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World Day for Social Justice

World Day of Social Justice or World Social Justice Day is observed on February 20 every year. The main objective of celebrating World Day of Social Justice is to raise voice against social injustice and to bring the various communities internationally together to eliminate poverty, gender, and physical discrimination, illiteracy, religious discrimination to make a socially integrated society.

On this day many schools, colleges and universities do special activities and organise events around a theme related to poverty, social and economic exclusion or unemployment.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -Martin Luther King

If you face any injustice in your life you can't sit on the sidelines of life and watch injustice; rather you need to speak out and consciously push it back.

Theme

To raise voice against social injustice and to remove barriers regarding gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability World Social Justice Day is observed.

A few themes says,

 ‘Closing the Inequalities Gap to Achieve Social Justice.’

'If you want Peace and Development, Work for Social Justice'.

Here are some inspirational quotes about social justice and freedom

"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe." -Frederick Douglass

"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." - Elie Weasel

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. " -Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained." -Helen Keller

"The failure to invest in civil justice is directly related to the increase in criminal disorder. The more people feel there is injustice the more it becomes part of their psyche." -Wilhelm Joseph

"We need love, and to ensure love, we need to have full employment, and we need social justice. We need gender equity. We need freedom from hunger. These are our most fundamental needs as social creatures." - David Suzuki

History

In 1995, the World Summit for Social Development was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, and resulted in the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action. At this summit, more than 100 political leaders pledged to make the conquest of poverty and full employment, as well as stable, safe and just societies, their overriding objectives. They also agreed on the need to put people at the centre of development plans.

Nearly 10 years later, the UN's member states reviewed the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action when they gathered at a session of the Commission for Social Development in New York in February 2005. They also agreed to commit to advance social development.

On November 26, 2007, the UN General Assembly declared that starting from the sixty-third session of the General Assembly, February 20 will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice. In 2009 the day was scheduled to be first observed.