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Transparency, Accountability &Participation for 2030 Agenda

About the TAP Network
The Transparency, Accountability & Participation (TAP) Network is a broad network of civil society organisations (CSOs) that works to ensure that open, inclusive, accountable, effective governance and peacefulsocieties are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and that civil society are recognized and mobilized as indispensable partners in the design, implementation of and accountability forsustainable development policies, at all levels.
The TAP Network engages some of the foremost expert organisations on the issues around Goal 16 of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): ‘to promote peaceful, inclusive societies for sustainable development, to provide access to justice for all and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at alllevels’. TAP benefits from the invaluable expertise, experiences and unique perspectives of its members, allof whom come together to collaborate under the TAP Network umbrella. This work is underpinned byrecognition that we maximize reach and influence when many stakeholders speak with a unified voice.

The TAP Network’s Vision
TAP’s vision for the 2030 Agenda is framed by notions of rule-of-law and the TAP principles of transparency, accountability and citizen participation, as well as respect for human rights. Effective governance andsustained peace in a Post-2015 world require transparent, participatory and inclusive institutions that are
accountable to the very people that the 2030 Agenda has committed to engage.
The TAP Network is united in the belief that open, inclusive, accountable and effective governance andpeaceful societies are both outcomes and enablers of sustainable and equitable development. The 2030
Agenda must promote openness, accountability and effective public institutions, build trust between states
and their citizens, lay the foundation for peaceful and just societies and empower civil society to engage
in the design, implementation and accountability of public policies at all levels.
TAP’s work also reflects the will and impetus of the millions of citizens from around the world who voted for‘an honest and responsive government’ as one of their top priorities in the MY World survey—a theme
echoed in consultations around the world throughout the 2030 Agenda negotiation process.
For more information on the TAP Network, visit our website at www.tapnetwork2030.org.

Authors and Acknowledgements
PRI NCI PAL AUTHORSC O N T R I BU T I N G O R G A N I S AT I O N S

Charmaine Rodrigues

Human Rights First Rwanda Association (HRFRA)EDI T OR

International Federation of Library Associations andInstitutions (IFLA)John Romano

National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR)CONTRI BUT ORS

Liam Kincaid
Mari Ullmann

Plan International
World Federation of United Nations Associations(WFUNA)

Jordan Street
The work of the TAP Network is funded by grants from a group of generous donors including the OpenSociety Foundations (OSF), the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Omidyar Network.

Special Message fromUN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon

As the clock ticked over to 1 January 2016, a new chapter in
global development began, with the official commencement of
implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The 2030 Agenda—supported by 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)—represents a landmark commitment by all Governments towork individually and collectively for prosperity, justice and peace for
their citizens.
The 2030 Agenda explicitly recognizes that peaceful and inclusive societies
are both outcomes and enablers of sustainable development. Sustainable
Development Goal 16 commits governments to providing access to justice for
all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
As Governments now look to implement the SDGs, I am pleased to welcome theGoal 16 Advocacy Toolkit of the Transparency, Accountability and Participation
Network. This Toolkit recognizes the importance of civil society working with
Governments to ensure that SDG implementation is inclusive and participatory, andthat it harnesses the capacities of all sectors for the benefit of all.
I encourage all Governments to draw on the skills and resources of civil society tomaximize the impact of their efforts. Likewise, I commend civil society for assisting Governments to maximize limited resources for sustainable development. Only by working
together can we create a world of dignity and opportunity for all on a healthy planet.

— U N I T E D N AT I O N S SECRETA RY- G EN E R A L BA N K I- M OON

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

2

ForewordTAP Network Steering
Committee
On behalf of the Transparency, Accountability & Participation (TAP) Network, we are excited to present
this Goal 16 Advocacy Toolkit as a resource for stakeholders, particularly national level civil society
organisations, to utilize in advocacy on the implementation of and accountability for Goal 16 and thebroader 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The TAP Network is united in the belief that open,
inclusive, accountable and effective governanceand peaceful societies are both outcomes andenablers of sustainable and equitable development.
Efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda at national
level should promote openness, accountability andeffective public institutions, build trust between
states and their citizens, lay the foundation forpeaceful and just societies, and empower civil society to engage in the design, implementation andaccountability of public policies, at all levels. This
work is underpinned by recognition that we maximize reach and influence when many stakeholders
speak with a unified voice and common vision.
With the adoption of the SDGs and 2030 Agenda at
the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015,
the focus has now turned to implementation andfollow-up at the national and sub-national levels.
This provides unique challenges and opportunities

for both governments and civil society alike. Additionally, the 2030 Agenda constitutes the first
universal sustainable development frameworkendorsed by government leaders from 193 countries around the world. This universality recognizes
that all countries must continue to strive to ensurethat their people have the capacities and opportunities to exercise and enjoy their full range ofhuman rights and potential.
The next fifteen years will see the governments andpeople of this world grapple with huge challenges
as a range of environmental, social, economic, civic
and political changes present new and complex
problems for us to solve. Despite this, we are confident that the SDGs have set a course that—if wework together sincerely, committedly and cooperatively—will enable us all to address these challenges
and to ensure a strong foundation on which future
generations can continue to build.
We hope you find this toolkit useful in your own
work to influence the implementation of Goal 16
and look forward to continuing to engage with you
in TAP’s ongoing work to strengthen the principlesof transparency, accountability, and participation at
all levels.

Goal 16

Table of Contents

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justicefor all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

5 	

INTRODUCTION

7 	

PART 1: UNDERSTANDING SDG 16

16.1 significantly reduce all forms of violence and related
death rates everywhere

7812 	PART 2: PREPARING TO ENGAGE WITH GOAL 16 AT
THE NATIONAL LEVEL
12 ANALYSING THE LANDSCAPE: GAP ANALYSIS
14 	IDENTIFYING NATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL TARGETS AND
PARTNERS: STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
16 DEVELOPING A PLAN OF ACTION
18 DEVELOPING COMPELLING MESSAGES FOR ADVOCACY

16.2 end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms ofviolence and torture against children
16.3 promote the rule of law at the national and international
levels, and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.4 by 2030 significantly reduce illicit financial and arms
flows, strengthen recovery and return of stolen assets, andcombat all forms of organized crime

21 	PART 3: SUPPORTING NATIONAL PLANNING FOR
GOAL 16
22 ENGAGING WITH SDG POLICY COORDINATION MECHANISMS
24 INCORPORATING INPUT INTO SDG IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

25 	PART 4: SUPPORTING NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION
OF GOAL 1625 	W ORKING WITH GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS TO IMPROVEPROGRAMMES
26 PARTICIPATING IN LAW REFORM
31 UNDERTAKING STRATEGIC LITIGATION

16.5 substantially reduce corruption and bribery in allits forms
16.6 develop effective, accountable and transparent
institutions at all levels
16.7 ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory andrepresentative decision-making at all levels
16.8 broaden and strengthen the participation of developing
countries in the institutions of global governance16.9 by 2030 provide legal identity for all including birth
registration
16.10 ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national
legislation and international agreements
16.a strengthen relevant national institutions, including
through international cooperation, for building capacities
at all levels, in particular in developing countries, forpreventing violence and combating terrorism and crime

THE SDGS: DEVELOPING THE NEW 2030 AGENDA
SDG 16: ENSURING PEACEFUL, INCLUSIVE AND JUST SOCIETIES

34 	PART 5: SUPPORTING NATIONAL FOLLOW-UP AND
MONITORING FOR GOAL 16
34 ENGAGING IN NATIONAL FOLLOW-UP PROCESSES
36 COLLECTING AND USING ‘CITIZEN-GENERATED DATA’

38 	PART 6: ENGAGING WITH GOAL 16
AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL
38 	IDENTIFYING MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONAL TARGETS
AND PARTNERS
40 PARTICIPATING IN MULTILATERAL PROCESSES

42 	CONCLUSION
43 	HELPFUL LINKS
42

ADVOCACY TOOLS:
44 ANNEX 1: UNDERTAKING A GAP ANALYSIS
45 ANNEX 2: STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS TOOL
46 ANNEX 3: DEVELOPING AN ADVOCACY PLAN
47 ANNEX 4: DEVELOPING ADVOCACY MESSAGES

16.b promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development
3

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ALL OF THE SDGS, VISITSUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT.UN.ORG

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

4

Acronyms
AAAA

Addis Ababa Action Agenda

ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

AU

African Union

UNCRC

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

CSO

Civil Society Organisation

ECOSOC

United Nations Economic and Social Council

EU

European Union

FfD3

Third International Conference on Financing for Development

FOI

Freedom of Information

HLPF

UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

HRC

Human Rights Council

IFI

International Financial Institutions

IMF

International Monetary Fund

MDGs

Millennium Development Goals

MOI

Means of Implementation

MP

Member of ParliamentNGO

Non-Governmental Organsation

OAS

Organisation of American States

ODA

Official Development Assistance

OWG

Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals

SDGs

Sustainable Development Goals

TAP

Transparency, Accountability and Participation

TOR

Terms of ReferenceUN

United Nations

UNCAC

United Nations Convention against Corruption

UNCTOC

United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime

UNDP

United Nations Development Programme

UNFPA

United Nations Population Fund

UNODC

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

UPR

Universal Periodic Review

WTO

World Trade Organisation

Introduction[The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development] is a plan of action for people, planet andprosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. We recognise that
eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest
global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. All countries
and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan. We areresolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal andsecure our planet. We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which areurgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path.
Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

In September 2015, world leaders came together toendorse and adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, a new framework to replace theMillennium Development Goals (MDGs) and guidedevelopment efforts across the world for the next
fifteen years. Governments and the UN achieved alandmark consensus, building on more than three
years of public and stakeholder consultations aimed
at ensuring that the next iteration of global-development goals reflected the genuine aspirations ofpeople around the world. At the core of the 2030
Agenda are seventeen new multisectoral Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) that provide a results
framework for policymakers and stakeholders inevery country regardless of context. Unlike the
MDGs, however, the new framework contains a
specific groundbreaking goal focused on fostering
effective, transparent, accountable and participatory

governance and peaceful societies. Goal 16 commits
countries ‘to promote peaceful, inclusive societies forsustainable development, to provide access to justicefor all and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels’.
Recognizing the critical importance of Goal 16, thistoolkit provides civil society and other nongovernment stakeholders with guidance on how to engage
with their governments and other local, regional orinternational stakeholders to support the planning,
implementation, follow-up and accountability ofGoal 16. Work is already underway to localize Goal
16 and its targets and indicators1, and it is essentialthat nongovernment stakeholders actively engage
with these processes. A key feature of the approachto SDG implementation will be to ensure thatnational development plans, actions and indicators

1 For more, see the website of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDGs Indicators at http://unstats.un.org/sdgs/iaeg-sdgs/.

5

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

6

of progress are specifically tailored to each national
context. Meaningful civil society participation in
encouraging inclusive and open Goal 16 implementation and accountability will be critical to ensuringthat governments are responsive to the demonstrated needs of the diverse segments of eachsociety.
To ensure that the SDGs are truly ‘people-centred’,SDG implementation should not be top-down, butinstead must be driven by partnerships and collaborations across all sectors and segments ofsociety—including all levels of governments, civilsociety, the private sector, philanthropic institutions, the United Nations (UN) system and a wide
range of other relevant stakeholders. To this end,
this toolkit is intended to serve as a resource to sup-port civil society actors at local and national levels
to influence decision-making processes on specificplans and action related to Goal 16. Providing initialideas and entry points for civil society action, thetoolkit has a particular focus on supporting national
civil society stakeholders in their efforts to influence
local and national governments to work towards
the achievement of Goal 16. Whilst there is no onesize-fits-all approach to advocacy around Goal 16
issues, the TAP Network hopes that this toolkit will
help civil society stakeholders reflect on theirnational priorities, opportunities and resources andidentify locally appropriate opportunities to workwith national and subnational governments, theprivate sector and other community institutions to
help catalyse efforts to achieve Goal 16.

