Keywords

Institutions and organisations must give due importance to the rule of law, the sanctity of human rights and the effect of stability to ensure sustainable development. Societies that have grown and prospered in the last 300 years are those that adhere to the requirements of democracy, respect human rights and have adopted inclusive economic institutions (Acemoglu et al. 2012). In governments where peace and social reconciliation cannot be achieved, justice is jeopardised, and eventually, conflict and fear dominate. In places with this order, where institutions and justice are not strong, violence and crime rates are high, abuse and exploitation are common, and corruption and bribery are common. This is a problem that exists in many places in the world and must be solved. In an increasingly globalised world, conflict and instability in one region can also affect many parts of the world. SDG-16 aims to strengthen justice and strong corporate culture to achieve sustainable development and social peace. Greatly reducing crime and conflict through justice and strong institutions, upholding the rule of law and strengthening the presence of developing countries in global governance institutions are important topics for SDG-16 (United Nations 2021).

The UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs defines four different indicators that are observed as a crucial decrease in violence and related death rates worldwide, in Target 16.1. The first indicator is the total number of intentional homicide victims divided by the entire population, expressed per 100,000 people. The total number of conflict-related deaths divided by the entire population stated per 100,000 is stated as the second indicator. Third, the total number of people who have been victims of physical, psychological or sexual violence in the past 12 months is a percentage of the overall population. The fourth indicator measures the percentage of adults who feel comfortable travelling alone in their community (The World Bank 2021a). These indicators are followed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Three separate indicators are observed under Goal 16.2, which is to end child abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all kinds of violence against and torture of children. These are defined in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs metadata. The first measure, the percentage of children aged 1–17 years who experienced physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the previous month, is now being defined as the percentage of children between the ages 1 and 14 years who experienced physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the previous month. The second indicator is defined as the ratio of total victims of human trafficking found or residing in a nation to the population resident in the country, expressed per 100,000 people. Thirdly, the percentage of young women and men aged 18–29 who had experienced sexual assault by the age of 18. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) both monitor these metrics (The World Bank 2021a).

Three different indicators are observed under Target 16.3, promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensuring equal access to justice for all. The UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs defines these in their metadata. The first indicator, the number of victims of violent crime in the previous 12 months who reported their victimisation to competent authorities or other officially recognised conflict resolution mechanisms, is a percentage of all victims of violent crime in the previous 12 months. Second, on a specified date, the total number of persons held in detention who have not yet been sentenced is a percentage of the total number of persons held in detention. Third, by type of mechanism, the number of persons who experienced a dispute during the past 2 years who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism is a percentage of all those who experienced a dispute in the past 2 years. These indicators are followed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (SDG Tracker 2021).

Under the SDG-16.4 target, organised crime and terrorist organisations continue their existence by creating fear and insecurity in society. While organised crime organisations are for economic profit, the target of terrorism is ideological and political (Bovenkerk and Chakra 2004). Such organisations illegally finance the revenue sources of their actions. For a stronger, more peaceful society, it is essential to have justice and strong security institutions. To achieve this, the security forces’ fight against all kinds of crimes is one of the top priorities for social peace. This struggle has reached even more advanced levels with the development of technology, for example, Cybersecurity.

Under SDG-16.5, corruption negatively affects economic growth and society’s trust in institutions (Brouthers et al. 2008). Corruption and bribery disrupt the functioning of an institution by doing what is asked instead of what needs to be done. Institutions that do not comply with such laws and regulations have an order dominated by the powerful. They cause an increase in inequalities and a loss of a sense of justice in society. This corruption in authorities and institutions causes a public reaction and damages the culture of democracy.

Under SDG-16.6, making participatory, inclusive decisions with the participants at all levels is one of the ideals of democratic culture. Participatory democracies can increase their understanding of politics and their dialogue with each other, no matter how difficult it is to cope with today’s challenges (Collins 2019). In a world where inequality is significantly reduced and women and minorities are more participatory, it is obvious that the decisions taken will be more permanent and more just and will serve more peace. For this to happen, a social consensus and social peace affect each other positively in a two-way manner.

Under SDG-16.7, birth registration implantation ensures that children can access justice and social services and protect children. However, data from 2010 to 2019 shows that one in four children in all populations who are under the age of 5 were never officially recorded by states (United Nations 2021). In 2020, the registration rates of children under the age of 5 in sub-Saharan Africa (46%) and underdeveloped countries (44%) were well below the world average (74%) (UNICEF DATA 2021).

Under SDG-16.8, there is an aim to increase the voting power of developing countries. According to the World Bank, the USA, Germany, UK, France and Japan have 35.21% of all voting power in global economic institutions. However, developing countries don’t have enough power in economic institutions (The World Bank 2021b).

