Welcome to the United Nations
In 2007, the General Assembly proclaimed 20 February as the World Day of Social Justice . This year the ILO in New York in cooperation with the UN Peace Building Support Office and sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN commemorated the day with the Theme: If You Want Peace & Development, Work for Social Justice.
Over 60 participants from Member States, UN departments and agencies, academia as well as representatives of civil society got a perspective about the relationship between employment and livelihoods and peace in the larger context of social justice.
A distinguished and diverse panel provided an overview about the situation of violence and fragility and how they had become the largest obstacle to development, highlighted the importance of employment and livelihoods in preventing conflict and addressing post-conflict challenges and how this is reflected in UN policy documents, showcased a wide array of country experiences in this regard and lastly introduced complementary views and experiences highlighting the importance of giving the power over to ordinary citizens and innovative grassroots initiatives.
From left to right : Prof. Séverine Autesserre (Columbia University), H.E. Ms. Mirgul Moldoisaeva, (Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN), Mr. Vinicius Pinheiro (Special Representative and Director of the ILO Office to the United Nations), Mr. Henk-Jan Brinkman (UN Peacebuilding Support Office) and Mr. Owen Shumba (United Nations Development Programme)
The World Day of Social Justice got ample recognition by top level officials including the UN Secretary General, the President of the UN General Assembly, the Director General of the ILO, and heads of various agencies such as UNAIDS and UNWOMEN and organizations such as UNCTAD, UNDP, UN Human Rights, the European Commission and the OECD.
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