On 13 and 14 February, 2025 the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UNGA hosted some 300 participants, including parliamentarians, Speakers of Parliament, advisers and experts, from more than 60 countries at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the IPU Hearing at the United Nations: “Scaling Up Action for Sustainable Development Goals: Finance, Institutions and Politics.”
Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute presented on behalf of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (PNND) around the topic “Improved Institutional Capacity For Justice, SDG 16”:
In turbulent times when we are often faced with dynamic changes demanding immediate attention, clarity of purpose to achieve our principles and goals is of increased value. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a compass of policies and principles that can lead to realistic human security. SDG 16 is pivotal. It directs us to pursue peace, justice for all and appropriate institutions for success.
The peaceful resolution of international conflicts and prevention of war are fundamental to implementation of the SDGs. So too is the pursuit of justice. Injustice breads instability which brings suffering. When there is justice, in all human endeavors, there is stability and flourishing.
In commerce and finance the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, known as the New York Convention, with 170 states parties provides a governance structure in which peaceful adjudications of disputes takes place each year in the thousands, while addressing disputes in amounts in the tens of billions of dollars.
The public goods of peace and justice are robust in the realm of trade and finance but needs to be enhanced in other realms that are not market driven.
To help facilitate this, we need to protect, promote, strengthen and expand the jurisdictional coverage of both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Without the fabric of law and processes for conflict resolution and accountability, legitimate demands to advance peace and justice are reduced to mere sentiment. This is why PNND participates in the global initiative LAW not War – Legal Alternatives to War, which we recommend to all parliamentarians.
PNND also joins with others in promoting the establishment of an International Environmental Court to fulfill the need for justice for Mother Earth and our duty to future generations, an International Human Rights Court to accelerate fulfillment of human security needs, and an Anti-Corruption Court to capture the trillions of dollars taken from the world’s productive economies through corrosive conduct such as tax evasion and avoidance, human trafficking, drug and gun running and the poison of political corruption. We could call this the Integrity Dividend and part of the funds so obtained could be used to fulfill the SDGs.
Sustainable development means protecting our environment, economies and social well-being for both current and future generations. One way parliamentarians can do this is to establish Institutional Representatives of Future Generations at the national level. An example of this is the Wales Well Being of Future Generations Act which establishes a Future Generations Commissioner. This policy was one of the winners of 2024 World Future Policy Award sponsored by IPU and World Future Council. In follow-up to the UN Summit of the Future, the UN will establish such a position at the international level – a UN Envoy for Future Generations.
These suggestions are about justice for the web of life, for people the world over today and for those who will come tomorrow. Such justice will help fulfill SDG 16 and give meaning to the Golden Rule of the 21st Century: Treat the lives and well-being of future generations as we wish to be treated.
The Global Security Institute is dedicated to strengthening international peace and security based on co-operation, diplomacy, shared interests, the rule of law and universal values. Our efforts are guided by the skills and commitment of our team of former heads of state, distinguished diplomats and politicians, celebrities, religious leaders, Nobel Peace Laureates, disarmament and legal experts, and concerned informed citizens. Our focus is on controlling and eliminating humanity’s greatest threat – nuclear weapons.
