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World Day of Social Justice 2024: Date, theme, significance and history
World Day of Social Justice:
World Day of Social Justice is an annual global celebration that highlights the importance of promoting social justice by addressing issues such as unemployment, poverty, exclusion, gender inequality, human rights and social protection. Each year, the occasion serves as a reminder of the need to create more just and equitable societies. It also draws attention to global social injustice and explores possible solutions and progress. It’s a day to raise the voices of the voiceless, expose structural injustices, and push for substantive change. On this day, people, groups and governments can take stock of how far we’ve come in achieving social justice and identify areas for improvement.
World Day of Social Justice 2024: Theme
The theme of World Day of Social Justice 2024 is “Bridging Gaps, Building Alliances”. The United Nations chose this theme to emphasise the importance of collaboration and partnership in addressing the world’s challenges.
World Day of Social Justice 2024: History
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.
World Day of Social Justice 2024: Significance
The idea behind celebrating World Day of Social Justice is that improving social justice should be the primary goal of all national and international policies.
“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,” according to the United Nations (UN) website.
“However, advocates point out the persisting grave injustices, widespread labour insecurity, high inequality, and unravelling social contracts exacerbated by global crises,” the UN said.
According to the UN, social development and social justice are indispensable for achieving and maintaining peace and security within and among nations.
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.
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. 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, said the UN.