Part 1
Understanding Goal 16

We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear
and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.

Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The SDGs: Developing the 2030 Agenda
At the United Nations Sustainable Development
Summit in September 2015, world leaders endorsed
the entirety of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development—including its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 specific targets, ‘means of
implementation” (MOI) and guiding principles forthe follow-up and review of progress towards theentire Agenda. The goals and targets were theresult of considerable negotiations between
Member States through the Open Working Groupon Sustainable Development Goals (OWG) that took
place between March 2013 and July 2014, as well asa response to intense advocacy by civil society andother stakeholders who were keen to ensure that
this new framework would cover the full range ofissues necessary to provide sustainable, inclusive
and accountable development for all. In parallel tothe negotiations on the 2030 Agenda’s declaration,a portion of the agenda’s MOI was elaborated on
through negotiations around the Third International Conference on Financing for Development(FfD3) outcome document, the Addis Ababa Action
Agenda (AAAA).
The 2030 Agenda was developed in an unprecedentedly open process of engagement with andbetween UN Member States and stakeholders,
including civil society. This was in stark contrast to
the limited process to develop the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), which included very
little public participation or engagement fromcountries in the global south. The MDGs are seen by
many as an agenda created by developed countries
for developing countries, which contributed to thesignificant delays in its implementation at national
level. Through a participatory and open negotiation process, the SDGs aimed to build consensus
amongst stakeholders and ensure buy-in from theoutset by actively engaging a broader set of stakeholders, including government agencies, civilsociety, the private sector and the public at large.2
The inclusivity of this process in the development
phase of the SDGs was critical to instilling a muchbroader sense of public ownership of the final goals
and targets.

2 Through the MY World (www.myworld2015.orgonline platform, almost ten million people worldwide submitted their views to the UN on the content of the SDGs. Multiple nationaland regional dialogues were facilitated to tap into the views of people working across sectors and issues, and many civil society organisations harnessed their own networks to
consult the public and feed their views back into the process.

7

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT8The SDGs build upon the eight MDGs, but are amuch more ambitious set of goals across a wider
range of important issues. Covering issues acrossthe spectrum of the three dimensions of sustainable
development—environmental, social and economic—the SDGs are universally applicable to all
countries and pledge to be ‘people-centred’ and to‘leave no one behind’. The universality of 2030
Agenda means that, for the first time, the UN has
put together global goals and targets that are relevant and actionable by every country around theworld, developed or developing. This is an acknowledgment of the complex and multifaceted natureof effecting lasting change and reflects the growinginterconnectedness of the world. As the 2030
Agenda Declaration specifically recognises:
This is an Agenda of unprecedented scope andsignificance. It is accepted by all countries and isapplicable to all, taking into account different
national realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies andpriorities. These are universal goals and targets
which involve the entire world, developed anddeveloping countries alike. They are integrated
and indivisible and balance the three dimensionsof sustainable development.

Goal 16: Ensuring Peaceful, Inclusive andJust Societies
The 2030 Agenda reaffirms the wealth of evidence
that ‘there can be no sustainable development
without peace and no peace without sustainable
development’. There was a clear acknowledgementthat political goals—ensuring inclusion, entrenching good governance and ending violent
conflict—must find a place alongside social, economic and environmental ones. The 2030 Agenda
responds to a critical gap identified by many stakeholders over the last fifteen years of MDG
implementation, namely, the absence of an explicit
recognition of the critical importance of governance and institution-building as underpinningoverall development and peace-building efforts.
This was achieved through Goal 16, which commits
countries ‘to promote peaceful, inclusive societies
for sustainable development, to provide access tojustice for all and to build effective, accountable

and inclusive institutions at all levels’. Goal 16
contains twelve targets (see next section), each ofwhich will now be the focus of efforts to develop
indicators and identify key activities to support theirimplementations.
Explicit institutional acceptance of the importanceof good governance and peace for the achievementof sustainable development—through the adoptionof Goal 16 and references throughout the 2030
Agenda outcome document—was an enormous
breakthrough in the 2030 Agenda. Although governance issues were briefly touched upon in theMillennium Declaration, no specific MDG was developed to focus attention and resources on this vitalarea. In contrast, peace is specifically identified as
one of the five pillars on which the 2030 Agenda isgrounded, in recognition of the critical need forgovernments to ensure that their citizens can live
safe, secure lives. Goal 16 underpins the othersixteen SDGs, all of which rest on institutions thatare capable of responding to the needs of the public
transparently and accountably. A commitment tohuman rights, justice, accountability and transparency—all of which are recognized as prerequisites
to ensuring an enabling an environment in whichpeople are able to live freely, securely and prosperously—is evident throughout the Goal 16 targets.

A Snapshot of Goal 16 Issues

9GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT10This table highlights some of the key issues contained within each of the Goal 16 targets. Interlinkages
highlighted in the table are a nonexhaustive list and connections can be drawn between many othertargets and goals across the SDGs.

Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide accessto justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
TARGETS
16.1.

Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere: This target responds to the concern that, in far too many
countries around the world, people live in fear for their lives and have varying degrees of confidence in the ability of their governments to ensure
their physical security and protect their human rights. This target calls on governments to ensure that all people are afforded protection by the state,
as well as for the development of cultures that do not rely on violence as a method of conflict resolution. The scope of this target recognizes many
forms of deaths and violence, including homicide and conflict-related deaths, as well as physical, psychological, and sexual violence.
SDG Interlinkages: Goal 3 (good health & well-being), Goal 4 (quality education), Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 11 (sustainable cities &communities)

16.2.

End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children: This target calls on countries to implement effective child-protection laws and systems to ensure that children are protected from a range of harms. A wide range of specific child-abuseproblems is covered by this target, including child sex trafficking, child labour, and corporal punishment by caregivers. This target is underpinned by
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as well as other global and regional treaties such as the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organised Crime and the Optional Protocol on Trafficking in Persons (UNCTOC). It requires a joined-up approach that strengthens domestic laws, improves the policing of those laws and increases cross-jurisdiction collaboration across law-enforcement agencies to address
global violations of child rights.
SDG Interlinkages: Goal 3 (good health & well-being), Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 8 (sustainable economic growth & decent work for all).

16.3.

Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all: This target is focused on
ensuring that countries have effective, fair and accessible laws and justice systems that ensure security and protection for all people, and enable
meaningful avenues of redress for criminal and civil wrongdoing. Strengthening the rule of law requires both the passage of just laws that respect
people’s human rights and the enforcement of those laws by justice institutions capable of effectively investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating
upon alleged crimes. This target is heavily underpinned by MOI Targets 16.a and 16.b, which focus on strengthening law-and-justice institutions andaddressing discrimination.
SDG Interlinkages: Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 10 (reduce inequalities), Goal 11 (sustainable cities & communities), Goal 17 (means of
implementation & global partnerships)

16.4.

By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all
forms of organized crime: This target reflects the priorities of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNCTOC) and its three
Protocols on the Trafficking in Persons, the Smuggling of Migrants and the Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms. To the extent that it relates
to illicit financial flows and asset recovery, it also reflects commitments in Chapter 5 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)
and commitments from the Addis Ababa Action Agenda – the outcome document of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development. The commitment to reducing illegal arms flows is also a reflection of the Arms Trade Treaty, which regulates the flow of arms globally.
SDG Interlinkages: Goal 1 (poverty alleviation), Goal 8 (sustainable economic growth & decent work for all), Goal 17 (means of implementation& global partnerships)

16.5.

Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms: This target finds its roots in the UNCAC, which has already been ratified by
177 States Parties to date. UNCAC calls on States Parties to address corruption and bribery through a range of prevention and enforcement activities.
This target requires national-level efforts to address both petty and megacorruption at all levels and across all institutions, as well as cross-jurisdictional efforts to stamp out cross-border corruption in extractive industries and the like. This target overlaps with Target 16.4 in relation to stamping
out illicit financial flows and facilitating asset recovery related to corruption cases.
SDG Interlinkages: Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 8 (sustainable economic growth & decent work for all)

16.6.

Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels: This target underpins the entire 2030 Agenda in terms of supporting
the general strengthening of institutions to ensure that they can effectively discharge their mandates in service of the public. It complements andstrengthens Targets 16.7 and 16.8, as well as MOI Target 16.a, and vice versa. With a strong recognition of the crosscutting nature of Goal 16, this target
has high transformative potential, as addressing these issues will help ensure that governments are honouring their commitments to the entire 2030
Agenda by delivering basic goods and services and fostering good governance. Consequently, ensuring that data and indicators for measuring effective,
accountable and transparent institutions reflect people’s actual perceptions and experiences will be critical to achieving this target.
SDG Interlinkages: All other SDGs

16.7.

Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels: This target is all-encompassing and underpins the entire 2030 Agenda by requiring governments to be more inclusive of people in all aspects of their decision-making processes. Consequently,
it embodies the ‘people-centred’ nature of the 2030 Agenda, as well as the agenda’s commitment that ‘no one will be left behind’. Similar to 16.6,
indicators and data to measure progress towards this target will need to reflect people’s perceptions and experiences with governments and decision-makers, and priorities for action should include improving government consultation processes (e.g. when drafting laws, developing policies orimplementing programmes), improving parliamentary engagement (e.g. through opening up parliamentary committees, releasing more parliamentary information or encouraging more outreach by legislators) and implementing specific strategies for highly marginalized groups (e.g. quotas for
women, youth or other vulnerable groups including those discriminated based on caste).
SDG Interlinkages: All other SDGs.

16.8.

Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance: This target requires
global institutions to work with Member States and civil society to develop effective mechanisms to enable local voices and perspectives to be fed
into their work. It also opens the door for Member States and civil society to promote the greater inclusion of representatives of developing countries
in the boards of institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organisation (WTO).
SDG Interlinkages: Goal 1 (poverty alleviation), Goal 2 (zero hunger & food security), Goal 3 (good health & well-being),
Goal 8 (sustainable economic growth & decent work for all), Goal 10 (reduce inequalities), Goal 13 (combat climate change),
Goal 17 (means of implementation & global partnerships)

16.9.

By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration: This target recognizes that issues around official identity are often at
the heart of both a person’s actual and potential capacity to engage with governments and a government’s ability to effectively plan and budget forbasic services. Globally, 2.4 billion people are without legal identification documents. Without a birth certificate, it is almost impossible for a person
to effectively engage with formal government services and processes, as a lack of identity papers can inhibit access to education, employment andwelfare, as well as make it difficult to uphold the protection of children under eighteen. Refugees, nomads and many long-term illegal-immigrant
populations suffer from a lack of access to identity papers. Underpinning this target is the need for effective civil registration and vital statistics
systems that effectively provide legal identity in addition to birth, marriage, and death registrations.
SDG Interlinkages: Goal 3 (good health & well-being), Goal 4 (quality education), Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 10 (reduce inequalities),
Goal 11 (sustainable cities & communities)

16.10.

Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements: This target reflects the fact that freedom of information (FOI) is the touchstone of all other human rights and underpins theachievement of all of the SDGs. Access to information is crucial to ensuring transparency, which is both an end in itself and a means of empowering
the public to more effectively engage in their own development. Already, more than one hundred countries have some form of FOI legislation inplace, though implementation varies. UNCAC specifically calls on Member States to prioritize access to information in Article 10.
SDG Interlinkages: Goal 4 (quality education), Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 8 (sustainable economic growth & decent work for all),Goal 9 (sustainable infrastructure & innovation), Goal 10 (reduce inequalities), Goal 11 (sustainable cities & communities)

Goal 16 Means of Implementation (MOI) Targets
MOI Targets have been included for every SDG. They draw specific attention to the enabling actions that underpin achievement of the core SDG Targets and should
be read in conjunction with SDG-17, which explicitly aims to ‘strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable
development’, as well as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development.
16.aStrengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, inparticular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime: This MOI target complements Target 16.6 on
institution-building and crosscuts Target 16.1, which specifically seeks to address violent crime, and Target 16.4, which focuses on tackling organised
crime, amongst others. Without effective institutions that are capable of ensuring secure, lawful interactions between people and their governments,
the Goal 16 agenda of inclusive and peaceful governance cannot be achieved.
SDG Interlinkages: Goal 4 (quality education), Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 17 (means of implementation & global partnerships)

16.b

Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development: This MOI target reflects that the entire Goal
16 agenda is underpinned by a human rights–based approach that requires nondiscrimination in all aspects of implementation. This approach is alsoa practical strategy for promoting inclusiveness and participation. Official and unofficial discrimination can severely inhibit the capacity for individuals to participate in the world around them, as their exclusion from public jobs and services, and/or the even more pernicious threat of active
persecution by government, can be terribly restrictive of their rights and opportunities for development. Discrimination in all its forms must be
addressed if inclusive and peaceful governance is to be attained.
SDG Interlinkages: Goal 4 (quality education), Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 8 (sustainable economic growth & decent work for all),Goal 10 (reduce inequalities), Goal 11 (sustainable cities & communities), Goal 17 (means of implementation & global partnerships)

3 https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/IRG.html
4 https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CTOC/open-ended-intergovernmental-meeting-to-explore-all-options-regarding-an-appropriate-and-effective-review-mechanism.html

11

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT12Part 2
Preparing to Engage with
Goal 16 at the National Level
All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement thisplan…. We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently
needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. As we embark on thiscollective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind.
Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, attention
turns to the national level, where individual governments, working with a range of stakeholders, willneed to establish a framework for implementationthat identifies a realistic set of locally appropriate
steps. Whilst work will still take place at the international level—through United Nations bodies tasked
with supporting implementation as well as various
intergovernmental working groups (see Part 5)—the
focus of the next phase of SDG implementation will
be domesticating each of the SDGs so that locally calibrated plans can be developed and tied to indicatorsof achievement and realistic end points. As national
work commences in earnest, civil society can benefit
from systematically preparing to engage withnational processes by identifying whom to work withand to what end. Such planning can help ensure that
resources will be targeted towards efforts that will
make the biggest impact.

Analysing the Landscape: Gap Analysis
To prepare to engage with your country’s Goal 16
implementation and accountability processes effec-

tively, it can be useful to start with an initial processof analysis and planning in order to identify themost strategic entry points for your engagement.
Goal 16 is such a broad agenda that there are
numerous opportunities to be involved. A gap analysis should be undertaken, looking at which Goal 16
targets are not being addressed ambitiously in yournational context, who is already working to addressthese gaps and how they are doing this. Closing
these gaps will be the aim of your advocacy efforts
going forward.
Whilst an initial Goal 16 gap analysis will be important for your own purposes, it can also be a useful
resource for the government. Government departments will undoubtedly be stretched to capacity intrying to implement all seventeen SDGs and any
help with gathering data; undertaking analysis ofexisting policies, laws and practices; and proposing
recommended responses can be of enormous help.
In fact, constructive and positive engagement withgovernment actors will help in building trust and amuch-needed rapport with these colleagues, allowing you to maximize impact when opportunities
present themselves.

Tool 1:
Undertaking
a Gap
Analysis

Step 1: Identify who is responsible for implementation
Consider who should lead, as well as what other partners could usefully assist with key activities. Consideration should be given
to both national stakeholders such as ministries and legislative bodies, as well as support that could be provided from regional
and international partners;

Step 2: Assess current implementation in participatory ways
Reflect on existing good practice that can be built upon, key gaps and major obstacles to reform/change. Where policies or plans
already exist (for example, a national development plan, national anti-corruption strategy or sectoral law and justice strategy),these should be reviewed and assessed against the Goal 16 commitments;

Step 3: Identify priority areas for action / make recommendations
This could usefully be broken up into short-term (0-5 years), medium-term (5-10 years) and long-term (10-15 years) priorities.
Consideration should be given to policy reforms, legal reforms and institutional reforms;

Step 4: Identify what resource are needed for implementation
Consider both the financial and human resources needed. Existing taskforces, stakeholder groups and coordination mechanisms(including those that were established in support of the MDGs) should be identified and their capacities assessed. Existing
budgets—both from national finances and donor resources—should also be reflected upon.

Step 5: Share gap analysis report with Government
Ideally, government partners will have collaboratied on any initial gap analysis, but if this is a purely civil society led
exercise, it is important to present your findings back to government stakeholders to encorage their uptake.

See Annex 1 for a blank template of this tool

There are many ways of undertaking an initial gap
analysis; no particular methodology or reporting
format needs to be followed. Depending on thefocus of your own organisation, you may want toassess all of the Goal 16 targets or select a packageof targets that relate to the same issue (e.g. addressing corruption or promoting access to justice) or
even just one target.

TIP hen presenting your analysis to government,W
ensure that it is concise and focuses on clear, action-based recommendations. Governments arelikely to be inundated with information related tothe seventeen SDGs, and your focus will make itmuch more likely that your analysis will be readand used. At this early stage, policymakers arelooking for ideas, so a practical set of responses ismost likely to be successful.

TIP e alert for opportunities to utilise the results ofB
national assessments undertaken for intergovernmental processes in your own analysis. For
example, ratification of the UN Convention
against Corruption requires States Parties toengage in the UNCAC review mechanism.5 Thismechanism requires that all countries undertake
an UNCAC self-assessment to determine thestrengths and weaknesses of the existing national anticorruption framework. A review cycle
looking at law enforcement and mutual legal
assistance was completed in 2015 and the next
cycle, focusing on prevention and asset recovery,
will last from 2015 to 2020. You can work withyour government to access existing self-assessments to inform your gap analysis, and should
stay alert for opportunities to engage in the next
self-assessment process.6
13

5 https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/IRG.html
6 https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CTOC/open-ended-intergovernmental-meeting-to-explore-all-options-regarding-an-appropriate-and-effective-review-mechanism.html

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

14

Identifying Targets and Partners:
Stakeholder Analysis
In support of any gap analysis, it will be useful toundertake a stakeholder analysis to identify which
institutional targets will have the most influence
and/or can be engaged as effective partners. This
will help you to more systematically identify who

you could usefully work with as you move forwards
with your own efforts to support implementation.
Experience shows that such an analysis will need to go
further than simply identifying stakeholders andshould reflect upon the importance of each stakeholder identified as well as the power they each haveto influence the Goal 16 agenda, their capacities, theirneeds and their current openness to engagement.

Tool 2: Stakeholder Analysis

Stakeholder analysis gridHigh power
to influencechangeLittle power
to influencechangeSatisfy: Medium-priority stakeholders that you willneed to work with and engage as opportunities arise
to impact

Influence: High priority stakeholders that havethe ability to impact and take decisions to support
your overall advocacy objectives

Examples: Media, other NGOs and CSOs

Examples: Policy-makers, local or national
decision-makers, high-level officials

Monitor: Low priority stakeholders to involve only
when resources permit or where there is potential
added value to one of your objectives

Inform, consult, and involve: Medium-priority
stakeholders that could be most affected by thisissue, and would be beneficial to consult withand keep informed of your work

Example: Local businesses affected by the issues

Example: Local communities and stakeholders thatare impacted by the issues you cover

Doesn’t matter much to them and/or
does not work closely on issues

Matters a lot to them and/or
works closely on issues

See Annex 2 for a blank template of this tool
(Adapted from Plan International, Global Education First Initiative Youth Advocacy Group, UNESCO, and A World At School (2014) An Advocacy Toolkit:
The Education We Want, p. 28, https://plan-international.org/advocacy-toolkit)

This issue of government receptiveness to civilsociety engagement is particularly critical to Goal 16
implementation as the agenda touches on particularly sensitive issues such as corruption, rule of law
and government responsiveness. In some countries,
the government has been proactive in engaging
with civil society during the process of developingthe 2030 Agenda and supporting SDGs, but inothers, it has been much more difficult for civil society to work with government to effect change. The
overarching challenge of declining civic space willcontinue to pose a problem in some jurisdictions.
Even in these circumstances, however, stakeholder
analysis can be quite useful in systematically assessing the potential for engagement with different
government bodies. Whilst many may not be
inclined to work with civil society, there may still besome individual officials or departments that are
more open to discussion or partnerships.

Potential Stakeholders to Include in National Stakeholder Mapping
National Government
Executive

The executive branch of government will have a primary responsibility for the implementation of the SDGs because it is empowered under theconstitution to manage the national budget and lead and/or coordinate the development and implementation of national policies and programmes.
• Cabinet: The Cabinet is usually the central decision-making body for a government and is typically comprised of key ministers who are responsible
for the major departments of that government. Many members of Cabinet may not have been involved in SDG consultations or negotiations, so
civil society should offer briefings to Cabinet on Goal 16 in order to develop trust and channels of information sharing.
• Ministers/Ministries: For Goal 16, there is no obvious single ministry who will be tasked with driving implementation activities. As such, any stakeholder mapping will need to assess the options for engagement with multiple ministries, including those responsible for law and justice, the public
service, the treasury/finance and local government.
• Interministerial committees: Noting the crosscutting nature of Goal 16, it would be beneficial for the government to set up an interministerial
coordination group or group of sector-specific officials to bring together relevant government and nongovernment stakeholders (see Part 3). If
possible, this should be included in any stakeholder mapping.

Legislature

Most legislatures will have a mix of responsibilities that could relate to SDG implementation, including: making laws (including debating and passing the national budget); reviewing treaties pre- and post-ratification; conducting oversight of government bodies; and representing the interests ofthe people who elected them. Alliances can be made with individual legislators, with parliamentary committees and even with the politicalparties that support elected legislators and often provide the policy advice and direction. All of these can be included in a stakeholder analysis.

Law & JusticeInstitutions

Goal 16 explicitly aims to ‘provide access to justice for all’ and make the courts and the justice system an intrinsic part of national accountability
systems. The superior courts will also have a specific role as constitutional arbiters and as the protectors of human rights. Institutional targets
are scattered across the justice system and include the police, prosecutors, judges, prison system and ministries that deal with justice and policing.
Institutions working to address gender-based violence, illicit financial flows/money laundering (e.g. the national Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)
and Reserve Bank) and specialised policing units or taskforces on trafficking of people or child protection could also be identified.

Sub-National Governments
Local
Governments

In many countries, subnational government bodies (whether state government, local council or district bodies) often play a key role inactivities relevant to Goal 16 (e.g., policing services, local courts, grievance-redress mechanisms and information dissemination). Dependingon whether you plan to focus on national Goal 16 policy advocacy or more on local Goal 16 issues, you may need to include an analysis of
local-level players in any stakeholder mapping. Ideally, you should also disaggregate the various government departments and agencies
working at local level, as these may each have different capacities and offer different opportunities for partnership.

