Peace and Justice – SDG Goal 16

When we talk about sustainable development, we are not only talking about the well-being of our planet but also of its inhabitants.

The Sustainable Development Goals aim to improve the life expectancy and lifestyle of the world’s population. This is not an easy task, as not all countries have the same standard of living, so the priorities will not be the same in all countries.

Peace and justice is one of the objectives. The UN is doing its best to achieve justice and peace but is not succeeding. As we know, not everyone agrees with the decisions that the UN and the VETO countries take, especially regarding international security interventions.

Recurrent wars in certain geographical areas have a domino effect on their neighboring countries which become politically and economically unstable. This slows down their growth. Natural disasters also do not help to have peace in the world. Some countries, such as Turkey, are bound to experience natural disasters in the coming years because they are located on a tectonic plate and do not have the right infrastructure to get out of it. This will create, in addition to the refugees from countries in tension like Iran or at war like Ukraine, we will also have refugees linked to natural disasters. Also, refugees linked to climate change, which is causing infertility and famine in certain regions of Africa, for example, who have no other choice but to migrate in order to survive, have already started to create some political problems in those areas. It will therefore be necessary to review migration, aid and reception policies on an international scale. All these instabilities and changes create corruption and inequalities between people. When humans think they are surviving, they may be obliged to break certain legal laws in order to protect themselves and their families. This is why the UN should anticipate all these factors and more, in order to achieve its objectives of peace and justice.

Many countries have laws that respect international human rights but fail to enforce them because of their state of war or demography such as India.

Enforcing justice with old laws in a changing and increasingly technological world sometimes reinforces injustice. In particular, digital and internet use laws are not sufficiently developed. Some countries, such as the United States, are finally looking into the matter in order to create laws that protect Internet and social network users without infringing on their personal freedoms. As far as Data is concerned, the judiciary is clear about its intentions; the aim of its new laws is to protect everyone’s individual freedom.

Its objectives of peace and justice in the world are a real challenge. Because if the definition of peace is clear, that of justice remains relative. Each country has its own laws and its vision of what is right and what is wrong. Of course, universal laws exist, but the world does not always agree on the substance, such as the rights of women, for example, which can change from one culture to another.

For more about SDG Goal 16 click HERE and HERE.

SDG16 Peace Justice