Peace, justice and inclusive institutions: overcoming challenges to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 16

ABSTRACT

The SDGs are intended to be universal, in the sense of global applicability. Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is officially titled: ‘Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels’. This article provides an analysis of the importance of SDG 16 to achieving all of the SDGs, the progress on implementation of SDG 16 to date, the principal challenges that countries are encountering in the implementation of SDG 16, and proposes a set of policy solutions to overcome those challenges. It argues that progress on SDG 16 is critical to progress on the other SDGs and, therefore, it is imperative that countries vigorously attempt to overcome those challenges to meet the targets indicated for each goal. It draws on country experience as well as on the author’s own field experience.

KEYWORDS:

• Peace
• justice
• inclusive institutions
• Sustainable Development Goals
• implementation
• challenges

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Kempe Ronald Hope Sr., is the Director, Policy Division, Development Practice International (DPI), Canada. He was formerly a senior official with the United Nations, a Program Manager at the United States Agency for International Development, and Professor of Development and African Studies and/or Research Centre Director at several universities in North America, the Caribbean, and Africa. He advises several governments on policies for sustainable development particularly related to Sustainable Development Goal 16. Professor Hope’s most recent books are Corruption and Governance in Africa: Swaziland, Kenya, Nigeria (Palgrave Macmillan/Springer, 2017); Police Corruption and Police Reforms in Developing Societies (CRC Press/Taylor and Francis, 2016); and The Political Economy of Development in Kenya (Bloomsbury Books, paperback edition, 2013). The views he expresses here are private and do not necessarily represent those of DPI or any other institution to which he is affiliated.

Notes

1 See UN, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (New York: UN, 2015); UN, Global Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (New York: UN, 2017, Document A/RES/71/313–E/CN.3/2018/2).

2 See, for example, World Bank, World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security, and Development (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2011); UN and World Bank, Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018).

3 IEP, SDG16+ Progress Report 2019: A Comprehensive Global Audit of Progress on Available SDG 16 Indicators, http://visionofhumanity.org/reports/ (accessed March 20, 2019).

4 Ibid., 6.

5 UN, Transforming Our World, 8.

6 See K. R. Hope, Realizing SDG 16 Interlinkages: A Background Paper (Commissioned by the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre, 2019); Global Alliance for Reporting Progress on Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, Enabling the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda Through SDG 16+: Anchoring Peace, Justice and Inclusion (Prepared as a contribution to the thematic review of SDG 16 at the 2019 UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development), https://www.sdg16hub.org (accessed July 10, 2019).

7 K. R. Hope, ‘Corruption Reduction as a Target of the Sustainable Development Goals: Applying Indicators and Policy Frameworks,’ in Emerald Handbook on Crime, Justice and Sustainable Development, eds. J. Blaustein, K. Fitz-Gibbon, N. W. Pino, and R. White (Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing, forthcoming); IMF, Fiscal Monitor: Curbing Corruption (Washington, DC: IMF, 2019).

8 Global Alliance for Reporting Progress on Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies, ‘Meeting Report,’ https://www.sdg16hub.org/node/91 (accessed June 30, 2018).

9 S. Klinsky and A. Golub, ‘Justice and Sustainability,’ in Sustainability Science: An Introduction, eds. H. Heinrichs, P. Martens, G. Michelsen, and A. Wiek (Dordrecht: Springer, 2016), 161–173. See also B. F. Pérez, D. I. Márquez, and L. M. Hernández, eds., Rethinking Sustainable Development in Terms of Justice (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018).

10 See, for example, Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, Joint Statement by a Group of Member States in Support of SDG 16+, https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/6c192f_ab0ce8ccc4a744f8baee7ac83767f2e0.pdf (accessed July 25, 2019).

11 Ibid.

12 See UN, Compilation of the Main Messages for the 2019 Voluntary National Reviews (New York: UN, 2019, Document E/HLPF/2019/5); UNDESA, Voluntary National Reviews: Synthesis Report (New York: UNDESA, 2018).

13 Ibid.

14 UNDESA, Voluntary National Reviews.

15 J. Sachs et al., Sustainable Development Report 2019: Transformations to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (New York: Bertelsmann Stiftung and Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), 2019).