Independent actors
Accountability
Institutions

Goal 16 focuses explicitly on improving institutional accountability and effectiveness. As such, you may need to analyse the network ofaccountability institutions within your content. Many of these bodies are supported with government funds but are statutorily created andoperate independently. For example, most countries have some form of Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) and Public Service Commission (PSC).
Many will also have a mix of an Ombudsman, Information Commission, National Human Rights Commission and/or Anti-Corruption
Commission. In some countries, there will be government bodies tasked with certain accountability functions (e.g. an anti-corruption police
unit, a financial intelligence unit based in the Treasury, a human-rights unit based in the Justice Ministry or a grievance-redress mechanism
based inside each department).

Civil Society

Goal 16 is a crosscutting goal that will be relevant to the work of many Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), so there will be many
opportunities to develop partnerships across civil society, whether via formal coalitions or looser networks/alliances. Civil society may include
not just formal CSOs, but trade unions, academic institutions, think tanks, youth groups and public online forums. Notably, one of thechallenges in working as part of a coalition may be ensuring partnerships that remain strategic and targeted; the breadth of many of theGoal 16 targets could make for large coalitions that will be more challenging to coordinate.

Community
Based
Organisations

A critique of the MDGs was that it was an international agenda driven by the international community and/or a small group of policy
elites. Whilst many more CSOs have been involved in the creation of the SDGs, there remains limited understanding and engagementfrom local-focused NGOs and community actors. As such, it may be useful for any stakeholder mapping to identify options for engaging local
communities.

Media

Identifying opportunities for working with a range of media – both traditional and social – can be useful if you intend to engage in policy
advocacy and/or public education, as the media outreach has long proven to be an effective strategy for CSOs to broaden the reach andimpact of their activities. Social media also offers opportunities to develop messaging for virtually no cost, though in countries with low
Internet penetration, it will be particularly important to identify opportunities to complement such media activities with partnerships withtraditional media, such as newspapers, radio stations and TV broadcasters.
15

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

16

Developing a Plan of Action
TIP

TIP

 emember that institutions are not impersonalRmonoliths, but are made up of different people
with different priorities. Although some government officials may not be keen to partner withyou on Goal 16 implementation immediately,
you can look for ‘champions’ who are willing tohelp move the agenda forwards. Individual
ministers, members of the legislature, heads ofdepartment or special units—all may be useful in
helping you navigate the complexity of
government processes and identifying where
your inputs can have the most impact and how
to most effectively channel them.

 orking in a network, coalition or partnershipW
can be challenging, as different organisations willoften have different priorities and constituents.
To increase the likelihood of a successful partnership that meets its goals, consider the following
points from the SD2015 SDG-Advocacy Toolkit.8
1.	Partnerships should be tactical and strategic.
Although a broad range of strategies is available,
choices must be made as to which tactics and/or
partners can exert the maximum pressure on
decision-makers. Decision-makers rarely respondto only one direction of pressure and will need tobe the focus of a number of tactics.
2.	Partnerships need to focus on the common spaceamongst partners for messaging and agreement,in spite of differing mandates and operational
procedures, in order to leverage power andeffect change.
3.	Partners should be involved in all aspects ofadvocacy. Often, the best partners are ones thathave been engaged right from the beginning,
during the situation analysis, as they share theresponsibility for identifying the problem and thedevelopment of solutions to address the problem.
4.	Partnerships will bring risk if they fail; therefore,
it is critical to be ‘risk-aware’.
5.	Consideration of organisational style and culture
can help working relationships and collaboration.

8 Available from www.unicef.org/evaluation/files/Advocacy_Toolkit.pdf.

In order to maximise the impact of your efforts, it canbe very useful to develop a written plan of action,
which will help to clarify exactly what you want todo, why you want to do it and how it will be done.
No matter the size of your organisation, good practices suggest that it can be useful to develop such aplan through a participatory process, which helps
build ownership over the plan whilst tapping into a
range of ideas and expertise. Such a plan can buildon the information gained through undertaking a
gap analysis and/or stakeholder analysis. Whendeveloping a plan, it can be useful to cluster yourideas around a few key questions.
Why are you working on this issue? The first step is
to clarify your primary objective. Are you pushing fora specific change in policy/law (e.g. law reform or
increased budgetary allocations)? Do you have an
activity or programme idea that you want the government to implement? Do you want to raise generalawareness amongst the public in order to encourage
citizens to hold the government accountable for
SDGs implementation? Do you want the government
to address an issue relevant to a specific group ofpeople (e.g. women or indigenous people)?
Who do you want to target? Once you havedecided what you hope to achieve, you need to
identify who exactly you should target to have thegreatest impact. This is where you can draw on thestakeholder mapping you may have undertaken(see Part 2). If you want to target policymakers,
who exactly has the power or influence to help you
get the change that you want? Should you target
national or local government? Politicians, politicalparties or elected members of parliament (MPs) or
clear set of institutions that are all involved in yourissue (e.g. law-and-justice institutions at different
levels)? Don’t forget that it is individuals withinthese institutions who will have the power to makethe change, so be as specific as possible when identifying your targets. Even if your goal is to raise
general public awareness, does your network havea greater comparative advantage in reaching out
to rural populations, youth or women? Are otherTool 3: Developing an Advocacy Plan

Developing an Advocacy Plan
What needs to change?
Tip: Identify which issues do you want
to focus on, and choose concise andaction-oriented objectives

Who do we need to influence?
What do we need them to do?
Tip: Identify 2 or 3 things which would
help achieve the overall objective

What will we do to target thisstakeholder?

1.
2.
3.

To do

By whom

By whenExample: Draft position paper on
Goal 16

Example: Policy Director

Example: 3 weeks prior to key
meeting

Example: Potential politicalresistance

Example: government
decision-makers

Tip: Consider what you’ll do for advocacy—
will you provide technical advice, develop apartnership, or write a paper/report/letter?

Managing risks
Tip: Consider the risks of your plan (eg. lackof funding, political resistance, unwillingness
to partner, security). What can you do to
manage them?

Monitoring Success
Tip: Identify indicators that tell you if you’rebeing successful, and identify some actions
you can undertake to help track progress

Example: Adoption of comprehensive national implementationand monitoring plan for Goal 16

See Annex 3 for a blank template of this tool
(Adapted from Plan International, Global Education First Initiative Youth Advocacy Group, UNESCO, and A World At School (2014) An Advocacy Toolkit:
The Education We Want, p. 50, https://plan-international.org/advocacy-toolkit

organisations working in a particular area already,and if so, would it be useful to partner with themor could you have greater impact elsewhere?
What do you plan to do? At the early stages of yourstrategizing, this section may be more or less detailed,depending on your confirmed resources and whether
you are trying to start something new or building on
existing work. You do not need to set out in detailevery element of every activity, but it will be useful tostart thinking through what is realistic, whether/how
you want to innovate and what resources/partnerships you will need. As your overarching strategic
approach starts taking shape, you can develop
more-detailed activity plans. For example, Part 4 discusses how to develop more detailed ideas in relation
to advocacy messaging and law reform.

17

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

18

Case Study: Combining Research and Advocacy Approaches
to Improve Government Outputs9
The Public Sector Accountability Monitor (PSAM) is based in the Eastern Cape, one of the poorest provinces of South Africa.
Between 2007 and 2012, PSAM undertook research and advocacy to improve budgeting and service delivery of the province’s health department. Before 2007, PSAM had more of a ‘shame and blame’ strategy—researching and publicising all
the problems in the health department’s policies, plan, and budgets, with a particular focus on corruption. In 2007, PSAM
changed its strategy, moving away from confrontation and focusing on high-quality analysis and targeted advocacy towards
the executive branch of government (because the provincial parliament had low capacity and decisions in the provincial
legislature were very politicised). In its analyses, PSAM repeatedly raised issues regarding poor-quality planning documents;
weak budgeting processes; unfunded mandates; poor procurement; high levels of unauthorised expenditure; and lack of
response to Auditor-General and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) findings.
In response to PSAM’s sustained evidence-based advocacy, there were noticeable improvements in planning, budgeting andfinancial management in the Eastern Cape health department. New leadership brought a stronger commitment to accountability. By early 2012, eight hundred departmental employees had been let go on charges of fraud and corruption andanother three hundred did not have their contracts renewed. More than one hundred companies were blacklisted. Thesechanges directly addressed many of the problems PSAM had highlighted through research papers, media and submissions
to the legislature. In particular, media coverage of PSAM’s analysis caught the attention of the national South African government, which intervened to address the persistent problems in the Eastern Cape. Government, the legislature, the media
and the public trusted PSAM because its research was seen as objective in separating valid causes of problems—such as
underfunding and service backlogs—from causes within the department’s control—such as poor management and corruption. This evidence-based approach proved very compelling and impactful.

28 September—International Right to Know Day
TIP

TIP

F or more efficient advocacy, it can be useful totarget existing networks to enable your message
to be disseminated more quickly and to amplify
the reach of your advocacy. This applies both for
public advocacy and government-focused advocacy.

 o give your advocacy efforts more reach, you canTleverage the publicity around relevant international commemoration days. Many of the issues
covered by Goal 16 have relevant dedicated tothem by the United Nations, for example:
12 June—World Day against Child Labour
30 July—World Day against Trafficking in Persons
15 September—International Day of Democracy
21 September—International Day of Peace

5 December—International Volunteer Day
9 December—International Anti-Corruption Day
10 December—Human Rights Day
For additional international dates, visit
http://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-days/

Developing Compelling Messages
for Advocacy
One of the most important things civil society can doregarding SDG implementation is to support efforts
to raise awareness amongst local stakeholders about
the 2030 Agenda and Goal 16. Whilst many morepolicymakers and members of the public have been
engaged in the creation of the SDGs than the MDGs,

9 Fölscher, K & Kruger, J., (undated). ‘When Opportunity Beckons: The Impact of the Public Service Accountability Monitor’s Work on Improving Health Budgets in South Africa’, Open
Budget Partnership Case Studies, http://www.internationalbudget.org/publications/when-opportunity-beckons-the-impact-of-the-public-service-accountability-monitors-work-on-improving-health-budgets-in-south-africa/.

most publicly through the MY World10 and World We
Want11 websites, these efforts will need to be built
upon to ensure that the public understands andowns the new 2030 Agenda and its supporting SDGs.
In the early stages, it may be that you want to simply
explain to people what the SDGs are and why they
are important. In doing so, it is important to localise
the SDGs so that their relevance and impact on people’s daily lives become clear. For many people,
including some policymakers, this may seem like justanother ‘UN-imposed agenda’ that is difficult tounderstand or grasp. If that is the case, it could be
useful to develop advocacy messages that are specifically designed to ‘demystify’ the SDGs and explain
how they are relevant to everyone’s lives.

influence decision-makers to support your work. Yourmessages should be clear, concise, simple and limited
in number to help ensure that they are memorable toyour target audience. It can be useful to include evidence-based data in your messages, as many people
are more convinced by numbers and research results.
Likewise, you may want to reference comparative
examples or stories. Every time you engage in advocacy consider the following questions.14• What do you want the audience to understand?
• What do you want the audience to remember?
• What do you want the audience to do?

