SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
The charter of the United Nations Organisation, signed in 1945, at the end of the Second World War, expressed humanity’s determination to save succeeding generations from the “scourge of war”. Conflict prevention was and remains one of the highest objectives of the United Nations. Still today conflict, insecurity, weak institutions and limited access to justice remain a great threat to sustainable development.
Millions of people have been deprived of their security, human rights and access to justice. In 2019 the number of refugees reached its highest ever level at nearly 80 million, and the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 increased social unrest and violence, undermining the hopes of achieving the targets of Goal 16.
STEP 1) The Sustainable Development Goal 16 recognises the indispensable role of peace, accompanied necessarily by justice and strong institutions, as a vital instrument for sustainable development in the world.
“War does not determine who is right - only who is left” - Bertrand Russel, English mathematician and philosopher.
“Peace is an essential underpinning of development. Conflict guts economies, wrecks societies, and breaks social bonds. It does incredible amounts of damage in ways that makes it hard for countries to recover, to grow, and to thrive.” - Elizabeth Counsens, Deputy Chief Executive Officer oof the United Nations Foundation.
Consider the two quotations above and answer the following questions.
- What does the play on words in the first quotation suggest?
- What benefits can peace bring and what damage does war cause?
STEP 2) Watch the clip in which Patrick Keuleers, UNDP’s Chief of Profession in Governance and Peacebuilding, talks about what makes a society peaceful, just and inclusive, and how you can make a difference as a citizen to achieve this goal.
Then complete the statements below.
- What makes a society peaceful and inclusive? A peaceful society is a society in which people can live free from ………………………. , ………………………. intimidation, arbitrary action.
- What is the role of justice for peaceful societies? A peaceful society cannot live where there is ………………………. or a systematic denial of ………………………. and ………………………. . A just society abides by ethical principles and promotes the principle of integrity. That is why Goal 16 has specific targets on fighting ………………………. .
- How can I make an impact? Use your right to ………………………. . Every vote should count in creating more accountable, just and ………………………. societies. Finally, act as a ………………………. citizen. There is a lot of information available. Be ………………………. of what is going on globally and in other countries.
STEP 3) Here are some of the main targets of SDG 16.
- Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
- End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
- By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime.
- Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.
Focus on one the issues listed above. Can you identify an initiative in Italy or an organisation that is seeking to achieve this target?
Work in small groups, gather useful information and prepare a report to explain how this initiative or organisation is working. Share it in the comment box below.
Group of : Casalino S. - Serra S. - Ferraro M. - Torrente A. - Peretti F.
ReplyDeleteIn Italy there is an organisation called “Donne in Rete contro la violenza” that is an association of 82 national organisations. It was founded officially in 2008, but already in 2006 was created the “Carta della Rete Nazionale dei centri anti violenza e delle case delle donne”.
Its main aim is to promote cultural change in order to stop the violences against women and diffuse the knowledge of this phenomenon.
francesca m,angela g,sofia g,virginia p
ReplyDeleteSince 1997, the Hänsel and Gretel Study Centre has contributed to the birth of the National Association Breaking the Silence and its project of primary and secondary prevention and awareness of listening to the problems of minors. The Hänsel and Gretel Study Centre is an association of professionals working in the field of prevention, training and treatment of child suffering. Breaking the silence is instead an Association that has not professional, but cultural and "political" purposes and intends to aggregate parents and operators interested in promoting a culture of sensitivity to the needs of childhood and adolescence. is an association born in the school, from an experience of training and activation of a group of teachers in the role of group leaders on the issues of educational relationship and listening. Breaking the silence has already committed itself in November-December 1997 in a first national awareness campaign on the topic of listening to the sexuality of minors, according to this association, the greatest strategy for preventing sexual abuse in childhood is to help parents, teachers, professionals in childhood and adolescence to develop the capacity for listening and dialogue with minors, of sharing their problems, of emotional closeness to their feelings and difficulties. Only in this way can valuable communication channels be kept open that allow children to immediately report to the protective adults surrounding them small or large problems, small or large secrets.
Breaking the silence also presented and circulated a Declaration of Principles on the role of teachers and school leaders in the face of discomfort and mistreatment of pupils, which seeks to counteract the removal by the school world of the problem of the suffering of children and young people, offering school workers concrete guidelines on how to deal with situations of discomfort and abuse.
Debora V. Erika S. Elena C. Valentina C. Rosanna I. Emanuele F.
ReplyDeleteThe Città amiche dei bambini (Child Friendly City) initiative in Italy was launched in 1996 and is led by the Italian National Committee for UNICEF.
Collaboration with cities is an important advocacy activity to promote child rights at the local level. A general review of the program was
launched in 2017, in order to better comply with UNICEF' international guidelines.
Italian municipalities play a crucial role in improving children's living conditions.
The National Committee supports municipalities in developing action plans on child well-being and
promotes policies based on the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Italian National Committee worked in an attempt to ensure that the "9 building blocks" declared at the national level are in line with
UNICEF' international approach. Starting from this premise, the National Committee elaborated
guidance materials on the process of building a child-friendly city, useful both for the training of volunteers and for facilitating the presentation
of the program in meetings with local
institutions, interested in starting the journey.
The proposal of the program foresees the commitment of the municipality to plan the political agenda focused on the rights of the child.
The "9 building blocks" have been
transformed into administrative tools that local municipalities are legally required to develop.