16 UN, Special Edition: Progress Towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Report of the Secretary-General (New York: UN, 2019, Document E/2019/68).

17 UNDESA, Voluntary National Reviews.

18 Ibid.

19 The data are derived from the UN, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019 (New York: UN, 2019); UN, Special Edition of the Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report: Report of the Secretary General: Supplementary Information (New York: UN, 2019, Document E/2019/68); UN, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018 (New York: UN, 2018); UN, Progress Towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Report of the Secretary-General: Supplementary Information (New York: UN, 2018, Document E/2018/64); and UNODC, Global Study on Homicide 2019 (Vienna: UNODC, 2019).

20 See UNODC, Global Study on Homicide 2018: Gender-Related Killing of Women and Girls (Vienna: UNODC, 2018).

21 Ibid.

22 See A. Biersack, M. Jolly and M. Macintyre, eds., Gender Violence and Human Rights: Seeking Justice in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu (Acton, Australia: ANU Press, 2016); and M. Ackman et al., SDG 16 in the Pacific: Strengthening and Legitimizing Institutions to Achieve Sustainable Development (Sydney: Institute for Economics & Peace, 2018).

23 D. Berry and P. English, The Socioeconomic Impact of Pretrial Detention (New York: Open Society Foundations, 2011).

24 Ibid.

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

27 WHO, World Health Statistics 2018: Monitoring Health for the SDGs–Sustainable Development Goals (Geneva: WHO, 2018).

28 UNICEF, ‘Violent Discipline,’ https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/violence/violent-discipline/ (accessed June 12, 2018).

29 Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, Ending Legalised Violence Against Children by 2030 (London: Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, 2018).

30 UN News, ‘Climate Change Recognized as “Threat Multiplier”, UN Security Council Debates its Impact on Peace,’ https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/01/1031322 (accessed February 19, 2019).

31 See, for example, K. R. Hope, ‘Climate Change and Poverty in Africa,’ International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 16, no. 6 (2009): 451–461, https://doi.org/10.1080/13504500903354424; K. R. Hope, ‘Climate Change in the Context of Urban Development in Africa,’ in Climate Change and Sustainable Urban Development in Africa and Asia eds. B. Yuen and A. Kumssa (Dordrecht: Springer, 2011), 37–55; J. Schaar, ‘The Relationship Between Climate Change and Violent Conflict,’ Working Paper (Stockholm: Sida, 2018).

32 See, for example, R. Jaiyesimi, ‘The Challenge of Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa: The Way Forward,’ African Journal of Reproductive Health (Special Edition on SDGs) 20, no. 3 (2016): 13–18.

33 See UN, Progress on Institutional Aspects of Sustainable Development Goal 16: Access to Information, Transparency, Participation and Accountability (New York: UN, 2019, Document E/C.16/2019/7).

34 IEP, SDG16+ Progress Report 2019.

35 Ibid.

36 UN, Sustainable Development Goal 16: Focus on Public Institutions–World Public Sector Report 2019 (New York: UN, 2019); UN, Working Together: Integration, Institutions and the Sustainable Development Goals–World Public Sector Report 2018 (New York: UN, 2018).

37 See R. Stapenhurst, ‘Accountability in Governance,’ https://siteresources.worldbank.org/PUBLICSECTORANDGOVERNANCE/Resources/AccountabilityGovernance.pdf (accessed June 25, 2018); B. Guerin, J. McCrae and M. Shepheard, ‘Accountability in Modern Government: What are the Issues?’ Discussion Paper (London: Institute for Government, 2018).

38 TAI, ‘How Do We Define Key Terms?: Transparency and Accountability Glossary,’ https://www.transparency-initiative.org/blog/1179/tai-definitions/ (accessed September 25, 2018).

39 Ibid.

40 UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2018 (Geneva: UNHCR, 2019); IEP, Global Peace Index 2019: Measuring Peace in a Complex World (Sydney, Australia: IEP, 2019), http://visionofhumanity.org/reports (accessed June 20, 2019).

41 Q. Wodon et al., Economic Impacts of Child Marriage: Global Synthesis Report (Washington, DC: World Bank and International Centre for Research on Women, 2017).

