Sustainable Development Goal 16

Long title: "Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere."[4]

This target has four indicators:[5]

• Indicator 16.1.1 Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age.
• Indicator 16.1.2 Conflict-related deaths per 100,000 population, by sex, age and cause.
• Indicator 16.1.3 Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months.
• Indicator 16.1.4 Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live.

Child Protection and Development Center

Long title: "End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children."[4]

This target has three indicators:[5]

• Indicator 16.2.1: Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month.
• Indicator 16.2.2: Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitation.
• Indicator 16.2.3: Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18.

One target is to see the end to sex trafficking, forced labor, and all forms of violence against and torture of children. However, reliance on the indicator of "crimes reported" makes monitoring and achieving this goal challenging.[6] For instance, 84 percent of countries have no or insufficient data on violent punishment of children.[7] Of the data available, it is clear that violence against children by their caregivers remains pervasive: Nearly 8 in 10 children aged 1 to 14 are subjected to violent discipline on a regular basis (regardless of income), and no country is on track to eliminate violent discipline by 2030.[7]

By 2017, the UN could report progress on detecting victims of trafficking. More women and girls than men and boys were victimized, yet the share of women and girls has slowly declined (see also violence against women). In 2004, 84 percent of victims were females and by 2014 that number had dropped to 71 percent. Sexual exploitation numbers have declined, but forced labor has increased.[7]

US Department of Justice Scales Of Justice

The full text of Target 16.3: "Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all."[4]

This target has three indicators:[5]

• Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms.
• Indicator 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population.
• Indicator 16.3.3: Proportion of the population who have experienced a dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism, by type of mechanism.

The full text of Target 16.4: "By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime."[4]

The target has two indicators:[5]

• Indicator 16.4.1: Total value of inward and outward illicit financial flows (in current United States dollars).
• Indicator 16.4.2: Proportion of seized, found or surrendered arms whose illicit origin or context has been traced or established by a competent authority in line with international instruments.

The full text of Target 16.5: "Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms."[4]

The target has two indicators:[5]

• Indicator 16.5.1: Proportion of persons who had at least one contact with a public official and who paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials, during the previous 12 months.
• Indicator 16.5.2: Proportion of businesses that had at least one contact with a public official and that paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials during the previous 12 months.

With regards to bribery: Data from 38 countries over the past decade suggest that high-income countries have the lowest prevalence of bribery (an average of 3.7 per cent), while lower-income countries have high levels of bribery when accessing public services (22.3 per cent).[8]

The full text of Target 16.6: "Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels."[4]

The target has two indicators:[5]

• Indicator 16.6.1: Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget, by sector (or by budget codes or similar).
• Indicator 16.6.2: Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services.

The full text of Target 16.7: "Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels."[4]

The target has two indicators:[5]

• Indicator 16.7.1: Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups.
• Indicator 16.7.2: Proportion of population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive, by sex, age, disability and population group.

World map for indicator 16.9.1 - Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority.[9]

The full text of Target 16.8: "Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance.".[4] The target has a single indicator

Indicator 16.8.1 is the "Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations".[5]

The full text of Target 16.9: "By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.".[4] It has one indicator:

Indicator 16.9.1 is the "Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority, by age".

Target 16.9 also targets universal legal identity and birth registration, ensuring the right to a name and nationality, civil rights, recognition before the law, and access to justice and social services. With more than a quarter of children under 5 unregistered worldwide as of 2015, about 1 in 5 countries will need to accelerate progress to achieve universal birth registration by 2030.[10]

The full text of Target 16.10: "Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements."[4]

The target has two indicators:[5]

• Indicator 16.10.1 Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 months.
• Indicator 16.10.2 Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information.

The full text of Target 16.a: "Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime."[4] It has one indicator

Indicator 16.a.1 is the "Existence of independent national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles".[5]

The full text of Target 16.b: "Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development."[4] It has one indicator

Indicator 16.b.1 is the "Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law".[5]

Custodian agencies are responsible for monitoring and reporting of indicators:[11]

• Indicator 16.1.1: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and World Health Organisation (WHO).
• Indicator 16.1.2: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
• Indicator 16.1.3 and 16.1.4: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
• Indicator 16.2.1 and 16.2.3: United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
• Indicators 16.2.2, 16.3.2 and 16.5.1 is: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
• Indicator 16.4.1: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNTAD)
• Indicator 16.4.2: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
• Indicator 16.5.2: World Bank (WB) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
• Indicator 16.6.1: World Bank (WB)
• Indicator 16.6.2 and for two indicators under Target 16.7 is: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• Indicator 16.8.1: Department of Economic and Social Affairs-Financing for Development Office (DESA/FFDO)
• Indicator 16.9.1: Department of Economic and Social Affairs-Statistics Division (DESA/UNSD) and United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
• Indicator 16.10.1, 16.a.1 and 16.b.1: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
• Indicator 16.10.2: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization-Institute for Statistics (UNESCO-UIS)

The global COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to increase the frequency of conflicts as countries blame others for their situation.[18] Its also expected that global peace and security will be threatened with over 60% countries risking the spread of COVID-19 in prisons due to overcrowding.[19]

The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations global development network which is concerned with SDG 16. Hence, the Program focuses on democratic governance and peace building.[22] The UNDP also works on conflict prevention by empowering youth, especially women. Also, they aim at supporting the frameworks and structure and by acting as mediators.[23]

UNESCO has revealed diverse contributions to improve the scope of SDG 16 including:

• UNESCO's communication and information sector is responsible for targets 16.3 (access to justice), 16.5 (anti-corruption and transparent and accountable institutions). It aims to: "foster intercultural dialogue, culture of peace and non-violence, and prevent violent extremism through global citizenship education; support free, independent and pluralistic media, ensure the safety of journalists; protect cultural and natural heritage, strengthen governance systems for culture and enhance fundamental freedoms."[24][25]
• Preventing violent extremism is a way to promote, in official wording, a "culture of peace and non-violence" for UNESCO. The Organization aims to prevent violent extremism by using education as a tool to strengthen global citizenship, by mobilizing youth, women and other stakeholders to take actions, online and offline, to prevent and respond to violent extremism and radicalization on the Internet.[26]
• Freedom of speech - UNESCO, as the United Nations agency with the specific mandate to promote "the free flow of ideas by word and image", supports a free, independent and pluralistic media in print, broadcast and on the Internet.[20]

• Justice Rapid Response is the only global facility that provides rapidly deployable experts in a wide range of highly specialized fields to assist with investigations in situations where war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and serious human rights violations may have occurred.[27]
• The international peacebuilding organisation Saferworld have pioneered a localization approach for SDG16+ – in an attempt to promote national ownership of commitments made under SDG16 and within the wider 2030 Agenda to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies.[28]
• The anti-corruption non-governmental organization Transparency International monitors corruption in over a hundred countries and aims to "gives voice to the victims and witnesses of corruption" and "stop the abuse of power, bribery and secret deals". The Organization launched the Corruption Perceptions Index in 1995.[29]
• Reporters Without Borders is a French "independent" non-governmental organization with consultative status at the United Nations. The NGO promotes freedom of information and safety of journalists. RSF Advocates worldwide for international and national legislation on freedom of information and protection of journalists.[30] It has put together the 2018 World Press Freedom Index as a basis to analyze the state of freedom of expression.[31]
• The World Wide Web Foundation is an association that promotes digital equality, access to information, and the open web as a "public good and a basic right". It advocates for public policies in over a dozen countries.[32]