UN Goal 16 – Promote Just , Peaceful and Inclusive Societies

UN Goal 16 – Promote Just , Peaceful and Inclusive Societies – A Decade to deliver on Sustainable Developmental Goals

Introduction

The sustainable development goal means saving resources or meeting human development needs for our future to make the world a better place to live for the upcoming time. This does not always mean development for the environment but society and our surroundings at large and looking into concerns like climate change, whilst allowing developing countries to focus on socio-economic development. It focuses on a wide range of issues that falls under three pillars of sustainability, environment, economy, and society.

According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, they have a total of 17 goals in that Goal 16  – Promote just, peaceful, and inclusive societies.

Where is Peace, Justice, and Inclusiveness in Society?

We live in a world where after many decades we still protest for racial discrimination i.e Black Life matters that’s how we are emphasizing on a word just, where the death of Geoge Floyd has shaken the whole world but what about all life matters, breaking into Lamborghini, Nike showrooms, destroying it and causing trouble to all the people of New York,  stripping white girls because of their skin color in the name of protest, where is peace?

 Does white life didn’t matter? The culprit in the murder was the policemen and not the whole system; Clitical connections not only in 2020 but from decades back which is still happening.

Inclusive Societies

An inclusive society is a society which leaves no one behind and ensures that society is open and inclusive to all aims at empowering and promoting the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex disability, ethnicity, origin, religion, economic, or another status, example when we say we want to make our class inclusive we provide them equality and basic human rights and making sure that they don’t face any discrimination based on caste, religion, and gender then that class becomes inclusive, In this scenario, UN goal can come but when we talk inclusiveness in the context of the whole world it is not possible because there is no presence of homogeneity. When the thought process is homogeneous in any way then we can make it say that it is inclusive and two or more countries can work together. There is a difference in ideologies in the world.

China Inclusive societies

China is having the veto power in the UN  it is the integral and key member and a vital part of the UN. China runs a authoritarian country , where its own people cannot raise voice against their own government , where any statement , or any tweet posted against the government have a bear the consequences . A country without free speech where we have seen how the Novel COVID -19 pandemic has expanded through Wuhan’s lab , but nothing can be done because the power this country hold .China simply wants to expand its territories. They want to acquire Russian borders. China has given Shri Lanka loan for the construction of Mattala Rajapaksha International Airpot and as they can’t pay off the loan because Shrilankan economy was not in a position to pay off now China, they had a dialogue with them that instead of paying loan the workers in airports will be Chinese and land has been bought up China. Now if we imagine the future context after 25 years of how many commodities will be of China, they will eventually expand their operation.

Now the inclusiveness will fail here in Pakistan, China is building a gated community in Gwadar, a city as part of Pakistan Economic Corridor and the communities will have 5 lakh, Chinese citizens, as a permanent citizen in next 5 years the reason it’s happening because Pakistan has not left with any source to feed their citizens they asked for a loan from China and as a good friendly relation and the economic crisis in Pakistan, China refused to ask for loan payback but to make a Chinese colony in their own country. After 25 years how many Chinese populations will start increasing …

The country has control with the Indian neighboring countries, Pakistan Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and this country won’t spare, they have entered the borders territories of India. The heated argument in the border issue of Galwan Valley. Does war bring out peace where is inclusiveness in this scenario?

 The Uigers Muslim conditions in China were allegedly being held in internment camps and face mental and physical torture, why this issue is not solved, the sex trafficking of Muslim girls from Pakistan to China. The issue is hardly being addressed and taken care of and if this country continues to occupy regional territories of different other states we hardly can achieve goal 16 of sustainable development.

The USA – The key decision-maker

If the USA wants inclusive societies why they can’t deal with issues of Syria, Yemen, Lebonan, terrorist activities are going there, the USA although has killed many terrorists like Abu Bakar, Osama Bin Laddin but what about innocent life? The ISIS hub is being found in these countries, but what about the innocent lives which is getting destroyed. What about the proper refugee’s facilities to be provided there if any attacks happen. This is the situation in Muslim countries that are under the war. People used to go  Syria during vacations but if we google Syria we know what deadly images we see. These countries are still not established properly, no provisions have been made to look after them. Will the international UN law won’t be abided there, will they continue to die from hunger, malnutrition, war .?

