New joint UN report calls for urgent action to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies to avoid risks to all Sustainable Development Goals

New York – The last UN Global Progress Report on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – launched today, revealing worrying data that threatens to undermine future progress on all SDGs.

The world is far from peaceful, with a 72 percent increase in conflict-related civilian deaths to 33,400 in 2023 compared to 2022. Governments are failing to protect the rights of all people to live free from fear and violence. Violent crime is on the rise and organized crime is a growing threat to peace and development, destroying people’s lives and communities. Peace remains a lofty goal when, as the report finds, discrimination is widespread, corruption is pervasive, governance is not inclusive, and people lack access to justice.

The new report, entitled Global progress report on SDG 16 indicators: At a crossroads: collapse or breakthrough for peace, justice and strong institutions was launched at the High-Level Political Forum at UN Headquarters by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. The second UN progress report on SDG 16 was produced jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) along with six other entities.

“SDG 16 is a critical enabler of all SDGs,” said Amina Mohammed, UN Under-Secretary-General. “This new report shows that we urgently need to take action on the SDGs to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies, leaving no one behind.”

With only 17 percent of SDG targets on track and more than a third stagnating or regressing, the new report calls on governments and all stakeholders to take action to accelerate progress on SDG 16 or risk missing out on all SDGs.

The joint UN report uses regional and global data to assess internationally agreed SDG 16 indicators, so that governments can adapt or develop policy solutions to achieve SDG 16 targets. Even with the increased availability of data in recent years, the UN report calls for greater investment in improving data from more countries to strengthen evidence-based research to support policy implementation to make progress on SDG 16.

Quotes from heads of UN agencies

UN Development Programme – “Far too many people around the world face uncertainty, injustice and violence on a daily basis. Behind these stark statistics lie powerful human stories of dreams and lost potential, of suffering and despair,” said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. “Understanding and interpreting these emerging data and trends is vital to building strong, inclusive and responsive institutions that can deliver justice and provide a stable foundation where every individual, everywhere, can realize a future defined by peace, dignity, opportunity and hope.”

UNODC – “The latest SDG16 report reflects the alarming reality of crime and violence affecting people everywhere,” said Ghada Waly, UNODC Executive Director. “Organized crime claims lives and violence devastates communities, while corruption and illicit financial flows enable crime and undermine trust. These intertwined threats and challenges seriously undermine peace, security and development worldwide, and the most vulnerable are the first to suffer. With the findings of this report as a wake-up call, we must scale up global action and cooperation to promote justice and the rule of law, protect women, children and the vulnerable, and support effective, accountable and inclusive institutions that enjoy public trust.”

OHCHR – “Human rights are intrinsic to Agenda 2030. And the right to peace is at the heart of human rights and development – a right that is being violated with increasing brutality, as this report shows,” said UN human rights chief Volker Türk. “The data we have managed to collect also shows that every day at least one journalist, human rights defender or trade unionist is murdered or disappears around the world. This is deeply alarming and underlines the urgent need to take measures to protect civic space and guarantee fundamental freedoms.”

Key findings of the report:

Unprecedented increase in conflict-related deaths: Civilian deaths in armed conflict rose to 33,400 in 2023, an increase of 72 percent compared to 2022. Women accounted for 36 percent of casualties and children for 31 percent. These figures represent the highest percentage of casualties among women and children since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Increasing murders of journalists, human rights defenders and trade unionists: The number of journalists and media workers killed globally in 2023 has doubled to 40 people, compared to 20 deaths in 2021 and 28 deaths in 2022. More journalists were killed in conflict-affected countries in 2023 than in 2022.

Organized crime poses a major obstacle to peace and development, accounting for 22 percent of all homicides worldwide in 2021, particularly in the Americas, where it accounted for 50 percent of homicides.

Alarmingly high levels of violence against women: An estimated 48,800 women and girls were murdered by their partners or family members globally in 2022. The total number of female homicide victims in 2022 reached 88,000, the highest annual number in the past 20 years.

Gender equality has not yet been achieved in most parts of the world:Women’s representation in public institutions varied somewhat: in high-income countries, gender parity was achieved, while in low-income countries, women were significantly underrepresented in public positions.

Countries are failing to prevent violence against children. Nearly 8 out of 10 children under the age of 14 were subjected to violent discipline at home. More than a third of the detected victims of human trafficking were children.

Widespread discrimination: one in six people experience discrimination on any grounds worldwide. Among both women and men, racial discrimination, rooted in factors such as ethnicity, color or language, is one of the most common grounds. Persons with disabilities are almost twice as likely to be discriminated against.

For media interviews or further information, please contact:

UN Development Programme – Mark Harris, UNDP GPGC – [email protected]

UNODC -Angela Patnodand – [email protected]

OHCHR – Laura Gelbert Delgado, OHCHR New York – [email protected]