Half Title Page
HIGHER EDUCATION AND SDG16
Endorsement Page
“Sarah E. Mendelson and her collaborators make a compelling case for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a promising project for re-energizing progress on social justice, economic development, and human rights. In their vision, law remains a guiding standard, but the SDG approach puts law to work with a tool kit of community organization, operational know-how, and rigorously generated data. Academe has a central role to play in educating the new generation of principled pragmatists in the outlook, skills, and information they will need to boost rights and justice to a higher level.”
Jack Snyder, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Relations, Political Science Department, Columbia University
“The sobering fact is that the world is falling short of achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But the contributors to this volume firmly reject the idea that the goals should be abandoned. Instead of running away from the SDG project, the authors here focus on practical next steps toward global sustainability and human rights. The chapters explore a range of novel ways of localizing the goals. They outline new methods of engaging the next generation of policymakers and scholars in human rights and development work, and highlight important leadership roles that universities can play in effectuating the SDGs going forward. In the process, contributors pinpoint ongoing – but surmountable – barriers to SDG implementation, such as the failure of government entities and researchers to capture disaggregated data that would support successful tailoring of policies to human rights-based goals. This is a book for those who understand that failure is not an option when it comes to the SDGs, and who are ready to lean into a sustainable future through concrete action.”
Martha F. Davis, University Distinguished Professor of Law, Northeastern University
Prescient in its exploration of the how inequality has riven United States society and compelling in its urgent call to use the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for doing something about it here and beyond, this book is essential reading for policymakers, academics and advocates alike. Each chapter takes up separate arena for action. All of them center around Goal 16, on the role of higher education in building peace, justice and strong institutions. Each chapter features new primary source data and practical examples of how cities, universities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and social movements together have used the SDGs to build stronger systems of accountability for fulfilling economic rights. The book centers the “unjust recovery” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to reveal the deeper systemic flaws that perpetuate inequality, while also making clear that student engagement with the SDGs is key to building the political momentum for tackling it.
Shareen Hertel, Wiktor Osiayński Chair of Human Rights & Political Science, University of Connecticut
Series Page
HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Series Editor
Wendy Purcell, PhD FRSA
Professor with Rutgers University and Academic Research Scholar with Harvard University; Emeritus Professor and University President Emerita.
About the Series
Higher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals is a series of 17 books that address each of the SDGs in turn specifically through the lens of higher education. Adopting a solutions-based approach, each book focuses on how higher education is advancing delivery of sustainable development and the United Nations Global Goals.
Forthcoming Volumes
Higher Education and SDG10: Reduced Inequalities edited by Priya Grover, Nidhi Phutela, and Pragya Singh
Title Page
Higher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals
HIGHER EDUCATION AND SDG16
Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
EDITED BY
SARAH E. MENDELSON
Carnegie Mellon University, USA
United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China
Copyright Page
Emerald Publishing Limited
Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.
First edition 2025
Editorial matter and selection © 2025 Sarah E. Mendelson.
Individual chapters © 2025 The authors.
Published by Emerald Publishing Limited.
These works are published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of these works (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode.
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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the text, illustrations or advertisements. The opinions expressed in these chapters are not necessarily those of the Author or the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-80455-895-9 (Print)
ISBN: 978-1-80455-892-8 (Online)
ISBN: 978-1-80455-894-2 (Epub)
Dedication Page
In memory of Christof Heyns (1959–2021), a giant in human rights, who understood the potential of the Sustainable Development Goals, and who left us all far too soon.
