Social justice and the United Nations: The divide between human rights and economic and social development

The evolution of views on international justice in the United Nations and the changing perception of the relevance of social justice within the Organization are two stories with many links. The Second and Third Committees of the General Assembly have different agendas and are to an extent the domains of delegates, NGO representatives and members of the Secretariat with different sensibilities and habits of the mind. A person transferring from one committee to the other will typically refer to the move as a “change of hats”. Economic matters, including inequalities between countries, are perceived by virtually all as serious and centred around hard facts, whereas social issues carry political or, worse, philosophical connotations and are associated with “soft” values. Nonetheless, the paths of international justice and social justice, at both the conceptual and practical levels, have often crossed owing to changes in the spirit of the times and the culture of the Organization that reflect evolving political configurations and intellectual currents. In fact, there is a coherence in the evolution of the treatment of the various issues that come under the mandate of the United Nations that is surprising only to those who underestimate the power of ideas in the life of an institution. In the present context, the telling of the “story” of social justice in the United Nations, distinct from an evocation of the avatars of international justice in the same organization, is justified by the need to explain the divorce between human rights and development.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Decent Work and Economic Growth