The United Nations’ (UN) World Day of Social Justice is observed every year on February 20 to work towards poverty eradication, gender equity and access to social well-being and justice for all.
The theme of 2019 World Day of Social Justice is ‘If You Want Peace & Development, Work for Social Justice’. The United Nations has stated how the pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of its “global mission to promote development and human dignity”.
To mark this day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted, Today is #WorldDayofSocialJustice. Our govt is committed to the alleviation of poverty, reducing unemployment, combating illiteracy and upholding human rights.”
“ This is exemplified in the social sector allocation in our budget – Rs 41,131 crore, nearly 10% more than last fiscal,” she added.
Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change Dr. Harsh Vardhan in a tweet said, “On #WorldDayofSocialJustice today, let us pledge to end caste, gender, ethnic & culture-based discrimination. Under PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s leadership, India is committed to social justice for all. Underlying principle of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ manifests it clearly. @UN.”
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted, “On #WorldDayOfSocialJustice let’s reaffirm our pledge to uphold the principles of social justice by removing barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability to ensure a just and inclusive society.”
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in a tweet said, “On #WorldDayOfSocialJustice, let’s recognize our collective responsibility to work towards reducing social inequality and high social stratification in society. Peace and development cannot be achieved without social justice.”
Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje tweeted, “On the occasion of #WorldDayofSocialJustice, let’s pledge to end discrimination and social inequality – realising the vision of #EkBharatShreshthaBharat.
On November 26, 2007, the UN General Assembly declared that, starting from the sixty-third session of the General Assembly, February 20 will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice.
Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. The International Labour Organization (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 per cent 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.