Contents
| List of Figures and Charts | xi | |
| List of Acronyms | xiii | |
| Series Editor Preface | xv | |
| Acknowledgments | xix | |
| 1 | Introduction: SDG 16, Higher Education, and the Benefits of New Approaches to Teaching and Researching Human Rights | |
| Sarah E. Mendelson | 1 | |
| 2 | Closing Access to Justice Gaps Globally | |
| Elizabeth Andersen | 13 | |
| 3 | Judicial Institutions, SDGs, and the 2030 Agenda Across Latin America and the Caribbean | |
| Alvaro Herrero | 37 | |
| 4 | The Potential of Participatory and Experiential Learning for the Promotion of Human Rights and the SDGs | |
| Thomas Probert | 61 | |
| 5 | Toward More Just Societies: The SDG Agenda and Innovations in Higher Education | |
| Ariel C. Armony | 79 | |
| 6 | Between Localization and Realization: Partnerships Toward Advancing Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals in Los Angeles | |
| Gaea Morales, Anthony Tirado Chase, Michelle E. Anderson and Sofia Gruskin | 97 | |
| 7 | Unjust Recovery in the Wake of the Pandemic and the Need to Reframe Human Rights Using the SDGs | |
| Sarah E. Mendelson | 115 | |
| About the Editor | 145 | |
| About the Contributors | 147 | |
| Index | 151 | |
List of Figures and Charts
| Fig. 6.1 | Summary of Task Force Models as Presented by Morales, Chase, and Gruskin at the Carnegie Mellon Workshop on the Margins of the World Justice Forum 2022. | 105 |
| Fig. 6.2 | Maternal Mortality Ratio Data from L.A. SDGs Data Reporting Platform. | 110 |
| Chart 7.1 | Households on SNAP in Pittsburgh by Race, 2015−2021. | 132 |
| Chart 7.2 | Households on SNAP in Atlanta by Race, 2015−2021. | 132 |
| Chart 7.3 | Unemployment Rate in Pittsburgh by Race, 2015−2021. | 134 |
| Chart 7.4 | Unemployment Rate in Atlanta by Race, 2015−2021. | 135 |
| Chart 7.5 | United States Maternal Mortality Rate by Race, 2018−2021. | 135 |
List of Acronyms
| ARPA | American Rescue Plan Act |
| CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| CHANGE | City Hub and Network for Gender Equity |
| CMU | Carnegie Mellon University |
| GAO | Government Accountability Office |
| HEI | Higher Education Institutions |
| HLPF | High-Level Political Forum |
| HRC | Human Rights Council |
| ICESCR | International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |
| IRB | Institutional Review Board |
| JR | Just Recovery |
| L.A. | Los Angeles |
| L.A. SDGs | Los Angeles Sustainable Development Goals |
| L.A. TFs | Los Angeles Task Forces |
| LNOB | Leave No One Behind |
| MDGs | Millennium Development Goals |
| MMRCs | Maternal Mortality Review Committees |
| MOIA | Mayor’s Office of International Affairs |
| NGOs | Nongovernmental Organizations |
| SDGs | Sustainable Development Goals |
| SNAP | Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program |
| TF | Task Force |
| THE-IR | Times Higher Education Impact Ranking |
| UDHR | Universal Declaration of Human Rights |
| UN | United Nations |
| UNDP | United Nations Development Programme |
| UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
| UNODC | United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime |
| US | United States |
| USAID | United States Agency for International Development |
| VLRs | Voluntary Local Reviews |
| VNRs | Voluntary National Reviews |
| VUR | Voluntary University Reviews |
| WJP | World Justice Project |
Series Editor Preface
Professor Wendy Purcell, PhD FRSA
Higher education (HE) makes an important contribution to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Teaching and learning support the development of responsible citizens as scholars, leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals. Curiosity-driven and socially impactful research and innovation help advance knowledge frontiers and find solutions for the world’s most pressing issues. As anchor institutions, universities and colleges are also active in civic and community settings, working in partnership with other stakeholders. Given the fierce urgency of (un)sustainable development, the climate crisis, and widening inequity within countries and across the globe, HE institutions (HEIs) need to do more and go faster to deliver fully on their potential to help achieve the SDGs.
The book series addresses the role of HE in advancing the SDGs, identifying some actionable and scalable initiatives, and pointing to opportunities ahead. In sharing the ways and means universities and colleges across the world are engaging with the SDGs, the series seeks to both inspire and enable those in the HE sector and stakeholders beyond to transform what they do and how they do it and thereby hasten progress toward Agenda 2030. Insights gleaned from case studies, reflective accounts, and student stories can help the HE sector both deepen and accelerate its engagement with the SDGs. Each book seeks to capture examples of how HEIs are fulfilling the delivery of their academic mission and progressing the SDG concerned. Illustrating the work of students, faculty, and staff of the institution, and that undertaken in collaboration with others, positions HE as a change agent operating at a systems level to help create a world that leaves no one behind.
