Sustainable Development and the Rule of Law: A Policy Perspective From Qatar

In 2000, the United Nations articulated eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), hoping to achieve them in fifteen years. Now, the international community has sought to expand upon the original MDGs through a development agenda that involves 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets that are to be reached by 2030. One of the differences between the MDGs and the SDGs is the latter’s acknowledgement of the important role that the rule of law plays towards achieving sustainable development. This is demonstrated in Goal 16 of the SDGs, which is 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.”