Building the Business Case in the Asia-Pacific Region:
People-Centered Justice as a Transformative Enabler for Agenda 2030
Session Time and Date
11 November, 11:15 – 12:45
Conference Room 2
Concept Summary
As we pass the midway point in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, it’s clear that progress has fallen behind across multiple targets. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we must now take decisive, impactful actions to close the gap.
One promising catalyst for accelerating Agenda 2030 is people-centered justice, which has emerged as a proven enabler for achieving multiple SDGs. Justice itself holds unique, multiplier effects across sectors. By ensuring that people’s rights and needs are prioritized within justice systems, we can drive transformative impact that touches everything from health and education to economic growth and peaceful societies.
The benefits of prioritizing people-centered justice are powerful and two-fold.
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Mitigating the Cost of Injustice: Injustice brings steep costs, both directly and indirectly. Individuals often face expensive, time-consuming hurdles to resolve even basic legal issues. Societies also bear heavy costs when citizens lack access to essential services like healthcare and education, eroding trust in public institutions. Left unaddressed, these issues can stymie economic growth, weaken public trust, and increase risks of social conflict. Yet, by proactively addressing unmet legal needs, these negative impacts can be transformed into opportunities for social and economic resilience.
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Maximizing Return on Investment: Investing in people-centered approaches offers a greater return on investment by ensuring resources are allocated to justice solutions that are not only effective but scalable and sustainable. Focusing on solutions that work for people—whether through accessible legal services, community-based dispute resolution, or digital justice platforms—ensures that investments in justice create enduring improvements across sectors and communities.
When justice systems are designed to meet people’s needs, the resulting trust between citizens and institutions enhances the legitimacy of governance structures. This renewed social contract strengthens democratic institutions, mitigates authoritarian tendencies, reduces conflict risks, and ultimately fosters peaceful, just, and equitable societies aligned with the vision of Agenda 2030.
Objectives
This session seeks to:
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To highlight the role of people-centered justice as a catalyst for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in fostering inclusive, peaceful, and equitable societies in the Asia-Pacific region.
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To demonstrate the economic and social return on investment in people-centered justice by showcasing its impact on reducing justice gaps, improving public trust, and supporting sustainable growth.
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To identify actionable strategies for stakeholders—governments, private sector, and civil society—to invest in and implement people-centered justice initiatives that address unmet legal needs and strengthen institutional legitimacy.
Questions
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[How do you define people-centred justice, and why is it particularly relevant for the Asia-Pacific region in the context of the 2030 Agenda?
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Can you share specific examples where people-centred justice approaches have led to measurable progress toward the SDGs?
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What are some of the economic and social costs of unresolved justice issues, and how do they impact both individuals and communities?
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How can civil society play a role in advancing people-centred justice?
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What are some of the biggest barriers to implementing people-centred justice initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region, and how can these be overcome?
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From a policy perspective, what kinds of reforms or innovations are needed to scale up people-centred justice across diverse legal systems and socio-economic contexts?
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How does investing in justice reform improve trust in institutions, and why is this trust essential for sustainable development and democratic stability?
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Can you describe how strengthening people-centred justice might contribute to a revitalized social contract and reduced risk of conflict or authoritarianism?
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What steps can governments and civil society take together to ensure that people-centred justice becomes a priority in the broader development agenda?
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What metrics or indicators do you suggest for evaluating the success of people-centred justice initiatives in driving sustainable development goals?
Format/Methodology
The session will begin with a 60-minute moderated conversation between 6 panelists made up of rule of law and justice practitioners from government, civil society and the youth. It will also blend expertise from the Asia-Pacific region and internationally to broaden the perspectives and insights.
The speakers will respond to some of the questions highlighted above and be afforded an opportunity to reflect and build upon each other’s thoughts and interventions, as the issues unpack. The second and final part will include a 30-minute open audience participation and engagement, largely responding to
Speakers and Moderator
Muhamad Isnur
Executive Director, Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Indonesia
Muhamad Isnur is the current Chairperson for YLBHI. He was appointed for the period of 2022 - 2026. He is also a lecturer at the Indonesia Jentera Law School, Board of INFID (International NGO Forum On Indonesia Development), and Board of HRWG (Human Rights Working Grooup)
YLBHI with 18 branch offices are doing legal aid work in response to various legal issues and human rights in 18 Provinces in Indonesia. The offices receive averagely 3,500 complaints/cases each year. YLBHI has a structural approach in legal aid, not only legal assistances for litigation and non litigation works, but also through advocacy or strategic suit to alter the order of law: structurally, culturally, and in legal substance to be fair and justice. One of the structural legal aid manifestations is community empowerment.