This volume focuses on HE and SDG16 “Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions” and highlights the work of universities and colleges in achieving this goal to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.” SDG16 is intimately entwined with all the other SDGs and is a key determinant in their delivery, advancing equity, and enabling solutions in pursuit of sustainability – transforming our world so that the human rights of all can be realized. Some five billion people however are estimated to have unmet justice needs, ranging from concerns over legal identity, to property rights and access to justice, and this demands a paradigm shift in how to consider human rights using the SDGs.
Curated cases and examples from across the globe are explored to illustrate how progress toward SDG16 is being made through the academic activities of HEIs as well as their work in partnership with other organizations and groups. Everyone should be able to live in peace, feel safe, and be free of the threat of violence whether physical or psychological with explicit protection for vulnerable populations. Working with justice sector institutions, HEIs can support access to justice services as well as help citizens participate in associated governance matters. These networks can be leveraged for student learning opportunities as well offering a source for research questions. This academic engagement can enable the co-creation of solutions with the community that support human rights and tackle abuses and barriers to drive radical inclusion and help improve the lives of everyone in an effort to leave no one behind.
While the SDGs represent global goals, the local dimension is what counts in terms of people’s lived experiences. So too then HEIs need to act locally and connect globally. This book calls out the importance of adopting a data-centric approach, with data gaps and data holes filled by university research, innovation, and outreach efforts. In this way, the actuality of people’s justice needs is better understood and can help shape the systematic transformation of justice services and institutions. Universities and colleges will also educate and train new cadres of scholars and practitioners who are genuinely empathic to people’s justice needs, with experience of justice in action, and focused on strengthening the justice system as a matter of collective urgency.
Universities and colleges play a critical role in developing new systemic and transformative solutions through interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder collaboration and a purposeful focus on the SDGs. As organizations that have stood for many centuries in some cases, this demands that they adapt to new models of learning, research partnerships, and leadership and governance frameworks. Immersive engagement with the SDGs can catalyze pedagogic innovation, serve to refresh curricula, and stimulate new program development. It can also open new avenues for research, attract new sources of funding, and energize people to deliver on the academic mission. SDG16 is an enabler of sustainable development and vital to the pursuit of sustainability and the health of people, planet, and shared prosperity. This book illustrates this approach with HEIs bringing their key assets of curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge and its application to partners seeking solutions and driving innovation, operating in both local and global networks. Sustainability is a goal for today, and sustainable development is an organizing principle for universities and colleges.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all the contributors to this edited volume and Wendy Purcell for inviting me to take on this opportunity and use this platform to express views that have been percolating for some time. The team at Emerald Publishing has been endlessly patient as we encountered various hurdles. I thank all the CMU students who participated in the Heinz capstone, Krista Rasmussen for her insights, and Sofia Gruskin who met separately with our students and generously shared the L.A. experience. Daniel Armanios and Adam Kolig helped get some charts over the finish line. I thank The Rockefeller Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for generous support, and specifically, Nathalia A.M. dos Santos, Zia Khan, and Nancy Lindborg, as well as the Bellagio Center team for graciously hosting our community of practice, the participants of which I also thank for their partnership. Susan Reichle and Ashok Regmi were early supporters and co-conspirators. Tony Pipa, John McArthur, and the Brookings Institution’s Center for Sustainable Development as well as the 17 Rooms team have all offered so much intellectual companionship on the SDGs. I thank the participants of the Room 16 discussions in 2020 and 2021 (and my co-moderators Nancy Lindborg and Betsy Andersen) who contributed to the shaping of this book. We mourn the loss of the great Christof Heyns who would, no doubt, have joined Thomas Probert as a co-author. Christof’s intellectual contributions, nevertheless, are woven throughout this volume in various ways. Jack Snyder always deserves my thanks for being willing to read my work for literally decades. Many thanks to Michael Yonas and to two anonymous reviewers for their timely and careful reading of chapters. I thank Robin Cole for endless retrievals of articles and helping organize meetings, and Keith Webster for helping make this edited volume an open-source publication (among his many other forms of support of this work). Krishnan, the members of the Heinz Senior Management Team (2018-2024), and Marie Coleman deserve thanks for good naturedly withstanding my SDG obsession, and my colleagues on the CMU Sustainability Initiative as well as Jim Garrett for sharing it. Most of all, thanks to John Harvey, for everything, and for every day we had.
Sarah E. Mendelson
