Part 2: Making sure justice is measurable and something to care about

Published as part of a three-part series on the Post-2015 development agenda.

I’m back, and again it’s the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda on my mind. Now that you’re all thinking about what this agenda means for the future of the West Asia-North Africa region, it’s time to hone in on specifics.

Over the past year, HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal, along with thought leaders such as George Soros, have been strongly advocating for a standalone justice goal. They are in good company. UN-ESCWA has presented strong evidence on the need for targets that connect justice and good governance to development and stability.

Our research, however, has revealed some disturbing trends with respect to how the people of WANA think about and prioritise social justice. Just take a look at the results of the UN-led “World We Want” survey. This survey ranked people’s chief concerns among 16 economic, social and political rights. 373,000 people from this region participated. West Asia ranked political freedom 13th, freedom from persecution and discrimination 11th and gender equality 9th. In the North Africa region, political freedom ranked 13th, freedom from persecution and discrimination ranked 10th and an honest and responsive government ranked 9th.

So if we’re not concerned about social justice, what are we worried about? Both West Asians and North Africans ranked education, better job opportunities, affordable and nutritious food and better healthcare among their top five concerns. I get this. In Arab states, unemployment sits at 22% for men and 40% for women. Food security deficits are growing all over the region. And in several countries refugee populations are placing chronic stress on schools and health care systems. So perhaps it’s not that justice is not important, it’s just that it is not as important as existential livelihoods issues.

But I actually think there’s more to the story. Civil society leaders, such as Hadeel Abdul Aziz, feel that “apathy towards social justice is indicative of a broader crisis in confidence in our justice system”. In Jordan, around 40% of legal cases not referred to court are said to be resolved amicably. That’s got to be good right? We like people resolving their problems independently and not congesting the court system. Yes and no. In any society, a proportion of cases will be resolved outside of the justice system and this should be seen as a positive practice. What’s not so reassuring is that many of these cases are likely resolved at the tribal justice system. Little is known about such systems, particularly how marginalized groups such as women and the poor fare in negotiations. There’s also the 20% of cases not referred to court because of shame, custom or tradition. Of this group 35% are women and more than 50% of cases involve a criminal law issue. Questions need to be asked about why such a large number of people feel that the justice system is not the most effective means of resolving disputes?

Perhaps more importantly, such indifference suggests that the connection between social justice and broader development is not sufficiently understood. A hallmark of the WANA story is that development is taking place, in some cases very rapidly, but at starkly uneven rates. Progress has not been inclusive, with the result that the gap between the rich and poor is rising, as well as deficits in areas that have a tangible impact on development, such as gender equality. Such skewed development is not without consequence. It’s increasingly clear that the Arab uprisings were largely the result of poor access to basic resources and limited opportunity, coupled with weak accountability. In other words, a failure of social justice. The lesson is that development should not be solely concerned with growth, but also with its fair distribution and participation in the decision-making processes.

Even if I’ve convinced you that social justice is important, it’s not enough just to want it. We need it front and centre in the sustainable development agenda. Goal 16 of the Open Working Group’s proposal on the SDGs speaks about access to justice for all and accountable and inclusive institutions. But how likely is it that goal 16 will survive the inter-governmental negotiations that will deliver a final set of sustainable development goals? Forging consensus on minimum standards for political freedoms, an independent judiciary, accountability, transparency and access to justice will be difficult.

Moreover, some governments have strongly opposed the inclusion of justice targets in the SDGs. It has been argued that a justice goal would compromise state sovereignty, that justice outcomes are immeasurable and (quite bizarrely) that justice targets are only relevant to developing countries. Most of these can be legitimately counter-argued or resolved. As my boss, His Royal Highness Prince Hassan stated: “too bad if measuring justice is difficult. Not being able to measure or assess progress does not make the problem go away. Find a way to make it measureable”.

So we did. The WANA Institute research team has developed evidence-based targets and indicators capable of measuring progress in social justice.

Still, I’m worried about justice. Really worried. Personally, I think it’s unlikely that we will see a standalone justice or good governance SDG. But I’m happy that the conversation around its inclusion is taking place. This conversation was important, and is perhaps the first step in a long walk to a place where social justice is an integral part of how we conceptualize governance and development.

And as for what we can do now, as I’ve stated before, the SDGs will not come with a roadmap for implementation. We need to set this for ourselves, including understanding where justice and good governance fits into the WANA development architecture. So back to my original question, could it be that the people of the region don’t care about justice, particularly for the poor and marginalized? No, we do. At the heart of the Islamic legal tradition is the protection of the vulnerable. One need only look to the communities in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey and Iraq who are hosting the latest wave of refugees fleeing conflict and extremism to see this principle in action.

Forging consensus around how justice is prioritized in national development agendas will involve some difficult conversations. I hope that the time has come where we need to be brave enough to commit to justice, and everything that comes along with it. Justice is not something that is fought for, achieved, and then placed on the backburner, like a cure or vaccination for disease. It is a constant journey that needs close attention, ongoing prioritization and regular fine-tuning. The obligation to protect these rights transcends national boundaries, and therefore must be accepted as a shared responsibility. This process starts with the people of WANA demanding inclusive development; progress that is accompanied by freedom, dignity and social justice.