What Does Justice Mean to You?

This resource explores the question, what does justice mean to people? In doing so, it unpacks the concept of people-centered justice. It aims to demonstrate that people-centered justice is a viable approach for closing the global justice gap and enabling the achievement of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.

Five protesters holding up linked arms walking down a city street.

“Access to justice for all and effective, inclusive, and accountable institutions is a critical enabler for other SDGs.” UN Secretary-General António Gutierrez

What does access to justice mean? The Justice for All report makes it clear that access to justice is more than access to courts and formal legal systems. It is about the ability of people to prevent and resolve their most common justice problems, using a range of formal and informal justice systems and actors. Closing the global justice gap requires us to put people at the center of justice. Every day, people around the world experience challenges related to violence, disputes over land and property, with neighbors, within family, or related to employment, money, or debt. They face challenges in accessing basic services like health, education, housing, sanitation, water, electricity, legal identity, or benefit payments. Rising conflicts, climate change, and economic hardships have only exacerbated these. Access to justice is essential to empower and support people to address their most pressing needs and to remain resilient in challenging times. Ensuring equal access to justice for all is essential advancing the global development agenda. This series explores the question, what does justice mean to people? In doing so, it unpacks the concept of people-centered justice. It aims to demonstrate that people-centered justice is a viable approach for closing the global justice gap and enabling the achievement of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.

In the first of a series of videos on people-centered justice, Pathfinders for Justice asks people around the world what justice means to them, why it is important, and what they think it would take to make Justice for All a reality worldwide.

Watch the video

Global Development Agenda

Peace, Justice, and Inclusion on a Healthy Planet

Watch the latest Pathfinders video on how turning the SDGs from a vision to a tangible reality for people around the world requires making justice a tool and a priority within and across the SDGs.
What Does Justice Mean? Interview with Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC

This video features an interview with Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC, the former Attorney General and Minister for Legal Affairs and Minister of Financial Services and Investment, The Bahamas.
Justice at the Center of the Global Agenda

Fact sheet outlining the importance behind why now is the time to apply justice as a cross-cutting lens in the global development agenda.

Inclusion

Video: Leaving No One Behind Means Ensuring Justice for All

Watch the latest Pathfinders video interviewing Gülşen Güler, Osish (child advocate), and Lublanc Prieto Dávila on how putting people at the center of justice will result in a more just, equitable future for all.
What Does Justice Mean? Interview with Vino Lucero

This video features an interview with Vino Lucero, Freedom of Information Advocate and a Young Justice Leader supported by the Pathfinders for Justice
Access to Justice Means Listening to People on the Ground

The People Series: An Interview with Vino Lucero, Freedom of Information Advocate & Young Justice Leader supported by the Pathfinders.
Justice for All Means Leaving No One Behind

Fact sheet highlighting different groups experiencing significant barriers that impact their justice journeys and action steps needed for all communities to access justice.

Issue Intersections

Video: What Does Justice Mean? Interview with Lublanc Prieto Dávila

In this video interview, Lublanc Prieto Dávila, Executive Director of Refugiados Unidos, highlights what justice means to her.
“What Does Justice Mean” for Lublanc Prieto Dávila, a Refugee Leader Supporting Access to Justice in Colombia

Read the latest blog in the People Series, an interview with Lublanc Prieto Dávila, the Director General of Refugiados Unidos in Colombia.
Video: Justice at the Center of Intersecting Issues

Video interviews with Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC, Lorenzo M. Wakefield, Jonathan Papoulidis, and Kelechi Achinonu on how justice is a critical enabler of development.
Fact Sheet: Justice at the Center of Intersecting Issues

This fact sheet looks at how to utilize justice as a tool to address intersectional issues will drive progress across the board.

Data & Evidence

Justice for All: Catherine McKinnon Speaks on Canada’s Data-Driven Pursuit of Equal Access to Justice

Catherine McKinnon shares her lifelong commitment to fairness and the critical steps to increase access to justice, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 16+.
Video: What Does Justice Mean? Interview with Catherine McKinnon

In this short video interview, Catherine McKinnon, the Head of the Access to Justice Secretariat for Justice Canada, highlights what justice means to her.
Video: If You Don't Measure It, You Can't Improve It

Video Interview with justice leaders on how data and evidence are critical to achieving equal access to justice for all.
If You Don't Measure It, You Can't Manage It: The Need for Justice Data and Evidence

This fact sheet looks at the need for data and evidence in the justice sector.