Vol. 10 No. 3 (2023): RESEARCH FAIR 2023: ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Despite notable progress in sustainable development initiatives, several challenges persist. Many communities, especially those that are marginalized and vulnerable, continue to grapple with discrimination, exclusion, and limited access to basic human rights and essential services. Alarming statistics indicate that as of 2022, approximately 8% of the global population lived in extreme poverty, facing issues like food insecurity, inadequate healthcare, and limited educational opportunities (Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report, 2022). Moreover, economic disparities and gender inequalities remain prevalent, impeding social progress. According to the World Economic Forum's 2022 Global Gender Gap Report, gender parity was projected to take another 132 years to achieve at the then-current rate of change. Furthermore, environmental degradation exacerbates these challenges, with over 1 million species facing the risk of extinction due to human activities (IPBES, 2019). Failure to address these fundamental issues jeopardizes the effectiveness of sustainable development efforts and leaves the most vulnerable populations behind. It is therefore urgent to mainstream human rights and social justice considerations to ensure that the benefits of sustainable development are equitably distributed. For this reason, seasoned legal scholars and upcoming advocates alike contributed the papers herein in order to address the systematic threats to the advancement of human rights.