Under SDG-16.9, human rights institutions ensure that justice systems are processed fairly in countries. In 2019, 40% of countries in the world had human rights institutions that audit the official institutions of governments. Human rights institutions comply with Paris Principles (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights 2012). Seventy-eight countries in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa still have difficulty accessing human rights institutions (United Nations 2020).

Under SDG-16.10, ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms under national legislation and international agreements are focused on specifically. SDG-16.10 tries to increase the extent of the state’s respect and protection besides citizens’ access to information rights (Bolaji-Adio 2015). To achieve the target, adopting and implementing constitutional, regulatory and political measures to guarantee public access to information is essential (Cling et al. 2018). Another indication of SDG-16.10 might be to evaluate if public officers are completely and effectively using the anti-corruption instruments and structures to combat corruption (Bolaji-Adio 2015). SDG-16.10 thus plays a key role in ensuring accountability in the context of the SDGs so that they may be effective.

Target 16.a is to strengthen relevant national institutions including through international cooperation, for preventing violence and combating terrorism and crime. In compliance with the Paris Principles, independent national human rights institutions could be stated as an instance for the target. Appraising the effectiveness of the national institutions in terms of the resources (human, financial and logistics) that have been involved in intra- and inter-state conflict resolution supports the increase of such actions for the target (Bolaji-Adio 2015).

Target 16.b deals with promoting and enforcing non-discriminatory laws and policies. Undoubtedly, non-discrimination must be worked on for the welfare of the world and fair, equitable and timely access to justice. Promoting and protecting the rights of permanently disadvantaged or vulnerable groups, including but not limited to internally displaced persons, refugees and persons with disabilities, is the primary target of 16.b (Bolaji-Adio 2015). When identifying vulnerable groups, transparent, participatory and accountable processes leading would help achieve this target. Assessing the effectiveness of the measures and sharing details of any violation and reports available are important for the accurate determination of the next policies. Figure 18.1 illustrates the targets and sub-targets of SDG-16.

Fig. 18.1
figure 1

Targets of SDG-16. (United Nations 2021)

Full size image

Achieving sustainable development goals requires peaceful, fair and inclusive communities (SDGs). Regardless of their race, religion or sexual orientation, people everywhere deserve to be free from fear of violence and feel secure going about their daily lives. Many studies have shown that peace and development go together. As an example, research by the World Bank and the United Nations shows that instability and war are key development problems that can stall progress. According to the IEP, increased levels of violence have a detrimental influence on economic growth by reducing international investment and the financial environment. According to the study’s authors, this has an impact on poverty and economic development, expected lifespan and educational achievements and characteristics critical for long-term development, such as newborn mortality and availability of services.

The 2030 Agenda says and maintains that “there can be no sustainable development without peace”. Along with people, wealth, the environment and cooperation, peace is regarded as one of five essential areas for humankind. The 2030 Agenda emphasises the importance of building peaceful, just and inclusive communities centred around human rights (along with the right to improvement), an efficient judicial system and effective governance throughout all degrees while also transparent, efficient and responsible institutions. Political goals, such as guaranteeing inclusiveness, strengthening effective governance and ending violence, were seen as equally important as economic, social and environmental goals. It was then that the 2030 Agenda’s SDG-16 arose as an “enabler”. As a result, SDG-16 is a critical component of the transformational 2030 Agenda. This holds true for all objectives, including those linked to climate change, health, education, economic growth and so forth. Development achievements will be undone in the absence of long-term peace, which includes respect for human rights and the judicial system as well as the absence of violence. Inequalities in poverty reduction and socio-economic development will rise without having access to justice for all and inclusion, and governments’ promises to leave no one behind will not be realised.

We may use one of the objectives as an example to show how important SDG-16 is in accomplishing the SDGs and attaining comprehensive sustainable development. Target 16.5 aims, for example, to “significantly eliminate bribery and corruption of any kind”. An atmosphere of excellent governance, security and peace is ideal for sustainable development. On the other hand, corruption has a negative influence on long-term growth and frequently results in civil unrest and insecurity. Overall, the empirical evidence and sustainable development measures demonstrate that countries with high rates of corruption have low rates of growth, average life expectancy, mean years of schooling and public policy effectiveness while having high rates of poverty as well as a high number of maternal deaths and high average child mortality rates per 1000 births (UNICEF DATA 2019). As a result, SDG-16 serves as a foundation for the other 16 SDGs, which all depend upon inclusive institutions which can have a responsibility towards public demands in an open and accountable manner. The SDG-16 targets reflect human rights commitment, accountability, transparency and justice, which would be essential for an environment where people can have liberty in life and be safe and prosperous. SDG-16 impacts many elements of society and the 2030 Agenda, from anti-corruption and the judicial system to participatory policy planning, violence minimisation and peace encouragement.

