from 2015. These gains, however, are not enough to meet the 2030 target. Progress has stalled in most regions, where no new independent NHRIs have been recognized or established since 2018.
…Again, I will read studies and reports relevant to this goal and keep updating this post or even write an individual post for each subtopic!