42 IMF, Corruption: Costs and Mitigating Strategies (Washington, DC: IMF, 2016).

43 UNCTAD, Investing in Sustainable Development Goals: Part 1 – Action Plan for Private Investment in SDGs (Geneva: UN, 2015); UNCTAD, Promoting Investment in the Sustainable Development Goals (Geneva: UN, 2018); J. Sachs et al., Closing the SDG Budget Gap (Copenhagen: Move Humanity, 2018).

44 Economics Online, ‘Development Constraints,’ https://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Global_economics/Development_constraints.html (accessed December 20, 2018). See also, OECD, Global Outlook on Financing for Sustainable Development 2019: Time to Face the Challenge (Paris: OECD, 2018).

45 Ulaanbaatar Democracy Forum (UBDF) 2019, ‘Final Report,’ https://www.sdg16hub.org/system/files/2019-03/2019%20UBDF%20rapporteurs%20final%20report_13%20March%202019.pdf (accessed March 20, 2019).

46 GANHRI, Space for Civil Society Participation in SDG Implementation (Geneva: GANHRI, 2018).

47 Ibid; G. M. Musila, Freedoms Under Threat: The Spread of Anti-NGO Measures in Africa (Washington, DC: Freedom House, 2019), https://freedomhouse.org/report/special-reports/freedom-under-threat-spread-anti-ngo-measures-africa (accessed May 15, 2019).

48 Ibid.

49 See UN, Successfully Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: What is to be Done? (New York: UN, 2017, Document E/C.16/2017/2).

50 K. R. Hope, ‘Investing in Capacity Development: Towards an Implementation Framework,’ Policy Studies 32, no. 1 (2011): 59–72, https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2010.529273; M. Venner, ‘The Concept of “Capacity” in Development Assistance: New Paradigm or More of the Same?’, Global Change, Peace & Security 27, no. 1 (2015): 85–96, https://doi.org/10.1080/14781158.2015.994488.

51 UNDESA, Voluntary National Reviews.

52 See, for example, J. Espey, ‘The Missing Ingredient for a Better World: Data,’ Nature 571, no. 7765 (2019): 299, https://www.nature.com/magazine-assets/d41586-019-02139-w/d41586-019-02139-w.pdf.

53 SDG 16 Data Initiative, 2019 Global Report, https://www.sdg16.org/blog/2019/07/08/the-third-annual-global-report.html (accessed July 12, 2019).

54 K. R. Hope, ‘Reducing Corruption and Bribery in Africa as a Target of the Sustainable Development Goals’ (Oakville, Canada: Development Practice International, Research Working Paper, 2019); M. Laberge, Is Africa Measuring Up to its Goal 16 Commitments? The Road to HLPF 2019 and Beyond, https://www.sdg16hub.org/system/files/2019-06/SAIIA_SDG16_A4_Brochure_V9_LD.pdf (accessed June 30, 2019).

55 UCLG, ‘About the UCLG Peace Prize,’ https://peaceprize.uclg.org/about/ (accessed June 12, 2018).

56 Ibid.

57 UNDESA, United Nations E-Government Survey 2018: Gearing E-Government to Support Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies (New York: UN, 2018).

58 See UNCTAD, Investing in Sustainable Development Goals; Sachs et al., Closing the SDG Budget Gap.

59 UN, The Secretary-General’s Strategy for Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2018-2021), https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/SG-Financing-Strategy_Sep2018.pdf (accessed December 20, 2018).

60 Ibid.

61 UNECA, Economic Report on Africa 2019: Fiscal Policy for Financing Sustainable Development in Africa (Addis Ababa: UNECA, 2019).

62 UN, ADB, and UNDP, Accelerating Progress: An Empowered, Inclusive and Equal Asia and the Pacific: Theme Report for the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (Bangkok: UN, 2019).

63 The Action Agenda provides a new global framework for financing sustainable development by aligning all financing flows and policies with economic, social and environmental priorities. It commits developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7% of ODA/GNI (gross national income) and 0.15 to 0.20% of ODA/GNI to least developed countries. See Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2051AAAA_Outcome.pdf (accessed December 20, 2018).

64 UN, The Secretary-General’s Strategy for Financing the 2030 Agenda.

65 Ibid.

66 UN, Transforming Our World, Article 10.

67 See OECD, Getting Governments Organised to Deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (Paris: OECD, 2017), 3.