In 2014, CIVICUS and Stakeholder Forum developed atoolkit to help civil society organisations undertake
advocacy around the SDGs. The Advocacy Toolkit:
Influencing the Post-2015 Development Agenda12
provides detailed guidance on how to prepare for,implement and manage an awareness-raising and/or
advocacy campaign in useful detail. In 2014, to complement the Advocacy Toolkit, CIVICUS andStakeholder Forum also developed a kit to guide civilsociety work with the media. Engaging with theMedia: A Companion to the Advocacy Toolkit for
Influencing the Post-201513 includes a very useful setof tools and tips to help civil society develop effective
communications strategies, which harness huge
potential reach of traditional and social media. It is
important to remember that undertaking advocacy
and awareness-raising activities is not just about generating publicity broadly, but also about helping
your target audience understand something specificabout what you are doing and what you would likethem to do.
For communications to be effective, you need to beclear about the outcome of any message you aretrying to convey. Formulating strong and clear messages for advocacy is one of the most crucial parts ofyour entire strategy, as these are the messages thatyour organisation will take forwards, and what will
10 http://www.myworld2015.org/?page=about-my-world
11 http://www.WorldWeWant.org
12 http://civicus.org/images/stories/SD2015%20Post-2015%20Advocacy%20Toolkit_FINAL.pdf
13 http://www.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/Engagingwiththemedia.pdf
14 http://www.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/Engagingwiththemedia.pdf

TIP hen developing advocacy and/or educationW
approaches, experience shows that clear andeffective messages should: Be clear, memorable and consistent; Summarise the change you want to bring about; Be simple, short and punchy; Be relatively jargon-free; Be tailored to your specific audience(s); Include clear deadlines and timelines for undertaking the work; Include any actions you want the audience(s) totake in response; Combine the policy messages with concrete examples and anecdotal evidence to support them.

TIP n increasingly effective way of reaching out toAyoung people is through social media, as young
men and women are more likely to use webbased platforms to access and share information.
The UN has also been using web-based platforms
to collect public inputs during the SDGs development process (see www.WorldWeWant.org).
Twitter and Facebook are particularly simple,
far-reaching platforms. Incorporating hashtags
such as #2030Now, #globaldev, #SDGs and#WorldWeWant have been effective in sharing
campaign messages globally.
19

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

20

Tool 4: Developing Advocacy Messages

Developing Advocacy Messages
This tool will help you to summarise and present your advocacy message for different audiences

Primary Message: Describe your statement, goal and actions desired resulting from your advocacy
Example: “The 2030 Agenda must promote openness, accountability and effective public institutions, build trust between states and its citizens, lay thefoundation for peaceful and just societies, and empower civil society to engage in the design, implementation and accountability of public policies, at alllevels. The implementation of Goal 16 will contribute significantly to the achievement of these goals, and civil society actors must play a key role in themonitoring and accountability for Goal 16 and the 2030 Agenda more broadly.”

Audience (Examples)

Concerns

Possible Messages

Decision-makers(government ministers,
legislators, administrators,
corporation heads)

Potential for countries to not prioritize Goal 16,
and only focus on other goals. National planning,
implementation and reporting processes might not
be inclusive of stakeholders and civil society.

Goal 16 to promote peaceful, just and inclusive
societies and accountable institutions is an SDG
that cuts across all other SDGs, and underpins theentire 2030 Agenda. Governments must prioritize
inclusion and participation of stakeholders in all
development-related processes at the national
level, in an effort to fulfill the 2030 Agenda’s
commitment to “leave no one behind.”

General public

General awareness of the 2030 Agenda, the SDGs
and Goal 16 might be lacking for those not working on sustainable development or UN issues.

Goal 16 and the SDGs are a critical roadmap fornational governments to collective chart a course
for a sustainable future, and is an opportunity tostrengthen international cooperation on sustainable development issues. This is also a key
opportunity to raise awareness for all of the issues
contained within the SDGs and Goal 16.

Journalists

Civil society organizations

Donors (foundations, bilateralagencies, multilateral agencies)

Issue-related practitioners
such as trade unions

Opinion leaders(religious leaders, chiefs andtraditional/community leaders)

See Annex 4 for a blank template of this tool
(Adapted from CIVICUS/Stakeholder Forum (2014). Advocacy Toolkit: Influencing the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Available from http://www.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/Post2015AdvocacyToolkit.pdf)

Part 3
Supporting National Planningfor Goal 16
Each government will also decide how these aspirational and global targets should be incorporated into national planning processes, policies and strategies… . Targets are definedas aspirational and global, with each government setting its own national targets guided by
the global level of ambition but taking into account national circumstances… . Quality, accessible, timely and reliable disaggregated data will be needed to help with the measurement of progress and to ensure that no one is left behind. Such data is key to decision-making.
Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The wide-ranging issues covered within 2030
Agenda will require that no time be wasted inaction and implementation if the SDGs are to truly
transform the world. In some cases during the MDG
era, implementation and policy change took almost
half a decade to commence. This time, policymakers
were clear that whilst the overall agenda would be
negotiated and universally agreed through intergovernmental processes, implementation would
have to be calibrated to take into account the specific and needs and priorities of each country.
National planning for SDG implementation has now
begun in earnest, and this is a critical time for civilsociety to assess its options for engagement withnational planning mechanisms and processes. It is
important that we ensure implementation plans aredeveloped in a participatory fashion and that they
result in outputs that are people-centred andhuman-rights focused and that entrench monitoring and accountability processes that are transparent
and inclusive.

Engaging with SDG Policy Coordination
Mechanisms
Although the SDGs were developed as a single unified agenda with multiple sectoral issues included
under each of the seventeen goals, government
structures tend to have sector-specific institutions
and departments (e.g. the Department of Health).
As such, it is likely that governments will have to
adopt multiple implementation and coordination
mechanisms across departments and ministries toensure that efforts are joined up but remain targeted. This is already happening in many countries
that are building on coordinating mechanisms firstestablished in support of the MDGs.
Interministerial SDGs Working Groups: Ideally, theCabinet should keep watch over the entire 2030
Agenda. To this end, an operational level SDG taskforce will commonly be established to coordinate
efforts and report back to Cabinet/ministers on
progress. Evidence shows that any such taskforce

21

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

22

Case Study: Keeping Momentum Going through Systemic Coordination15
There are many lessons that can be learnt from the MDG implementation processes, not least, thebenefit of systematic coordination of efforts. These processes not only bring together government
institutions, but have also been shown to benefit from civil society engagement. For example, in
2010, Mexico established the Specialised Technical Committee of the Millennium Development
Goals Information System (CTESIODM), an interministerial mechanism chaired by the Office of the
President (EOP), with the national statistical office operating as its permanent technical secretariat.
This ensured that the EOP played a central role in coordinating implementation of MDGs and that
other bodies recognised the importance of the agenda for their own work. The establishment of aproper secretariat helped embed the coordination process within government, such that CTESIODM
will continue to operate for the SDGs.
As one observer commented, ‘Institutionalising [this] mechanism let us transcend political changes
and different governments in such a way that the MDG Committee resumed activities two months
after President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in December 2012.’ Another senior advisor within
the Mexican government also observed of the CTESIODM: ‘The majority of institutions that arepart of the Committee participate in the definition, implementation and evaluation of public policythat have a direct impact on MDG achievement. The Committee is responsible for reviewing andselecting the best information sources available; reviewing and agreeing on the methodologies
and technical procedures applicable on each case; integrating and updating the statistics required
to generate indicators; [and] elaborating and presenting reports on Mexico’s progress in thisarea.’ Congress has also been a key stakeholder in implementation, obliging the government toproduce continuous reports on the status of the MDGs. Congress has ensured that the country’s
national development plans, including targets on dealing with poverty, health and education
indicators, were actually included in national legislation, which enabled Congress to oversee
implementation more systematically.

would need a clear terms of reference (ToR) andwould likely be responsible for coordinating thedevelopment of a national SDG implementation
plan and/or integrating SDG implementation into
existing plans. Each SDG will also likely warrant its
own coordination mechanism, as most are multisectoral and complex. Goal 16 will undoubtedly require
some form of overarching interministerial working
group or multi-stakeholder taskforce to ensure thata joined-up approach is taken. This should also
involve nonexecutive partners, such as the legislature, accountability institutions and civil society.

permanent form of sustainable development council has been established, focusing on the overarchinggoal of sustainable development and having a supplementary mandate to coordinate government
efforts. Research has shown that NSCDs usuallyoperate as an advisory body to government, examining sustainable development issues and advisingin public and private reports on the evolution of
any national sustainable development strategy or
policy. These NSDC’s should include civil society andcan offer advice of their own volition or at therequest of the government or legislature.

National Sustainable Development Councils(NSDCs):16 Complementary to such issue-focusedinteragency taskforces, in many countries, a more

15 Sarwar, MB (2015). National MDG implementation: Lessons for the SDG era, Overseas Development Institute, www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications.../10003.pdf.
16 Osborn, D. Cornforth, J. & and Ullah, F. (2014). National Councils for Sustainable Development: Lessons from the past and present, Stakeholder Forum, http://www.stakeholderforum.
org/fileadmin/files/NiestroySDG%20thinkpiece%20-%20FINAL2.pdf.

Input into SDG Implementation Plans
TIP

TIP

TIP

 ost commonly, an SDG taskforce will involve aM
broad cross-section of stakeholders and national
government ministries and departments, as wellas independent statutory institutions with relevant mandates (e.g. the national human rights
institutions or the supreme audit office). In decentralised countries, it may also involve representatives of subnational governments. And whilst
nongovernment representatives are also becoming involved at increasing rates, advocacy mustalso focus on encouraging inclusion and space for
CSOs to engage and feed in experiential and/or
expert inputs.

 uild on what already exists if you can. AfterB
fifteen years of MDG implementation, there are
already likely to be coordination mechanisms inplace. If so, you should consider whether and how
existing mechanisms can be reworked to support
Goal 16 implementation. For example, if yourcountry is already a State Party to UNCAC, there
may be some form of anti-corruption interministerial group or officials working group in placethat could be tasked with overseeing implementation of some of the Goal 16 targets. Likewise,
many developing countries already have Rule ofLaw coordination groups that organise support
across the law-and-justice sector and could betasked with Goal 16 oversight.

If you are undertaking advocacy towards thegovernment, you can find out whether you canengage with any existing sectoral working
groups. For example, many countries already haveestablished law-and-justice working groups thatbring together different institutions across thejustice sector to discuss common issues and ensurea joined-up approach to access to justice. Sometimes, these working groups will have subcommittees to address specific issues such as child trafficking or corruption.

