The Global Progress Report on Sustainable Development Goal 16 Indicators highlights that one in six people globally experience discrimination on one or more prohibited grounds. However, in certain contexts, this figure rises dramatically, affecting more than one in three individuals. Race, ethnicity, colour, and language continue to be the primary grounds for discrimination worldwide.
Recognizing this challenge, Member States have made multiple commitments to accelerate action in ensuring equal access to justice for all, reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals
5,
10,
16,
17, the Durban Declaration, the Doha Declaration, the
Kyoto Declaration on Advancing Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law: Towards the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the
Pact for the Future, and and as mandated in several resolutions, including the
General Assembly resolution 78/227 on Equal access to Justice for All.
In this context, and in light of the
Second International Decade for People of African Descent, proclaimed on December 17, 2024, and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, celebrated every year on 21 March, in remembrance of the Sharpeville Massacre, UNODC Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Section in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of South Africa to the United Nations in Vienna and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security of Brazil, held a webinar on Friday, March 28, 2025 to present international standards, research and promising practices in addressing racial discrimination as a barrier to equal access to justice for all.