Azerbaijaan and Armernia

The reason for war is simply because of one disputed territory  Nagorno-Karabakh when the Armenia PM declares it’s their territory

Mr. Aliyev is demanding that Armenian forces withdraw to internationally recognized borders in keeping with United Nations Security Council resolutions and basic principles agreed to in previous negotiations. These were the terms agreed upon 10 years ago but never implemented, and analysts say that Armenia became less ambiguous this year about claiming Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts seized during the war.

Mr. Hajiyev said in an interview that Azerbaijan had hoped for progress when the Armenian leader, Mr. Pashinyan, came to power after a popular uprising in 2018. At their first meeting, Mr. Pashinyan, a former journalist, asked Mr. Aliyev for time but promised to pursue a new policy on Nagorno-Karabakh.

That policy never came. Tensions escalated this year, analysts say, as Mr. Pashinyan and his defense minister made increasingly populist statements over the territory, announcing plans to make Shusha the regional capital and in August moving the Parliament there. Those steps may ultimately prove to have been major miscalculations.

The Armenian government has accused Azerbaijan of mounting a planned offensive and of instigating the clashes that led to all-out war, and says it is acting entirely in self-defense Russia has been a crucial presence backing Armenia. It supported Armenia in the original conflict, maintains two military bases in the country and has provided support and equipment.

Since the moribund truce in 2009, leaders of both countries proceeded carefully, believing it was politically safer to stick with the status quo than risk the territorial compromises that a peace deal would demand, Mr. de Waal said.

All the while, Mr. Aliyev, who inherited the presidency from his father in 2003, was using his country’s oil and gas wealth to build up the military, purchasing advanced weapons and sending officers for NATO-standard training in Turkey.

 The motto of the UN is  “All Talk no Action”. “Big hat no cattle”, maintaining peace and harmony was the reason the UN was formed and it is the governing head of the world. Till how long the NGO’s will provide food, help, and ask for donations. The UN being such a big organization can’t help or do something in this disturbing crisis matter, what decision powers does the USA have to stop them from doing so if the UN wants to reach there.

The rearming effort seemed to bear fruit in 2016, when in four days of fighting Azerbaijani forces seized control of a village just over the cease-fire line. But Russia intervened to stop the advance, said Farid Shafiyev, a former diplomat and director of the government-funded Center for Analysis of International Relations in Baku

Kashmiri Exodus

The Kashmiri Hindus were exodus from their place because they were Kafirs , and were forcefully removed from there, the women were raped, houses were burnt, brutal killings of people. In their own country, they were treated as refugees, still, they are living in refugee camps, They don’t even have their documents. Even in a democratic country like India, a Hindu majority country still Kashmiri Pandits are neglected and hardly anyone talks about that, they still keep dreaming to go back to their valley.

Solution 

• The only way we can make this happen is when the UN make their laws, sanctions strictly. If they take any issue liberal the world will never achieve peace, and justice in 100 years.
• The countries with veto power should also be governed and strict penalties should be imposed so that The countries sitting in the panel will also have fear amongst them and will prevent them from misusing their power allotted to them.
• And promoting peace, integrity irrespective of religion, class, gender, developed, developing, and keeping the main focus on underdeveloped countries to ensure them the basic human needs.

Conclusion

Even after the end of World War II we still see there is no peace around the globe.  The USA which ranks 15th in Developed  Country Index ranks 121 out of 163 countries in the Global Peace Index 2020 and the Afganistan ranks at the last. India which is a developing country with different caste, cultural, and regional and linguistic diversities ranks at no. 139. This signifies even after 73 years after Independence we had still not secured peace, justice, and rights for the inclusive societies. Which will eventually take more than a decade to achieve it.

This article on UN Goal 16 is written by Ms. Naina Mathur, a 3rd year law student from Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal. She is having keen interest in research, writing and debating.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views in the articles and research papers published on this website; are personal and independent opinions of the author. The website is not responsible for them.

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