Advancing social justice
Momentum is growing for the concept that advancing social justice should be the central aim guiding all national and international policies. This idea has gained traction among proponents who argue it enables societies and economies to function more cohesively when social justice is prioritized.
Supporters contend that promoting decent work and a fair globalization agenda focused on fundamental rights, employment opportunities, social protections, and constructive social dialogue between governments, employers, and workers is key to putting social justice at the core.
However, advocates point out the persisting grave injustices, widespread labor insecurity, high inequality, and unraveling social contracts exacerbated by global crises. These harsh realities threaten progress made on social issues. Reinforcing institutions and policies that truly advance social justice is seen as an urgent priority.
Proposals to advance social justice include improving inclusive and effective governance of work, ensuring employment opportunities and lifelong learning, reforming institutions for fairer labor market outcomes, and extending social protections across peoples’ lifetimes. An integrated approach across all these areas is touted.
Support is growing for creating a wide-reaching Global Coalition for Social Justice. The proposed coalition would aim to bolster multilateral cooperation and aligned policies focused on furthering social justice aims. It could highlight impactful initiatives that have successfully advanced social justice worldwide. The coalition would also empower constructive national social dialogues to identify and address social justice gaps.
Overall, there are calls urging coordinated efforts to make advancing social justice a top policy priority across all levels.
Background
The International Labour Organization (ILO) unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008. This is the third major statement of principles and policies adopted by the International Labour Conference since the ILO’s Constitution of 1919. It builds on the Philadelphia Declaration of 1944 and the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998. The 2008 Declaration expresses the contemporary vision of the ILO’s mandate in the era of globalization.
This landmark Declaration is a powerful reaffirmation of ILO values. It is the outcome of tripartite consultations that started in the wake of the Report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization. By adopting this text, the representatives of governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations from 182 member States emphasize the key role of our tripartite Organization in helping to achieve progress and social justice in the context of globalization.
Together, they commit to enhance the ILO’s capacity to advance these goals, through the Decent Work Agenda. The Declaration institutionalizes the Decent Work concept developed by the ILO since 1999, placing it at the core of the Organization’s policies to reach its constitutional objectives.
The Declaration comes at a crucial political moment, reflecting the wide consensus on the need for a strong social dimension to globalization in achieving improved and fair outcomes for all. It constitutes a compass for the promotion of a fair globalization based on decent work, as well as a practical tool to accelerate progress in the implementation of the Decent Work Agenda at the country level.
It also reflects a productive outlook by highlighting the importance of sustainable enterprises in creating greater employment and income opportunities for all.
The General Assembly recognizes that social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations and that, in turn, social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security, or in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
It further recognizes that globalization and interdependence are opening new opportunities through trade, investment and capital flows and advances in technology, including information technology, for the growth of the world economy and the development and improvement of living standards around the world, while at the same time there remain serious challenges.
Including serious financial crises, insecurity, poverty, exclusion and inequality within and among societies, and considerable obstacles to further integration and full participation in the global economy for developing countries, as well as some countries with economies in transition.
On 26 November 2007, the General Assembly declared that, starting from the sixty-third session of the General Assembly, 20 February will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice.
The World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995 defined an inclusive society as “a society for all’, in which every individual, each with rights and responsibilities, has an active role to play (United Nations, 1995, para 66). Such an inclusive society is equipped with mechanisms which accommodate diversity, and facilitate/enable people’s active participation in their political, economic and social lives.
As such, it over-rides differences of race, gender, class, generation, and geography, and ensures equal opportunities for all to achieve full potential in life, regardless of origin. Such a society fosters, at the same time, emanates from well-being of each individual, mutual trust, sense of belonging and inter-connectedness.
The goal of social integration is to create “a more stable, safe and just society for all”, in which every individual, each with rights and responsibilities, has an active role to play. Such an inclusive society must be based on the principles of embracing – not coercing or forcing – diversity and using participatory processes that involve all stakeholders in the decision-making that affects their lives.
Social inclusion is the process by which efforts are made to ensure equal opportunities – that everyone, regardless of their background, can achieve their full potential in life. Such efforts include policies and actions that promote equal access to (public) services as well as enable citizen’s participation in the decision-making processes that affect their lives.
