THE Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity by 2030. Achieving these ideals is difficult in a world that is increasingly divided, with some regions enjoying sustained levels of peace and security while others are confronted with endless cycles of violence. Violence and insecurity have a destructive impact on global peace, affecting economic growth. Addressing this requires a global approach and cooperation.
SDG 16 — ‘Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions’ — focuses on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, ensuring access to justice, and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions. For developing societies with strong colonial pasts, the implementation of SDG 16 is complex. Its primary aim is to reduce all forms of violence by working with governments and communities to find solutions to conflict.
It includes 12 targets and 23 indicators. Its priority areas include strengthening police and judicial systems, community-based violence prevention programmes, reintegration of former combatants, ensuring access to justice through legal aid programmes and simplification of court procedures, human rights training for police and judiciary, fighting corruption through transparency in public finance, anti-corruption commissions, whistleblower protection laws, and building effective institutions with transparent governance structures, citizen participation in decision-making and digital governance. To protect human rights, national human rights commissions are to be formed, and human rights protection laws and monitoring mechanisms for rights violations are to be established.
A few countries have introduced innovations to achieve the targets set in SDG 16. Rwanda introduced community courts (Gacaca) for post-genocide justice. They were designed to address the massive scale of crimes committed during the Rwandan genocide by involving local communities in the judicial process. Argentina opened 90 access-to-justice centres. Latvia planned the promotion of dialogue and civic education through accessible spaces like libraries and museums. Georgia initiated juvenile justice reforms that have lowered child incarceration and recidivism rates. South Korea and Sierra Leone established legal aid corporations and justice centres that have provided assistance in millions of cases, expanding equitable legal access. Australia introduced interdepartmental governance mechanisms for improved coordination, and Nigeria introduced a youth alliance to incorporate the participation of youth in civic engagement.
The SDGs and peace are interrelated.
In Pakistan, point 20 of the National Action Plan lists a commitment to revamp and reform the criminal justice system. Point 12 of the revised NAP 2021 includes it as one of its priorities. Pakistan has also drafted two internal security policies: NISP I 2014, NISP II 2018 and the National PVE Policy 2024. These federal initiatives need to be translated into action plans by all provinces, irrespective of political inclinations, as they are meant to improve institutional capacity and ensure order, security and peace. Pakistan’s security rankings warrant more coordinated efforts among all federal and provincial agencies. In the Global Terrorism Index 2025, Pakistan has been ranked the second most impacted country by terrorism. In the Rule of Law index, it has been ranked 129th, and in the Human Development Index at 168.
Translating global commitments into tangible action requires locally tailored strategies. When evaluating the legal system, countries need to consider the cost, complexity, discrimination and distance from rural communities. In rural areas, community-based justice solutions should be funded, and barriers to justice for vulnerable groups addressed. By improving transparency through digital tools, fostering partnerships between governments and civil society, strengthening legal aid and anti-corruption bodies, empowering women and youth in governance and peacebuilding, and encouraging robust data collection systems, the hurdles may be overcome.
Implementation strategies include policy reform to align national laws with international human rights standards, capacity building of bureaucracy, data collection, encouraging civil society and youth engagement in governance, and fostering international cooperation.
The SDGs and peace are interconnected. A developing state should interpret SDG 16’s targets more flexibly. It must be understood that investing in the criminal justice system is not a non-developmental activity, but an investment in sustainable development and peace.
The writer is the author of Pakistan: In Between Extremism and Peace.
X: @alibabakhel
Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2025