By 2030, the blue planet we live on will not keep up with the increasing population and crisis. As stated by Wahba, 80% of the world’ inhabitants will be living in difficult and dangerous conditions (Wahba 2019). The need for SDG-16 will increase further in the coming years. According to Sugg, investment in SDG 16+ should be viewed and emphasised as an investment in the 2030 Agenda as a whole. Civil liberties are dwindling worldwide, with 181 limitations put on non-governmental groups in 82 countries since 2013. Failure to address these issues and invest in SDG16+ leads to further violence, injustice and exclusion. This will result in a reversal of development progress in all SDGs, such as education, health and climate action.

SDG-16, among other things, entails a variety of measures aimed at improving the lives of people with disabilities. Metropolitan areas are predicted to house around 6.25 billion people by 2050, with 15% of them being disabled people (DIAUD 2018). Governments began to create conditions to eliminate discrimination between people and create an inclusive society. According to Radović (2019):

It is informative to mention positive examples from practice related to the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2016–2026, developed by the Office for Disability Issues in consultation with other government agencies and the disability sector (supported by an Outcomes Framework and a Disability Action Plan), and the Australian National Disability Strategy which includes trend data indicators against each of the focus areas and reports every two years.

It is on the agenda to apply machine learning (ML) while making SDG-16 reach its future goals. According to Dasandi and Mikhaylov, given the limited resources available to help poor and developing countries achieve the SDGs, understanding the interrelationships between the many parts of SDG-16 and other SDG objectives is particularly crucial (Dasandi et al. 2019). If these links are appropriately identified, further country-specific assistance to SDG success can be targeted. Supporting success on some aspects of SDG-16 in one nation, for example, might result in advances on other SDGs in that country. Machine learning may be used to assist and better grasp such linkages in a variety of ways. This will enable the identification of SDG-16 indicators that influence the changes in other SDG indicators such as those related to health, education and poverty. Second, multilayer network models may be utilised to uncover causal linkages between indicators for SDG-16 and other SDG objectives. In other words, thanks to machine learning, it can better understand how governments and institutions affect issues such as health and education (Dasandi et al. 2019).

Like the SDG’s aims, their finance must be long term if their goals are to be realised, particularly in developing nations. According to Kempe Ronald Hope Sr., funding is critical for the implementation and success of the 2030 Agenda, as it is for other development programmes (Kempe Ronald Hope Sr. 2019). To begin with, data on SDG-16 objectives shows that violence and war (including persecution and human rights abuses) resulted in the forced relocation of roughly 70.8 million people globally by 2018, with the global economic cost of violence projected to be over $1 trillion. In purchasing power parity terms, it will be $14.1 trillion, or 11.2% of world GDP. Second, according to the Economic Impacts of Child Marriage project’s most recent research, child marriages would cost more than $560 billion in welfare losses by 2030. Finally, the International Monetary Fund estimates that bribery costs US$1.5–2 trillion, or around 2% of GDP, with far higher economic and social costs when other kinds of corruption are considered (The World Bank 2017). Overall, both developed and developing countries will face considerable resource constraints because of the SDGs. Estimates range from US$3.3 trillion to 4.5 trillion for basic infrastructure (roads, railroads, and ports; power plants; water and sanitation), food security (agricultural and rural development), climate change mitigation and adaptation, health and education. Only in undeveloped nations does it fluctuate between US Dollars (Kempe Ronald Hope Sr. 2019).

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and others, there is a total yearly finance gap of roughly US$2.5 trillion in impoverished countries with present levels of public and private investment in SDG-related industries. Considering the global GDP of over US$115 trillion and what attaining the SDGs entails for unlocking human and economic potential and ensuring planetary security, closing such a gap is a massive task (UNCTAD 2014). In the United States, funding for public goods and key services is unquestionably critical. By pursuing fiscal reforms, African nations, for example, might increase their fiscal space by 12–20% of GDP. Fiscal policy in the form of taxes has been a critical component for long-term growth and equity in the Asia-Pacific region. However, both wealthy and developing nations’ public financing sources are insufficient to meet the SDGs. As a result, private finance is a critical component of the 2030 Agenda’s funding. To address the SDG-16 funding gap, governments must reallocate resources from crisis response to violence prevention while boosting investment in justice and inclusion and lowering resources wasted due to corruption and illicit flows (UNCTAD 2014). Improved governance will boost local resource mobilisation while also improving the efficiency of using resources on the SDGs.

18.1 Companies and Use Cases

Table 18.1 presents the business models of eight companies and use cases that employ emerging technologies and create value in SDG-16. We should highlight that one use case can be related to more than one SDG and it can make use of multiple emerging technologies. In the left column, we present the company name, the origin country, related SDGs and emerging technologies that are included. The companies and use cases are listed alphabetically.Footnote 1

Table 18.1 Companies and use cases in SDG-16
Full size table