Peace and order in a society is an indicator of its quality. Gender equality, promotion of human rights, international cooperation and strong justice systems will help sustainable communities to grow and prosper in harmony with the environment.

Violence, exploitation, trafficking and terrorism are different forms of evil that exist in our society. Strong national and international bodies and conscious individuals can all contribute in reducing crime and truly contributing to inclusive sustainable development practices.

Most related SDGs

· SDG1 · SDG 10

Facts and Figures

· Every 5 minutes, a child in some part of the world is killed due to violence.

· 20 million people around the world are refugees, 41 million have been displaced and 4 million are stateless.

· Corruption is most common among the Police and Judiciary.

News reporters and journalists, who work tirelessly to bring unbiased information to the world are often victims of crimes. 

The actual number of such killings can be higher in reality. Justice and protection for such professions and holding the perpetrators of crime responsible, is absolutely necessary if we want to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Best Performing countries in SDG16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Denmark, Iceland and Austria

The Global Peace Index 2019 ranks 163 countries according to their level of peacefulness

It is a great tool that can be used by SDG practitioners to identify which countries require unnerving support to achieve the SDGs, especially SDG16. Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world for the last 12 years, while Afghanistan and Syria are the least peaceful countries in the world. Read the report here.

Join in

· Practice patience and perseverance. Stand up against injustice every time you see it.

· Know your rights well and keep track of international mandates and treaties that your country is bound to follow. And inform friends and family. Knowledge is wealth.

· For your vacations, travel to countries which are less developed and contribute in helping their economy grow.

Book Recommendation

Everybody Loves a Good Drought by P. Sainath

The book is an excellent read into different policies and institutions working in India, and their failures to function at the grassroots. It showcases how the trickle down theory doesn’t work in reality and corruption is detrimental to justice, peace and institutional reforms.