At this early stage of SDG implementation, a key
focus of national governments will be reviewing
domestic policy frameworks and processes to identify how they can align with the SDGs and facilitate
effective implementation. This is a critical opportunity for civil society to fundamentally shape thenational SDG implementation agenda, including
throughpromotingoverarchingstrategic
approaches to Goal 16. Many countries already havenational development plans in place and/or sectoralplans that coordinate work in a specific area, forexample, a law-and-justice or anti-corruption strategy. The key in every context will be to work out
whether and how existing strategies and policies
can be reviewed and reworked to provide targetedguidance in support of Goal 16 implementation.
There are a range of ways that civil society can assist
the government during the process of policy review
and development.
If you have undertaken a gap analysis (see Part 2) orother research, you can share the information you
have collected and your recommendations. Information such as survey data, technical statistics andlessons learnt from implementation of previous policies can be very useful during this process.
You can provide expert technical advice to government officials. Many civil society organisations havedeveloped strong expertise in their area of work—for example, on how to tackle corruption or how toprotect children in communities—that can be sharedwith the government. In particular, collecting comparative information on what other countries are
doing that is working can be particularly useful.
You can share innovative ideas with the government. Civil society is known to be particularly goodat piloting new ideas and learning by doing. Ideas
such as participatory budgeting and local public-expenditure hearings were initially innovated by civilsociety before government took them up more systematically.
If you have a membership base or are part of a network, you can facilitate inputs from the publicduring the policy consultation phase. Civil society
has often been very effective in working as an inter-

23

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

24

Case Study: Developing Participatory Plans to Implement Goal 16
In 2015, two international organisations—Namati and the Open Society Foundations (OSF)—
worked with national partners to organise multi-stakeholder meetings to discuss the post-2015
agenda and identify opportunities to utilise Goal 16 at the national level. Each country took adifferent approach:
Kenya: The lead NGO, Kituo cha Sheria, partnered with the Kenyan Parliamentary Human Rights
Association (KEPHRA), the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), the Office of the Attorney
General and the Office of the Chief Justice to convene two days of meetings. Their initial aim wasto create a national justice plan tied to Goal 16. However, government officials warned that a newplan would take several years to pass and could stall progress on SDG implementation moregenerally. Accordingly, stakeholders changed their plans and focused on better integrating Goal 16
into draft legislation and utilising momentum around the SDGs to push that draft legislation throughParliament. As a result, Goal 16 was integrated into the Legal Aid Bill, the Access to Information
Bill and the Community Land Bill, all of which were finally brought to Parliament for debate after
extended drafting processes. Indicators to track Goal 16 were also integrated into the draft National
Human Rights Policy and Action Plan.
Philippines: The lead NGO, the Alternative Law Group, partnered with a number of other NGOs, aswell as the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) and the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA). They organised a meeting to raise national awareness on the SDGs generally and tointegrate Goal 16 into the new Philippines Development Plan (PDP). Sixty representatives from government,
donor agencies, civil society and the private sector attended. As a result of the meeting, the governmentand civil society agreed to partner to develop a new justice sector chapter to be integrated into the PDP
based on nationwide consultations. It is anticipated that this work will be undertaken in 2016 and thatthe final justice sector plan will be financed through sector-wide budgeting.

mediary between the government and the public tohelp explain complex technical information and tochannel public inputs back into the policy process.

TIP on’t reinvent the wheel. MDG implementationD
was often sidetracked by interminable policy
development processes, which diverted attention
and resources. Ideally, existing policies can be
improved upon as a first step and then redeveloped at the end of their current cycle. The key isfor you to identify what may have been missing,what can be improved upon and what can be
added, and then provide concrete recommendations to the government for action.

TIP

It is unlikely that local governments will havebeen heavily involved in the initial negotiations
on the SDGs because they are less engaged inintergovernmental processes. As such, civil society
could provide briefings for local government
officials on the 2030 Agenda and Goal 16 specifically. Civil society can be active in bridging thecommon divide that exists between national andsubnational government officials. For example,
civil society can identify, and advocate in support
of, ways of channelling subnational perspectives
into national SDG bodies such as interministerial
working groups.

Part 4
Supporting National
Implementation of Goal 16
We underline the need to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for achieving
sustainable development, and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Good governance, rule of law, human rights, fundamental freedoms, equal access to fair justice systems and measures to combat corruption andcurb illicit financial flows will be integral to our efforts.
Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development

Whilst the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs are explicitly
claim to be ‘universally applicable’, governments
have rightfully recognised that there was no onesize-fits-all approach to implementing the SDGs.
Over the next fifteen years, civil society will have a
critical role in the support and strengthening ofgovernment-led processes, including working withministers, government departments and the legislature to contextualise Goal 16 and to identify steps
to take local implementation forwards.

Working with Government Institutions to
Improve Programmes
One of the most important ways that civil society
can support the implementation of Goal 16 isthrough direct engagement in running or supporting programmes. Many civil society organisations
have proven experience working with government
institutions to help ensure the effective rollout of
programmes and can bring this expertise to Goal
16 activities. Some common entry points for support include:

Working to strengthen core government functions:
There are a few cross-cutting departments whose
activities underpin all of the Goal 16 targets and the2030 Agenda more generally. These are often
referred to as ministries performing ‘core government functions’, namely policy and planning,financial management, public-service management
and information management. These four areas ofwork are not necessarily all undertaken by the same
ministry (or ministries); their responsibilities may bescattered across ministries/departments. Activities
in support of these areas include: supporting participatory budgeting; undertaking citizen report cards
to assess the effectiveness of public expenditures;
undertaking citizen audits by accessing informationand verifying programme/budget implementation
and/or identifying ghost workers on the payroll;and supporting e-governance or web-based information-dissemination schemes.
Working with sectoral ministries and/or statutory
bodies: A number of the Goal 16 targets are
addressed at specific institutions, such as law-andjustice bodies, anti-corruption institutions anddecision-making bodies (at both national and local

25

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

26

levels). Many will already have ongoing programmesof work that civil society may be a part of. Activities
in support of these bodies include: law-and-justicesector human-rights training; prison-visiting
schemes; treaty shadow reporting (in particular,
regarding the UNCAC, the UNTOC and the CRC);
and setting up grievance-redress mechanisms forreporting maladministration or malfeasance(including whistle-blower hotlines).
Working with local government bodies: Many of
the Goal 16 targets focus on activities that takeplace at the local level. As such, it will be critical todevelop partnerships with subnational institutions
to support them to more effectively design andimplement programming in a joined-up way.
Significantly, whilst local governments are well-recognised as deliverers of services (e.g. related to law
and justice, birth/death/marriage registration), they
are also key entry points to support people’s
engagement in public decision-making and accountability processes. Activities in support of thesebodies include: supporting local-level participatory
budgeting; piloting efforts to engage young people
and women more proactively in decision-making
bodies; undertaking citizen audits of local level programmes; and trialling alternative dispute resolution
mechanisms and/or complaints mechanisms.

Ministry of Finance before it is approved by the
Cabinet and submitted to the legislature for final
approval. There are opportunities at all of thesepoints to get involved in lobbying for more funding to be directed towards Goal 16 programmes.
Find out about your budget process and identify
points at which you could influence the process
for the benefit of your campaign. Don’t forgetthe legislative process of budget adoption—usually the budget will be referred to a legislative
committee for detailed hearings and inquiries,
and this may provide an opportunity to feed supportive legislators with information to make thebudget better.

TIP

In many countries, the legislature will have someprocess that enables any legislator to ask a question of a minister on any issue they choose. In
parliamentary systems, this is known as ‘Question
Time’, whereas in other systems the process
involves what are called ‘interpellations’. Civil society can work with supportive members of the legislature to encourage them to use these processes toquestion ministers and draw attention to Goal 16
issues. For example, civil society can find a member
to ask the minister for justice what he/she has been
doing to support anti-corruption enforcement
through law reform or ask the prime minister forthe status of the national Goal 16 strategy.

Participating in Law Reform
TIP

TIP

 abinet meetings are often closed to outsiders. To
C
get around this restriction, civil society can offer
to host their own briefings for Cabinet members.
If you can find a Goal 16 champion within
Cabinet, he or she could co-host the meeting,which would increase the chances of other ministers attending. If you brief Cabinet, it is importantto have concrete recommendations that you want
Cabinet to pursue. An initial recommendation
could be to ask for updates on SDG planning andimplementation as part of their regular Cabinet
agenda in order to ensure that government
officials take the 2030 Agenda seriously.

 he national budget process can be an importantT
opportunity to ensure that proper resources
are dedicated to implementing Goal 16. Usually,
the budget will be developed through an interministerial process and finalised by the Treasury/

A core part of any Goal 16 implementation plan will
most likely involve some elements of law reform toensure that the country’s ‘enabling environment’ isconducive to achieving the overall goal. Any initial
gap analysis (see Part 2) will likely include an assessment of key areas for law reform. This analysis canthen help inform decisions about which reforms toprioritise. The most common avenue for progressing law reform is through working with relevant
ministries within the executive branch. It is the executive government that usually proposes law
reforms—though in many countries it is also possible for legislators to propose new laws oramendments (see below). It is critical to get theministry responsible for legislative drafting onside
early so that they will prioritise the draft law. As afirst step, find out how the law-making process

Case Study: Innovating to Show Government How to Implement
More Effective Programmes
According to a study from the International Movement ATD Fourth World, in Senegal, birth registrationis compulsory. Every birth must be declared within the first month. However, despite the Senegalese
government carrying out a nationwide campaign in 2004 in order to raise awareness about birth
registration, many families living in poverty were not registering their children’s births. Following thelaunch of a regional birth registration campaign, the Senegalese government intensified its social
mobilisation to give every child the right to an official identity. When ATD heard about the new campaign, they decided to undertake research (through at-home interviews) to find out why poor families
were not systematically registering their newborns. They found that families were often discouragedby the complexity of the procedures and the price of getting a birth certificate. ATD recognised theimportance of investigating the root causes behind this issue before developing responses.
In support of the government’s campaign, activists of the ATD Fourth World Movement were mobilised
and partnered with grassroots organisations that worked with some of the most disadvantaged
communities. The activists regularly organised door-to-door and group sensitisation on the issue.
Innovatively, ATD worked with communities to map families without birth certificates and then organisemonthly meetings with affected people and local authorities to discuss their issues and come up
with solutions. ATD believes people living in poverty should be involved in defining the problem
themselves and be given space to have open dialogue with other stakeholders. ATD staff also met
with officials to sensitise them to the particular obstacles faced by families living in poverty. ATD has
provided direct support to families to help them get birth certificates, both for the adults and fortheir children. As a result of their efforts, procedures were simplified and there has been a tangible
increase in birth registrations.

works, particularly which body within the government is responsible for the actual drafting of laws(e.g. the State Law Office, Office of the Attorney
General or the Ministry of Justice). Oftentimes, one
ministry will be responsible for the particular Goal
16 issue of interest and another ministry will be
responsible for legislative drafting; in such cases, it
is important to work with both ministries.
Although the exact process will differ acrosscountries, there are a number of common entry
points for engaging with the executive branch tosupport law reform.

Educate and lobby Cabinet, key ministers and particularly the minister responsible for the administrationof laws/justice to take up your issue(s) for law reform.
Provide technical advice to the ministry or office
responsible for legislative drafting to develop a
proposal for law reform that will then be discussed
and approved within the Cabinet and write a draft
law, drawing on comparative good practice fromother jurisdictions.
Support the ministry or office responsible for legislative drafting to undertake public consultations to
inform the draft law.

27

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT28

Figure 1: General Process for Drafting or Amending Laws

TIP

TIP

1

SDG implementation
plan identifies priorities

6

Ministry of Law
consults stakeholders
on the bill

7

Final draft bill returns
to Cabinet forendorsement

2

Ministry responsible
identifies policy priorities
requiring legislation

5

If Cabinet approves,
the Ministry of Law
drafts a bill

8

Bill is sent to thelegislative for submission
and consideration

3

Ministry drafts
legislative proposal

4

Cabinet considers thelegislative proposal todevelop/amend law

 reas for law reform that may be necessary toAimplement Goal 16 include: criminal law provisions to prosecute human trafficking (Target
16.2); criminal law provisions to prosecute bribery
and corruption in accordance with UNCAC Chapter 3 (Target 16.5); financial-management transparency and accountability legislation and regulations (Target 16.6); policies requiring consultingwith citizens in decision-making (Target 16.7); FOI
legislation (Target 16.10); and antidiscrimination
legislation (MOI Target 16.b).

