WORLD SOCIAL JUSTICE DAY 2024: BRIDGING GAPS, BUILDING ALLIANCE
On 26 November 2007, the United Nations 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 International Labour Organization (ILO) unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008.
Social development and social justice are indispensable for achieving and maintaining peace and security within and among nations.
According to the UN, “We advance social justice when we remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability. For the United Nations, the pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of our global mission to promote development and human dignity.”
It also said that 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.
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 in alliance to the 16th and 17th SDG goals. 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.
Together we must stand against social injustice in the society. We cannot create a better society if we don’t address social issues. Social justice is very important for any society. Let us make our society stronger with social justice.