World Day of Social Justice (Social Justice Equality Day) is an international day recognizing the need to promote social justice, which includes efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion, gender inequality, unemployment, human rights, and social protections. Many organizations, including the UN, American Library Association (ALA), and the International Labour Organization, make statements on the importance of social justice for people. Many organizations also present plans for greater social justice by tackling poverty, social and economic exclusion, and unemployment. The United Nations General Assembly has decided to observe 20 February annually, approved on 26 November 2007 and starting in 2009, as the World Day of Social Justice.
Theme
The theme this year of the World Day of Social Justice is “Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment”. The focus will be on the formalization of employment as a prerequisite for reducing poverty and inequality. The event will be held virtually.
Purpose of the event
More than 60 percent of the world’s employed population, that is 2 billion women, men, and youth, earn their livelihoods in the informal economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the vulnerability of workers in the informal economy. Informal workers, as they often lack any form of social protection or employment-related benefits, are twice as likely to be poor compared to formal workers. Most people enter the informal economy not by choice, but due to a lack of opportunities in the formal economy.