The Global Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG16) will be reviewed at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) 2024 between 8 and 17 July in New York.
The HLPF serves as an annual platform for exchanging experiences and peer-to-peer learning when it comes to implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This year, for the third time, the implementation of SDG16 for peaceful, just and inclusive societies will be examined in detail. As in previous years, the international civil society is also mobilising around the HLPF. Numerous NGOs are organising behind the Rome Civil Society Declaration on SDG16+ and the SDG16Now Campaign, and FriEnt also supports their messages:
Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice for all and building effective, accountable institutions have a significant impact on public and private life. With its three dimensions – peace, inclusion and justice – SDG16 therefore serves as an enabler and accelerator for the realisation of all SDGs. One sub-goal of SDG16 is to significantly reduce all forms of violence and violence-related mortality worldwide. Last year, however, the number of civilian deaths in armed conflicts rose by 72% compared to the previous year and almost reached the level of 2015. There are currently more conflicts than ever before since the Second World War. In addition, conflicts have become more international. A total of 92 states are involved in conflicts outside their borders. The SDG16Now Campaign is therefore calling for a reduction in military spending while investing more in conflict prevention.
SDG16+: centred around people
Violence can only be ended worldwide, if significant global efforts are made to improve the internal and external peaceableness of states. For FriEnt, this also means ending structural violence in the sense of a feminist peace policy – especially against marginalised groups. SDG16 currently measures the absence of violence, but not whether a country is promoting Positive Peace. This is a form of peace that goes beyond preventing violent conflict and measures, for example, whether there exists sustainable social cohesion and a culture of peace in a society. Especially in times when trust in governments is decreasing, this trust can be rebuilt by improving people’s experiences with public institutions: This refers to the effectiveness, transparency, and participation in politics and institutions, but also to not being discriminated against by them.
In addition, SDG16 should go beyond the focus on women and aim for the participation of all marginalised groups in political decision-making processes – the quality of their representation is also important here. FriEnt builds on the demands of its international partners who are calling for a holistic understanding of peace. This includes highlighting the connections between peace and, for example, climate change, gender equality, intersectionality, and the development-related causes of conflict and violence. If governments put people at the centre of peacebuilding – both at the local and global level –, they can benefit from the power of local communities in conflict prevention and ensure human security.