If you want your advocacy to have impact, youneed to be ready to offer technical advice on thedetails of the law reforms for which you are lobbying. Ideally, you will have capacity within yourorganisation already, but if not, you can bring inlegal expertise through volunteers (e.g. law stu-

dents and their professors) or pro bono legal help
(e.g. from supportive private law firms) and/or
you can partner with international expert NGOs
who offer free law-reform advice.

TIP

In some areas, intergovernmental bodies or NGOs
have developed template laws that you can use
for inspiration. You should draw on model laws,
where they exist, though they should be adapted
for your local context. For example, Article 19 hasa model Freedom of Information bill18 and the
UNODC has developed numerous legislative
guides on anti-corruption and transnational andorganised crime (in support of implementation of
relevant treaty obligations).19

18 Article 19 (2001). Freedom of Information Model Law, http://www.right2info.org/resources/publications/article-19-model-foi-law.
19 For tools regarding UNCAC, see https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/, and for tools regarding UNTOC, see https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/organized-crime/index.html.

Case Study: Legislators and Civil Society Advocating for Anti-corruption Action20
The Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) is the only international
network of parliamentarians focused solely on combating corruption. Its members represent morethan fifty countries in all regions of the world. They are current or former legislators who collaborate
on a nonpartisan basis. GOPAC explicitly recognises the value of civil society partnership, committing
to ‘achieve accountability and transparency through effective anti-corruption mechanisms andinclusive participation and cooperation between parliamentarians, government and civil society.’
GOPAC’s Participation of Society Global Task Force (GTF-PoS) highlights the importance ofparliamentarians engaging with their constituents and working collaboratively with civil society toraise awareness of corruption issues and lobby for legislative and administrative changes aimed atcombatting corruption. For example, in 2014, GOPAC Argentina convened a meeting to discuss
legislative transparency with the goal of creating a resolution on access to information that bothhouses of Congress could accept. The meeting was organised in collaboration with a group of CSOs
dedicated to legislative transparency in Latin America, and was attended by both legislators andNGOs in Argentina.21 GOPAC also partnered with Transparency International Canada to bring
together Canadian CSOs working on anti-corruption and transparency. The group discussed
opportunities to increase their collective impact and identified a number of key shared issues,
including beneficial ownership, whistle-blower protection and joint anti-corruption advocacy.22

29
20 http://gopacnetwork.org/programs/participation-of-society/.
21 http://gopacnetwork.org/Docs/AnnualReport2014_Web_EN.pdf.
22 Ibid.

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT30

Figure 2: Example entry points for working with legislators

Leadership

es

e

rs

Re

pr

Can committees be encouraged to holdinquiries into allegations around
corruption? Are committees holding
public hearings to enable CSOs and the
public to testify on corruption issues
and advocate responses?

ig

Can Ministers of Parliament talk totheir home constituents to find out
how corruption is affecting their lives?
Are any of the problems related to thelegal, budget or policy environment?

ht

BudgetExample:Target 16.5:
Substantially reduce
corruption andbribery in all its
forms

Do existing criminal laws cover
all forms of corruption? Have
any anti-corruption watch-dogs
calls for amendments? Is there
freedom of information
legislation, whisteblower
legislation, Anti-Corruption
Commission legislation?

aking

Is enough funding being given
to anti-corruption institutions(eg. Auditor, Anti-Corruption
Commission, etc)? Are budget
processes effective for exposing
corruption? Can budget
committees ask questions about
corruption allegations?

-m
Law

Sc r utinyIs there a Parliamentary
Friendship Group on UNCAC?
Can any Ministers of Parliament
be partnered with as a“champion” against corruption?

en

ta t

io n

Although laws and amendments are commonly
drafted by the executive branch, in many countries,
members of the legislature can also propose theirown laws (whether because the congress/assembly
has its own law-making powers or through private
members’ bills). Where this is possible, individual
legislators and/or coalitions of legislators could also
be encouraged to develop draft laws. When legislators who are willing to sponsor a law or amendment
are identified, civil society can provide them withtechnical assistance to put together a draft law. In

Co m

t
m it

ee

Ov

the United Kingdom, for example, early efforts toenact FOI legislation were done through the tablingof a Private Members’ FOI Bill by opposition MPs,
who were supported by the UK Campaign for
Freedom of Information.
In most countries, when a draft law is finally tabled
for consideration by the legislature, it will bereferred to a relevant legislative committee forreview (e.g. a law on organised crime may bereferred to the law-and-justice committee of thelegislature). In some countries, these committees

have their own expert support staff, but in many
countries, their resources are scarce and an offeringof technical support may be welcomed. Many legislative committees will organise public hearings on to
enable the public to provide their opinions on a bill’scontent. This is a critical opportunity for civil society
groups to be proactive by making submissions(whether in writing or in person) to such legislative
committees to ensure that law reforms achieve theirgoals and are human-rights compliant.

TIP

TIP

 ost legislatures have some form of committeeMsystem whereby legislators sit together in smaller
committees to oversee specific sectors of government work. Many countries will already have an
established legislative law-and-justice committee
and/or financial/budgetary-oversight committeethat could amend its terms of reference to enablelegislative committee oversight of Goal 16 implementation. Issues such as legal identity or childtrafficking could also be considered by committees on social welfare or child protection, andcorruption could be dealt with through a legal
committee or cross-sectorally by including
public-accountability/anti-corruption oversight inthe terms of reference of all sectoral committees(e.g., the health-and-welfare committee or
education committee).

 hilst developed country legislatures usually haveW
substantial staff to support their legislative committees with research and analysis of proposedlaws, many under-resourced legislatures will likely
have only limited technically proficient staff, suchthat an offer of research and drafting support bycivil society organisations to legislative committees
would be welcomed. You can identify committee
members who are supportive of Goal 16 and offer
them support in analysing the draft laws they are
given to review and/or in drafting committee reports and amendments as appropriate.

TIP embers of the legislature can often be asMinfluential as ministers or government officials.
Particularly in parliamentary systems, it is even thecase that, within a few years, a champion in the
opposition can become a minister in the government. You may consider undertaking
advocacy towards legislators. In many countries,
issues-based legislative ‘friendship groups’ exist
within legislatures, bringing cross-party groups oflegislators together around a particular cause. For
example, Amnesty International (AI) supports
many parliamentary friendship groups committed
to human rights,23 and the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) supports parliamentarygroups on population and development.24 Somelegislatures also have youth caucuses or women’scaucuses that bring together smaller groups oflegislators with common interests. These caucuses
could also be encouraged to take on Goal 16 andchampion inclusive governance and peace.

Undertaking Strategic Litigation
Whilst law reform is most commonly pursued
through deliberate amendment of legislation, it isalso possible to advocate for change through what
is called ‘strategic litigation’. This refers to public-interest litigation that is deliberately undertaken in aneffort to clarify, amend or extend the law in supportof an overarching law reform campaign. Strategic
litigation has most commonly been used by humanrights activists who have pushed for pro-rights
interpretations of the constitutional bills of rights intheir countries.
Strategic litigation can be costly, but in countries
with activist courts and/or a strong rights-based
constitutional framework, courts may be willing totake action before the government or legislaturedoes. Successful strategic litigation results in an interpretation by the courts that is supportive of Goal 16
and will act as a precedent in future cases. In theGoal 16 context, for example, there is precedent for
strategic litigation in support of the constitutional
31

23 http://www.amnesty.org.uk/sites/default/files/how_to_lobby_your_mp_0.pdf
24 http://www.unfpa.org/tags/parliamentarians

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

32

right to freedom of information,25 and more
recently, anti-corruption advocates have takencases to the courts to crack down on campaign
financing by private sector donors.26 The judgement of a court, particularly a higher court, will
stand as the law of the land, unless and until thelegislature passes a law to override the court’s
decision. Strategic litigation can also be used as aneffective tactic to ensure that a new/amended law
is being properly implemented and applied once
legislation is passed. For example, where thegovernment is slow in dedicating resources toimplementation, litigation may be pursued topress the government to fulfil its obligations.
Where the government is seen to be misinterpreting the law, litigation in the courts can be very
useful as a way of providing the executive and thebureaucracy with clear guidance on the meaning
and content of the law.27

TIP

S trategic litigation is most often pursued by CSO
coalitions that have lawyers as part of their membership or who can access pro bono legal advice.
If law reform is part of your Goal 16 strategy, you
should consider how to proactively reach out tothe legal community to identify partners willingto assist. There are also international groups whoare sometimes willing to provide free advice, forexample, the American Bar Association (ABA) andthe International Development and Law Organisation (IDLO).

Whilst strategic litigation can be a useful means of promoting legislative reform, it also has its challenges.28•

It can take considerable time and money, particularly in the higher courts. However, if you canaccess free legal advice, this will substantiallyreduce your costs.

•

It can be difficult for non-lawyers to identify
opportunities for strategic litigation. However,
if you have lawyers as members of your civilsociety coalition, they can be excellent resources
when working out your litigation strategy.

•

If the case is unsuccessful, there is the risk ofgetting an unhelpful interpretation of the law.
This is more likely in areas of law that areconsidered controversial (e.g., anti-corruption
obligations) or if the case is being heard by aconservative or politicised court.

25 Roy Peled & Yoram Rabin (2011). ‘The constitutional right to information’, Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 42, pp. 373–80, http://www3.law.columbia.edu/hrlr/hrlr_journal/42.2/Peled_Rabin.pdf.
26 Michaela Whitbourn (2015). ‘High Court upholds state-wide ban on political donations from property developers’, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 October, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/
high-court-upholds-statewide-ban-on-political-donations-from-property-developers-20151005-gk21ja.html.
27 FWRM & RRRT (2010). Changing Laws: A Legislative Lobbying Toolkit, pp. 63: http://www.fwrm.org.fj/images/fwrm/publications/general/Changing%20Laws%20-%20Lobbying%20
Toolkit.pdf
28 IbidCase Study: Using Strategic Litigation to Demand Climate Change Action by the
Dutch Government29
In what is understood to be the first time that European citizens have tried to hold a state responsible for alleged inaction on climate change, in June 2015, 866 plaintiffs and the environmental NGO
Urgenda were victorious in their strategic litigation against the Dutch government. Urgenda worked
with the plaintiffs to use international human-rights law, alongside domestic law, as a legal basis toprotect citizens against climate change. Urgenda brought the lawsuit alongside plaintiffs who
included teachers, entrepreneurs and artists, as well as children legally represented by their elders.
Dennis van Berkel, who works for Urgenda, said: ‘We wanted to show that this is not just one
organisation that had an idea but a broad movement of people who are very concerned aboutclimate change and believe it’s necessary to sue the state over it.’30 From the beginning of thelitigation process, Urgenda put all its legal documents online, translated them into English andencouraged groups from other countries to use its work.
The plaintiffs had accused the Dutch government of negligence for ‘knowingly contributing’ to abreach of the 2 degree Celsius maximum target for global warming. In what was the first climate
liability suit brought under human-rights and tort law, their legal arguments rested on the legal
principles forbidding states from polluting to the extent that they damage other states and theEuropean Union (EU) ‘precautionary principle’, which prohibits actions that carry unknown but
potentially severe risks. The judge in the case found that the threat posed by global warming wassevere and had already been acknowledged by the Dutch government in international agreements.
On that basis, it was found that the Dutch government had a duty to act. No other court in theworld has ever directly ordered a government to cut carbon emissions, and the landmark ruling fromthis strategic litigation could have implications across the globe.

