1 November 2013: UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said the rule of law is of central importance to fair and sustainable development, and that justice and human rights should have a place in the post-2015 development agenda.

Eliasson was addressing a special event on ‘Rule of law, transitional justice and development: New agenda, concepts and possibilities,’ organized by the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the UN, in New York, US, on 1 November 2013. He recalled that the UN High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law held in September 2012 also endorsed the idea that the rule of law and development are mutually reinforcing, and that the link should be considered in the post-2015 development agenda.

In the context of ongoing discussions to achieve a post-2015 development agenda “with sustainable development at its core and the eradication of poverty as its top priority,” Eliasson added, poverty will not be alleviated without justice.

Eliasson also said the UN Secretary-General, at the request of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), is currently conducting wide consultations on the linkages between the rule of law, peace and security, human rights and development. [Statement of UN Deputy Secretary-General] [Website of HLM on Rule of Law]