Social justice constitutes a fundamental pillar for the protection and promotion of human rights. By ensuring social justice, individuals are granted access to the fundamental rights necessary to live in dignity. In this regard, since its establishment, Alkarama has been committed to advocating for those engaged in the struggle for social justice within Arab societies, including trade unionists, human rights defenders, political activists, journalists, scholars, and intellectuals.
On 26 November 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming that, as of its sixty-third session, 20 February would be observed annually as the International Day of Social Justice.
Subsequently, on 10 June 2008, the International Labour Organization (ILO) unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, reaffirming the necessity of social justice as a prerequisite for equitable economic and social development.
According to the United Nations, social development and social justice are indispensable for achieving and maintaining peace and security, both within states and in the international sphere. Consequently, neither social development nor social justice can be attained in the absence of peace, security, and full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
In this context, Alkarama underscores the intrinsic correlation between social justice and human rights, both of which serve as legal guarantees to ensure equality and dignity for all. Social justice aims to ensure an equitable distribution of resources and opportunities among all individuals, thereby mitigating poverty, combating discrimination, and promoting equal access to opportunities. Concurrently, human rights enshrine legal entitlements such as the right to education, healthcare, employment, political participation, and freedom of expression.
International legal instruments—including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights—explicitly affirm that the realization of social justice is an essential condition for the effective protection of human rights. Accordingly, the promotion of social justice is not merely a moral or political imperative but a legal necessity that ensures the protection of fundamental rights.
Likewise, the full realization of human rights is indispensable to fostering societies governed by justice, equality, and the rule of law.