Social cohesion is a related concept that parallels that of social integration in many respects. A socially cohesive society is one where all groups have a sense of belonging, participation, inclusion, recognition and legitimacy. Such societies are not necessarily demographically homogenous. Rather, by respecting diversity, they harness the potential residing in their societal diversity (in terms of ideas, opinions, skills, etc.).
Therefore, they are less prone to slip into destructive patterns of tension and conflict when different interests collide.
Why do we mark International Days?
The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. The United Nations observes designated days, weeks, years, and decades, each with a theme, or topic. By creating special observances, the United Nations promotes international awareness and action on these issues. Each international day offers many actors the opportunity to organize activities related to the theme of the day.
Organizations and offices of the United Nations system, and most importantly, governments, civil society, the public and private sectors, schools, universities and, more generally, citizens, make an international day a springboard for awareness-raising actions.
The majority of observances have been established by resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly, although some have been designated by UN specialized agencies. The United Nations also observes anniversaries of key events in its history.
Who chooses them and how?
It’s the most representative organ of the Organization, the General Assembly, which designates a particular date as an International Day. International days are proposed to the UN General Assembly by Member States. The General Assembly then decides by consensus whether to adopt the resolution establishing the particular day.
The themes of international days are always linked to the main fields of action of the United Nations, namely the maintenance of international peace and security, the promotion of sustainable development, the protection of human rights, and the guarantee of international law and humanitarian action.
In its resolutions, the General Assembly usually explains what prompted it to proclaim the International Day. For example, in declaring 23 May the International Day for the Eradication of Obstetric Fistula, the resolution cited “the interlinkages between poverty, malnutrition, lack of or inadequate or inaccessible health-care services, early childbearing, child marriage, violence against young women and girls and gender discrimination as root causes of obstetric fistula, and that poverty remains the main social risk factor.”
Many people may never have heard about this disease, which causes some of the most devastating injuries that can occur in childbirth, despite the fact that some two million women in developing countries live with it, and between 50,000 and 100,000 new cases occur every year. This is a great example of the crucial awareness-raising job that International Days do.
In addition, this UN body points out in its resolutions which aspects of the problem are of the most concern to UN Member States – or in other words, to humanity as a whole, given that the Assembly is made up of 193 countries, that is, most of the states of the world.
A great example of this is the resolution that designates 23 June as International Widows’ Day, in which the General Assembly states that it is: “deeply concerned that millions of children of widows face situations of hunger, malnutrition, child labor, difficult access to health care, water and sanitation, loss of schooling, illiteracy and trafficking in persons.”
Some of international days are proclaimed not by the General Assembly, but by specialized agencies of the United Nations to draw the attention of the public to topics under their field of expertise, such as health, aviation, intellectual property, etc. For example, World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated on 3 May, was proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), based in Paris, and was later adopted by the General Assembly.
In addition to raising awareness, the UN takes advantage of these Days to advise States on actions to tackle the serious problems around which many of these dates revolve.
An example is the resolution on the International Day of Biological Diversity, celebrated on 22 May, in which the Organization invites its Member States to sign and ratify the Cartagena Protocol on the protection of biological diversity.
How do we measure the impact of these Days?
The international observances (which also include weeks, years and decades) are some of the most visited pages on the UN website. Each international day has a dedicated website, available in the UN’s six official languages.
The International Days also serve as an indicator of the interest that a given subject attracts in each part of the world. To find this out, we look at the level of engagement that these commemorations receive in different regions and languages across the world. A case well worth highlighting is the International Day of Human Rights, which takes place on 10 December.
This Day is observed all around the world with initiatives ranging from military and police officers swapping guns for running shoes in South Sudan, to a student competition in Russia, or a exhibit in Brazil. All in all, a multitude of individuals from all walks of life get involved, in a way or another, in the celebration of this special day.
Other most popular days include International Women’s Day (8 March), World Water Day (22 March) and the International Day of Peace (21 September).
You may also be interested to know that 21 March is the date of five different international days, and June is the month with the most international days.