On January 1, 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which were adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at a historic UN Summit, officially came into force.
Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels.
CSJ’s indicators for Goal 16
Centre for Social Justice’s own experiences in the last couple of years, as a pioneer in the field of institutional intervention for access to justice, training and capacity building for community lawyers and paralegals, is a narrative of its continuing tryst with making the dream of access to justice a reality for all. CSJ’s journey so far has been one of a continuously progressing organization that is always at the forefront of contextualizing and spreading pioneering best practices for the advancement of access to justice.
CSJ has also come up with suggested indicators in regard of targets mentioned under Goal 16. The basic objective of indicators is to map the growth of a specific country with respect to the sustainable development goals
Solah Aane Sach – CSG consultations on Goal 16
CSJ organized a series of workshops with an objective of contextualizing Goal 16 and to provide a platform for learning and sharing of best practices on issues related to inclusion, peace, and access to justice, transparent institutions as well as the exploration of the linkages between different SDGs.
Ahmedabad workshop:
A three-day workshop Solah Aane Sach – a part of the series of consultations on Goal 16 — was organized by CSJ in Ahmedabad between March 12 and 14, 2016. The workshop was held by Wada Na To Do Abhiyan with support from Safer World and Institute of Law, Nirma University.
The workshop, attended by over a hundred delegates comprising grassroots human rights workers from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and MP, was held with the avowed objective of contextualizing Goal 16. Attempt was made to understand it through the lens of lived realities of different constituencies.
The workshop was a great success in achieving its objectives, as manifested from the invigorating, creative and free flowing responses evoked from the participants throughout the duration of the workshop.
Hyderabad workshop:
The Southern Region Consultation of Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals was held at Satyodayam, Tarnaka, and Hyderabad on March 18 2016 by CSJ. Second of the three consultations being held across India on the importance Goal 16 saw 76 delegates drawn from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. A workshop was also organized by CSG in Imphal.
CSJ-NITI Aayog collaboration
CSJ, in collaboration with NITI Aayog, conducted a small consultation in New Delhi at Vishwa Yuvak Kendra on March 15, 2018. The main agenda of the consultation was to discuss the strategies and the roadmap to move towards achieving Goal 16 – peace, justice and strong institution. Apart from NITI Aayog, there was participation of few other civil society organizations as well as government institutions. The different thematics which were taken up during the consultation work were dalit rights, child rights, youth policy as well as right to information. Post consultation, a letter was sent to NITI Aayog which included suggestions and recommendations in regard of the same.
NALSA scheme implementation
CSJ also made recommendations on how legal services authorities in India can help women and other marginalized groups in availing justice. Constant advocacy with the Department of Justice and National Legal Service Authority (NALSA) also ensured the institutionalization of the three critical schemes that provide for free and competent legal aid. Recently, CSJ also initiated action research to understand how well these schemes have been implemented.
CSJ’s work
Child Rights
Some of CSJ’s objectives of child rights training program also intersect with the SDGs. Broadly, the organization has divided the objectives under six aspects of child’s life — home environment, health and social services, educational services, safety services, safety and protection services, play, leisure and recreation, participation and citizenship.
Dalit Rights
The NITI Aayog is the chief nodal and implementation agency for the SDG in India. Despite the introduction of affirmative action quotas in education and jobs for dalits, they remain excluded from the economic prosperity in both the private and public sector. CSJ, along with NITI Aayog, work for inclusivity and accessibility of dalits.
Rights of persons with disability
CSJ organized a workshop on SDGs and rights of persons with disabilities. The organization compiled literature relating to work on the subject of disability and evolving paradigms. The report seeks to place the persons with disability within the developmental plans of the country, specifically in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Women’s rights
As per National Crime Record Bureau data 2015, the total number of cases of violence against women reported was more than 3 lakh, out of which 35,641 were the reported cases of rapes. 30.2% of all married women were married before they turned 18, almost 7,634 cases of dowry deaths and more than a lakh cases of domestic violence cases were reported in 2016 and number of women trafficked in 2016 was 22% more than the previous year. Despite the tremendous potential they carry, the actual reach and impact of the SDGs remain an open question. The internationalism and universality of SDGs impact the role played by chief implementation/nodal agency — in case of India, it’s the NITI Aayog. CSJ developed indicators that look at problems faced by NITI Aayog in implementing rights of women.