Social harmony. Shared security.

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highlights the critical role of peace, security and the protection of human rights as conditions for sustainable development and prosperous societies. SDG 16 aims to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions”. Globally, geopolitical conflicts are increasing and becoming more violent, contributing to high levels of instability, displacement, and civilian deaths. The underdevelopment of the African continent despite advances in science, technology and human capital is often attributed to the continuous historical conflicts, lack of security and human rights violations that characterise many countries on the continent. The complex intersections of geopolitical conflicts and human rights violations require urgent transformation of approaches to peace, justice and the rule of law. The integration of perspectives from international relations, conflict resolution, and justice frameworks provide a deep understanding of how historical peace and stability can be maintained by addressing material harm, reparative justice and systemic inequalities, especially in impoverished nations.

Strong institutions are essential for ensuring that peace and justice are maintained and upheld. Collectively, robust governance systems, an independent judiciary and an active civil society can find lasting solutions to conflict and insecurity. The international research community contributes to peace and justice through rigorous research on transformative justice, conflict and peace.

The research of Profs Hussein Solomon and Catherine Namakula represent significant contributions by the university to the attainment of SDG 16.