Revai Makanje Aalbaek
Senior Adviser on Justice and Security, UNDP
Revai Makanje Aalbaek is the Senior Adviser for Justice and Security for the Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights team, Crisis Bureau, UNDP. She has over 20 years of working on governance and more specifically on human rights, justice, security, rule of law, social cohesion and gender equality. Revai has extensive experience in programme design, implementation and management gained in several countries in Southern Africa and the Pacific Region.
Besides UNDP, Revai worked for various institutions including UN Women, Hivos Foundation and Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association. An advocate for gender-responsive and people-centred justice systems, Revai started her career working with civil society on access to justice and human rights protection for vulnerable groups, and worked for many years as a legal aid lawyer. She holds an LLB from the University of Zimbabwe, LLM in Human Rights from the University of Pretoria and a Masters in Women’s Law from the Universities of Zimbabwe/Oslo.
Anoushka Sinha
Human rights and gender equality activist
Anoushka Sinha is a passionate human rights and gender equality activist who has been advocating for women’s rights and education equality since she was 10 years old. She started her journey by organizing campaigns at local NGOs. At the age of 12, she began working as a radio jockey, one of the youngest in the country and ran three seasons of her own radio show aimed towards children in rural India. She has also grown her youth led, SDG focused organization from ground up and has made a global footprint with her work there as its founder and CEO. Her organization today works with esteemed global partners such as World Bank, United Nations and UNESCO, Learning Planet Alliance among others.
Anoushka is a Diana Award recipient which is the highest accolade a young person can receive for their social advocacy, awarded by Prince William & Prince Harry and the Royal Family in the UK. She has served as an ambassador for UNEP, on the Young People Action Team as a youth advisor for YuWaah Generation Unlimited At UNICEF India, and as an advocate with UNESCO GYC and SDG4 Youth Network. She has worked with a plethora of international charities and humanitarian organizations like the ONE campaign and Plan International.
Fernando Marani
(Moderator)
Program Director of Justice, Inclusion, and Equality at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Prior to this role, he worked for 20 years as a career diplomat from Argentina and served four consecutive sessions as a senior member of the Office of the President of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, including as Deputy Chef de Cabinet for three Presidents.
A staunch advocate for multilateralism and diplomacy, he has been actively involved in international law, human rights, sustainable development, and youth issues since 1997.
He has participated in various international conferences and held key diplomatic roles, such as the Legal Adviser in the Pulp Mill Case at the International Court of Justice, Chairman of the Special Commission of the Hague Conference on Private International Law in 2012, a member of the Management Group of the OECD Working Group on Bribery, and as the Chairman of the Group of Friends of the International Criminal Court in New York.
He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Universidad Nacional del Litoral in Argentina. He was a scholar at the National Foreign Service Institute (ISEN) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and an international fellow at the Rio Branco Institute in Brasilia, Brazil. He is fluent in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Dutch, and French and has basic Italian and Chinese proficiency.
ONE campaign and Plan International.
Aruna Joshi
Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and National Project Director of the Access to Justice Project, Ministry of Law, Nepal
Ms. Joshi is a joint secretary currently working with the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Mr. Josh has master’s degree on laws and years of experience on human rights, rule of law and justice system. She has also the experience of working as the project director a flagship programme of access to justice which is being implemented jointly with UNDP-Nepal.
Martyna Wanat
International lawyer and public policy analyst, OECD
Martyna Wanat is an international lawyer and public policy analyst with expertise in international public law, governance reform, justice and rule of law, and gender equality. She is a Policy Analyst in the Justice and Rule of Law Unit, Public Governance Directorate, at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She serves as the team’s focal point for Southeast Asia.
Martyna has a proven track record of collaborating with leading international organisations, including the Council of Europe, UNESCO, UN Women, UNFPA, and UNEP. She has also worked with governments, academic institutions, and non-governmental organisations, contributing to policy research and initiatives related to sustainable development.