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International Law News

International Law News, Fall 2022

Achieving a Sustainable Future for All via Non-Traditional Actors

Michelle Keith and Mandalena Prelashi

Summary

  • When nation-states withdraw from treaties or violate the UN Charter, the aspiration of the traditional internationallegal system to realize social and economic rights in addition to civil and political rights seems lost.
  • Achieving a sustainable future for all which balances environmental protection, economic development, and social justice may even seem impossible.
  • The United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals present an exciting opportunity for non-traditional actors to take action for solving major global challenges like climate change and for realizing treaty obligations via a people-centric global governance
Achieving a Sustainable Future for All via Non-Traditional Actors

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Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For indeed that's all who ever have. ― Margaret Mead, The World Ahead: An Anthropologist Anticipates the Future

When nation-states withdraw from treaties or violate the UN Charter, the aspiration of the traditional international legal system to realize social and economic rights in addition to civil and political rights seems lost. Achieving a sustainable future for all which balances environmental protection, economic development, and social justice may even seem impossible. However, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs or Global Goals) present an exciting opportunity for non-traditional actors–such as cities, towns, communities, and ordinary people–to take action for solving major global challenges like climate change and for realizing treaty obligations via a people-centric global governance.

For instance, Climate Mayors, a bipartisan network of more than 470 U.S. mayors representing 48 states and 74 million Americans, has been leading on SDG Goal 13 – Climate Action by signing letters of commitment to the Paris Agreement, building political will for federal and global climate action, and calling for investment in a green and equitable recovery. The Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle (EV) Purchasing Collaborative includes 250 cities, counties, transit agencies, port authorities, colleges, and universities contributing to the achievement of SDG 13 through the purchase of more than 4000 EVs.

Likewise, 66 institutions serving more than 49 million annual visitors have utilized the Climate Toolkit for Museums, Gardens, and Zoos which offers 32 actions these institutions may take to contribute to the achievement of SDG 13 while inspiring the communities they serve to follow their lead in nine categories: energy, water, food service, transportation, waste, landscapes and horticulture, investments, and research.

Similarly, city councils, boards of selectmen, town meeting members, and local boards of health can help contribute to the achievement of SDG13 via local ordinances and bylaws. In Dartmouth, Massachusetts and other cities and towns around the world, ordinances have banned plastic bags. In concert with the International Coastal Cleanup via the Ocean Conservancy in Washington, DC, local people in Massachusetts have volunteered for COASTSWEEP organizing beach cleanups to collect, categorize, and tally marine debris–trash, fishing line, and other human-made items–which helps educate and build environmental stewardship while discovering sources to find scientific solutions to this problem.

Also contributing to environmental stewardship at the international level, the Democratic Republic of The Congo (DRCongo) has granted community concessions where community ownership and management of land has resulted in a slower rate of deforestation than the national average. Breaking away from a “fortress conservation” approach where local people who are dependent on natural resources are excluded from preserved lands to create a space for ecotourism, trophy hunting, and scientific research, this less colonial and more sustainable approach engaging non-traditional actors such as indigenous tribes and marginalized communities holds much promise for the achievement of SDG13 while also alleviating poverty (SDG Goal 1 – No Poverty).

For hunter gathers like the Batwa of the DR Congo who were moved from their ancestral lands in 1975 to make way for the national park, a community concession would be restorative and help to reduce the violence created by heavily militarized conservation policies (SDG16 - Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions). In Tanzania where the Maasai, an indigenous pastoralist tribe, are currently being evicted from their ancestral lands to make way for conservation efforts, the “environmental stewardship” approach of valuing the efforts of non-traditional actors such as the Maasai in community ownership and management of land would also contribute to the achievement of SDG Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities.

Another example of a concurrent goal is SDG 4 – Quality Education, which calls on non-traditional actors–such as teachers, parents, and students–to get involved in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting opportunities for lifelong learning for everyone, especially for marginalized populations. Although the right to education was incorporated as a fundamental human right in the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights and reiterated in treaties such as the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education in 1960, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1981, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, nearly 260 million children worldwide remain out of school, with the majority being young girls, failing to realize the obligations of said treaties.

Disadvantages in access to quality education interferes with gender equality (SDG 5), affects access to skills and limits opportunities in the labor market for women and young girls. The 17 Global Goals are interconnected to each other, and poverty (SDG1), hunger (SDG2), health and well-being (SDG3) all exacerbate the right to education (SDG4), leading to profound gender inequalities (SDG5). Similar to the Climate Mayors and Climate Toolkit initiatives mentioned above, Cities for CEDAW offers a Toolkit for engaging non-traditional actors in the achievement of SDG5 and CEDAW treaty obligations. Cities start by adopting an ordinance or resolution which embraces the principles of CEDAW. Implementation includes the establishment of an oversight body which conducts a gender analysis report, identifies funding, and leads collaborative initiatives with non-traditional actors to reduce domestic violence, eliminate human trafficking, and build a more productive workplace which reflects gender equity principles.

Moreover, non-traditional actors can contribute toward achievement of treaty obligations ensuring nondiscrimination and high-quality education, providing the community with the necessary resources to compel access to education and minimum standards so that everyone may benefit from the human right to education. For instance, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, teachers have provided a free clothing, hygiene, and sneaker closet supplied by donations from the community to help students obtain the resources to be ready to learn.

Education is also a key force for sustainable development, nation-building, and achieving SDG16, known as the lawyer’s or rule of law Global Goal. Taking action to reduce violence is a key target toward achievement of SDG 16. Examples of everyday involvement of ordinary people as non-traditional actors taking action to reduce violence can be found world-over including Healing City Baltimore, Cure Violence community interventions, Idjwi, Somaliland, Columbia, Bougainville, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Northern Ireland, and Ukraine.

The American Bar Association Division for Education contributes to the achievement of SDG16 in concert with SDG4 by offering civic education resources and programs for teachers, parents, students, and communities including its annual Law Day event on May 1. The 2023 Law Day theme will be “Cornerstones of Democracy: Civics, Civility, and Collaboration” inviting all to join in rebuilding trust in our institutions, respect for one another, and our willingness to collaborate to address challenges. In keeping with the collaborative worldwide nature of the ABA International Law Section, the Section will be recognizing Law Day as part of the Annual Meeting in New York City on May 1, 2023. All are invited to participate as individuals and to encourage recognition of Law Day in furtherance of SDG16 (and SDG17 – Partnerships for the Goals).

Conclusion

Despite erosion in the effectiveness of the traditional international legal system, the Global Goals and the 2030 Agenda present an avenue for engaging non-traditional actors–such as cities, towns, communities, and ordinary people–as a significant force for solving major global challenges like climate change and realizing treaty obligations via a people-centric global governance. To learn more about how you can be a part of breathing life into the aspirations of international law via the people-centric action of the Global Goals, see: “Why the SDGs Matter.”

About the UNIOC

The United Nations and International Organizations Committee (UNIOC) provides expertise and education and promotes cooperation between the United Nations and other multilateral organizations and the ABA. It also helps advance the Section’s policy positions on public and private law issues. The committee’s annual programs include ABA Day at the UN, a briefing by the U.S. Department of State Office of the Legal Adviser, and Law Day. If interested in taking action to help achieve the Global Goals, contact the UNIOC Co-Chairs at: [email protected].

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