World Day of Social Justice is an international day recognizing the need to promote social justice, which includes efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion, gender equality, unemployment, human rights and social protections.
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.
For the United Nations, the pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of its global mission to promote development and human dignity. The adoption by the International Labour Organization of the Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization is just one example of the UN system’s commitment to social justice, an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations.
The theme of this year’s World Day of Social Justice is “If You Want Peace & Development, Work for Social Justice”
The ILO estimates that currently about 2 billion people live in fragile and conflict-affected situations, of whom more than 400 million are aged 15 to 29. Job creation, better quality jobs and better access to jobs for the bottom 40% have the potential to increase incomes and contribute to more cohesive and equitable societies and thus are important to prevent violent conflicts and to address post-conflict challenges.
On World Day of Social Justice, there are media campaigns to raise awareness of the need for better social justice both within nations and between nations. Promoting human rights, removing artificial social barriers based on race, gender, or religion, and standing up for the rights of migrants, the disabled and the elderly are among the observance’s themes on any given year.