23 October 2014: The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, delivered a report to the UN General Assembly calling for the post-2015 development agenda to take a “human-rights based approach” and explicit references to human rights and access to justice.

Addressing the UNGA on 23 October 2014, in New York, US, Knaul stressed the need to include justice and non-discrimination in development policies. Unless they specifically acknowledge the importance of justice systems in sustainable development, she said, Member States will “jeopardize the success of the post-2015 development agenda.” She noted that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been limited in their ability to incorporate the “human experience” of development.

Knaul also stressed the connections between justice systems, governance, and sustainable development. “When the administration of justice fails, impunity takes over and undermines democracy, the rule of law, people’s trust in State institutions, as well as opportunities for development,” she said, specifically focusing on access to and administration of justice.

The Special Rapporteur’s annual report (A/69/294) analyzes the ability of the MDGs to integrate the rule of law, justice and development, and highlights opportunities to include these issues in the next global development agenda. [UN Press Release] [OHCHR Press Release] [Annual Reports of Special Rapporteur]