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UNSDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions



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What Is It?

The UN aims to achieve UN sustainable development goal 16: peace, justice and strong institutions, by 2030. Being at the sixteenth goal, peace, justice and strong institutions is generally considered to be one of the less important goals. However, this is a common misconception. The sustainable development goals are not ranked by importance, meaning that every goal is equal in importance and place of priority. 


This article is currently being written in 2024. We aim to achieve goal 16 in six years, by 2030. Most may believe that this target is reasonable and achievable. However, people may not understand what this goal actually entails. UN SDG 16 consists of twelve targets total, each having sub targets, which can be found in full on the United Nations website. It mainly focuses on reducing violence, ending abuse, and ending exploitation, each of which are prominent issues in the world today. 


In 2020, homicide rates saw a sharp increase of 28.78% compared to 2019, in the United States alone. Globally, it is estimated that 27,000,000 people are exploited for labor and services. Additionally, in 2023, it was reported that more than 13,000 were victims of hate crimes, in over 11,000 separate incidents, just in the U.S. Statistics show that race/ethnicity/ancestry were the main cause of 52.5% of these incidents, while religion and sexual orientation accounted for 22.5% and 18.4% of the incidents respectively. Again, this is in the U.S. only. 


These are human lives, ruined and lost, human lives which could have been saved if there was more focus on UN SDG 16. Even worse, homicide rates are showing a pattern; there is a constant increase throughout the years. We need to show more attention to goal 16, otherwise homicide rates will continue to rise, and innocent lives will continue to be lost.


To measure restaurants on this SDG, you can maintain a critical eye of their energy consumption and general waste production and management. Additionally, a keen eye on the products they sell and, if possible, their supply chain.


It is very difficult to reduce loss of habitats and ecosystems, but the preservation of nature and life is important and must be maintained. Furthermore, not just the preservation, but the restoration of natural habitats must be emphasized, and this can only be achieved when more than just the restaurant portion of markets change to sustainable methods of production, reducing environment and species loss. 



How Does It Relate to Sustainability?

Though arguably indirectly, peace, justice and strong institutions does relate to sustainability. In a rather blunt way, the sooner we achieve peace, the sooner we can unite, and the sooner we can put our efforts together to work towards our collective goal of achieving sustainability. However, in a more detailed examination, it can be found that UN SDG 16 is key to social and community sustainability; achieving goal 16 is crucial for building sustainable communities. UN SDG 16 helps to achieve communities that are capable and willing to work together, this provides the world with teams that will work efficiently to achieve a sustainable earth. Secondly, if the crime rate decreases and there also starts to be a decline in criminals, saving resources that would have been spent on capturing these criminals. This gives us more space and time to focus more on sustainability. Decreasing rates of crime around the world will ensure that the leaders of each country can pay more attention to achieving a sustainable and healthy environment rather than controlling crime rate or ensuring excessive safety to maintain peace in their country.

What Can You Do?

So, what can you do to work toward achieving goal 16? Surprisingly, there are many ways in which you can help, as an individual! These include:


Subsection: Knowing your rights

The easiest way to contribute towards achieving goal 16 is to know your rights. These rights, from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (issued by the UN) include:

  • The right to not be discriminated against whether due to gender, ethnicity, political views, religion, etc.

  • The right to the life, liberty and security of person

  • The right to liberty from slavery  

  • The right to not be subjected to torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment

  • The right to recognition before the law.

Knowing your rights and informing others of their rights as a human being is a crucial part of goal 16.


Though such a contribution may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, I would like to highlight how important it is to build teams and keep communities together   


Subsection: Voting 

Participate in voting, whether for the election of a local mayor or the president of your country! You have the right to choose who you want to represent your country.


Subsection: Supporting a charity

You can also help by supporting a goal 16 charity. Small donations help a lot!


Progress

The progress of SDG has unfortunately remained mostly stagnant. Global homicide rates have shown a decrease of 5% from 2015 to 2022, which falls significantly short from the targeted 50%, while civilian casualties have drastically risen by 72% from 2022 to 2023. There has been an increase in child trafficking. Gender equality has yet to be accomplished, and 1 in 6 people still experience discrimination. As the UN reported, little to no progress has been made, and the prospect of achieving it by 2030 seems increasingly dark. 



Conclusion

In conclusion, global goal 16 is one of great importance though it is usually overlooked, and we, as both a collective and individuals, should work together towards achieving it. There are several ways that any individual can help us work toward this goal of peace, justice and strong institutions. We hope this article has taught you more about the significance of goal 16, and the importance of being aware of your rights.

Learn…


Act!


Act some more!



As you can see, there’s tons to do, and there’s no time like the present to do it!


References (APA):


Goal 16 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.). https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal16 

Marx, W. (2024, June 13). Nearly 120 million people were displaced around the world in 2023, UNHCR report says. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/06/11/nx-s1-5002273/nearly-120-million-people-were-displaced-around-the-world-in-2023-unhcr-report-says 

UNDP support to reporting on the global SDG 16 indicators under targets 16.3, 16.6 and 16.7. (n.d.). UNDP. https://www.undp.org/policy-centre/governance/undp-support-reporting-global-sdg-16-indicators-under-targets-163-166-and-167 

SDG Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions-Product - 教育資源網 | 聯合國兒童基金香港委員會 UNICEF HK Education Web Portal. (n.d.). https://edu.unicef.org.hk/en/SDG-16 

Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions - The Global Goals. (2024, January 23). The Global Goals. https://www.globalgoals.org/goals/16-peace-justice-and-strong-institutions/ 

United Nations. (n.d.). Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights 

OHCHR. (n.d.). Joint press release: Progress on peace, justice and inclusion dangerously off track – a new UN report calls for urgent action to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 16. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/09/joint-press-release-progress-peace-justice-and-inclusion-dangerously-track 

UNDP, UNODC, and OHCHR (2024). Global Progress Report on Sustainable Development Goal 16 Indicators. At the Crossroads: Breakdown or Breakthrough for Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

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