29 This case study is drawn from multiple online sources: Urgenda (2015) ‘Urgenda wins the case for better Dutch climate policies’, Press Release, http://us1.campaign-archive2.
com/?u=91ffff7bfd16e26db7bee63af&id=11fab56e93&e=46588a629e; Howard, E (2015). ‘Dutch government facing legal action over failure to reduce carbon emissions’, The
Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/14/dutch-government-facing-legal-action-over-failure-to-reduce-carbon-emissions;30 Howard, E (2015). ‘Dutch government facing legal action over failure to reduce carbon emissions’, The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/14/dutch-government-facing-legal-action-over-failure-to-reduce-carbon-emissions;33

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT34

Part 5
Supporting National Follow-up
and Monitoring for Goal 16
Lessons learnt from the MDGs highlight the needfor the 2030 Agenda to be accompanied by a robust
follow-up and monitoring framework, both internationally and nationally, to enable the public to ensurethat governments and other duty-bearers are held
accountable for meeting the Goals. The UN secretary-general has noted that a lack of accountability is
one of the reasons for shortfalls in progress toachieve the MDGs.31 Whilst the participatory development of SDG implementation plans is an importantfirst step, experience has shown that ongoing monitoring, review and recalibration of such plans will be
critical to ensuring that they stay on track and deliver
real progress. Although the language of ‘monitoringand evaluation’ has become increasingly common,
the infrastructure to support monitoring has notfollowed apace in most countries. Even where monitoring is undertaken, this information does notalways feed back into implementation efforts—in
many cases, civil society cannot even access this monitoring data from governments—and opportunities
to reflect upon progress or lack of it, and to thenimprove what is being done, are missed. Whilst
national statistical offices will be the primary bodies
responsible for monitoring SDG progress, data being
produced by other actors will also play a crucial rolein providing a robust and accurate picture of progress at all levels.

Figure 3: National monitoring cycle

Data
analysis/
evaluation

Policy/plandevelopment
Monitoring/data
collection

Programme/
activity
development

Engaging in National Follow-up Processes
For any Goal 16 plan to be successful in managing
resources for impact, it is essential that it is supported
by a clear monitoring framework that can help policymakers and the public assess whether progress isbeing made and identify gaps in implementation.32
Ideally, the national planning process will also include
a procedures for indicator development to ensure

31 United Nations (2010). Unmet Commitments, Inadequate Resources, Lack of Accountability Hampering Achievement of Millennium Development Goals, Says Secretary-General, UN
Press Release, 16 March, http://www.un.org/press/en/2010/sgsm12789.doc.htm.
32 This section assumes that some form of SDGs plan (or an equivalent sectoral plan) is in place. Without such a plan, it will be very difficult to systematically move forward with
implementation and/or to monitor progress. If no plan is in place, advocacy for the development of one may well be a key policy aim for civil society.

Case Study: Civil Society Budget-Monitoring Exposes Funds Diverted from
Development of Dalits
In India, Dalits were historically treated as ‘untouchables’ and discriminated against despite specificprotections in the 1950 Constitution of India. In 1980, the government introduced the Scheduled
Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) to ensure that at least 16 per cent of government development spending
directly targeted Dalits. In 1995, the government introduced budget code 789 to categorise SCSP
funds and enable expenditure tracking. However, this code was underutilised by the national andmany state governments.
In 2006, the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) started working with the NGO
Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) to develop a methodology to analyse andtrack code 789 expenditure. After attempting unsuccessful strategic litigation, NCDHR used the Right
to Information Act (RTI) to ask government why it was not using code 789 or disseminating research
to MPs, the auditor general, the planning commission or other relevant institutions. It also ran workshops around the country to train activists to do similar budget analysis in their own regions andorganised a major demonstration to protest against non-development for Dalits. In 2008, before the
RTI request was finalised, the Delhi government instructed all of its departments to use code 789—
NCDHR’s first big budget victory.
In 2010, the Commonwealth Games were held in Delhi. There were many allegations of high-level
corruption in connection with the Games. The Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN), an NGO coalition, uncovered a document that suggested that SCSP funds had been used to help pay for the
Games. NCDHR used its knowledge of budgets to confirm that the SCSP funds had been diverted. Afterit publicised the findings, the national parliament discussed the issue for two days, and the minister ofHome Affairs admitted that government money was unfairly diverted from Dalits. Subsequently, thegovernment made it compulsory for all departments to use code 789 in the 2011–12 budget, and in
2010, the planning commission set up a taskforce to revise the guidelines for the SCSP.

35

GOAL 16
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that there are clear, practical and achievable outcomesenvisioned. Developing strong and robust indicatorsthat measure progress on the full scope of Goal 16
targets is the first step in ensuring that governments
are prioritising these issues and that citizens can holdthem accountable for delivering on them.
In many ways, civil society stakeholders serve as themost indispensable part of the measurement, monitoring and accountability framework, as they often
provide a critical link between governments andstakeholders. Local civil society stakeholders cantherefore play a key role in monitoring and review
processes at the national level. Working in constructive ways with governments will be important todoing this, ideally by building trust and rapport sothat governments see civil society as partners to beengaged for the benefit of the overall agenda. This
will help ensure that NGOs are able to track progress and advocate for redesign efforts asnecessary—ensuring that, if the process veers off
course, they can contribute to a ‘mid-course correction’ and recalibration, as necessary.

TIP ivil society has been particularly effective inCpromoting public accountability, anti-corruption
and transparency efforts through what are called‘social accountability initiatives’. Through these
initiatives, civil society works with government
departments and communities to facilitate feedback loops, empowering the public to be more
involved in decision-making and holding the government accountable for their activities.

Collecting and Using ‘Citizen-Generated Data’
Where the original MDGs only had had eight goals,
twenty-one targets and forty-eight indicators, theSDGs cover a much broader range of issues, and haveseventeen goals and one hundred and sixty-nine targets—with many targets covering multiple issues,
including Goal 16 itself. It has been recognised thatindicators do not need to rely on information that
already exists, but should be designed to reflect whatshould be measured, with statisticians then tasked
with devising approaches for how to undertake suchmeasurements. However, given the limited capacity
and resources that are traditionally allocated fornational statistical offices, these statistical systems
will likely be far overstretched when it comes tocollecting data on all SDGs. To sufficiently monitor
and track progress of the SDGs, there is a need for
new and innovative data sources that come frompartners outside of the official statistical systems.
Whilst policymakers need data to make decisions,civil society and the media need data to monitor
progress. Nonofficial data from a wide range ofsources—including civil society, academia, the private sector and other multilateral institutions—offer
complementary data that can be used to triangulate reports and ensure that figures portray thegenuine reality within society. It can be problematicfor official bodies to be given the sole responsibility
for monitoring state performance, especially whenit comes to justice, the rule of law or human rights.
Using a balanced range of sources can be importantin building public trust and credibility in the
SDGs and how they are being monitored. Civil society can therefore be very useful to government insupporting data collection. Additionally, need forperceptions-based and experiential data is growing,
and is particularly relevant for issues around inclusive
and accountable institutions and peaceful societies.
Civil society, citizen-generated and other ‘nonofficial’
data sources—such as those produced by research
institutions, academia, the private sector and citizens
themselves—can complement official sources of data,
fill data gaps and supplement official reporting whendata quality is insufficient. Civil society and citizen-generated data can be particularly useful inproviding a snapshot of progress in subnational contexts, including amplifying the citizen perceptions inan effort to fulfil the 2030 Agenda’s commitment to‘leave no one behind.’ Additionally, data production
from a variety of sources means data ownership acrosssociety. In some countries, national statistical offices
are not entirely impartial, such that nonofficial data
can help scrutinise official reporting and raise thealarm if the process becomes politicised.

Case Study: Harnessing Civil society Expertise in Data Collection and Analysis
Already, many CSOs have become experts in collecting and analysing data through methodologies
that could be useful to governments tracking implementation of the SDGs. For example, data can beutilised from global surveys (e.g. Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer) or more
localised data generated by marginalised people at the community level (e.g. the citizen-generated
data project Map Kibera). Some CSOs also analyse data from publicly available (open) sources(e.g. the Publish What You Fund Aid Transparency Index) and others collate data through expert
assessments (e.g. CIVICUS’s annual State of Civil Society Report).
Many NGOs have also started utilising crowdsourcing technology for better data collection andanalysis. Such initiatives could revolutionise monitoring efforts by enabling citizens to share theirexperiences and feedback on government policy gaps or failures. For example, in Egypt, HarrassMap33
operates as a digital platform that allows people to report harassment. This information is thenshowcased via a mapping tool showing where such incidents have occurred, enabling policymakers
to better target their efforts. Likewise, in India, the IPaidABribe34 website has been a raging success,enabling people across the nation to report demands for bribes from government officials. This data isthen mapped and more detailed stories are included to enable follow-up by authorities. The website
has been so successful that it has been replicated in fourteen countries to date.

TIP easuring the Goal 16 indicators should involveM
citizen perception or experience surveys. For themeasurement process to be accountable, it isessential that the indicators include survey-based
evidence based on personal assessments, rather
than being limited to information compiled bynational or international officials. Including the
public in monitoring ensures people’s participation in giving expression to their ongoing needs.
Experience shows that people-centred outcomesare best captured using experiential or perception-based surveys. Furthermore, surveys areshown to best meet the criterion of being easy tounderstand and are as universal and aspirational
as administrative or treaty data.

effectiveness of programmes. For example, national Transparency International chapters aroundthe world support the compilation of the global
Corruption Perceptions Index each year,35 andmany chapters have undertaken national surveys
to inform the development of their national anti-corruption strategies. Likewise, Global Integrity
has undertaken national-level assessments of theintegrity framework.36

Civil society has considerable experience in undertaking systematic and regular surveys for the
purposes of assisting governments to monitor the37
33 http://harassmap.org/en/
34 http://www.ipaidabribe.com/
35 http://www.transparency.org/research/
36 https://www.globalintegrity.org/research/reports/

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT38

Part 6Engaging with Goal 16
at the Global Level
the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) will
help governments engage with the SDGs, andcould be great entry points for civil society toengage in national planning and monitoringprocesses. The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) is an additional usefultarget because they are responsible for assisting
the entire UNCT with providing joined-up support to the SDGs. UNDP is also the only UN
agency with a presence in nearly every country,
which makes them a useful partner for theentire SDG framework.

A key element of the 2030 Agenda is that it isuniversal, recognising at the outset that nationallycontextualised approaches are critical to its success.
That said, it is endorsed as a unified vision to guidethe actions of every country around the world. Inthat sense, it is both a national and an international
programme of action. Whilst implementation will
be driven from home, international actors andprocesses will remain important to efforts to achieve
the SDGs, including Goal 16, which specificallyrecognises that global governance must be more
inclusive (Target 16.8).

Identifying Multilateral Institutional Targets and Partners
With a variety of agencies, taskforces, working
groups and the like established to support thedevelopment and implementation of the SDGs, navigating the international development scene can becomplicated. Broadly, there are five key groups
working internationally who will be actively engaging with all SDGs, placing additional focus on Goal
16. Each of these groups is also comprised of a complex subset of organisations with which you may
need to become familiar.
•

United Nations: The UN and its many funds andagencies will contribute significantly to theimplementation of the 2030 Agenda. The SDGs
and their targets will now guide their operations, and over the coming years, it is likely that
their strategic plans will become increasinglyaligned with the SDGs. At the national level,•

International Financial Institutions (IFIs): The
IFIs generally include the World Bank,International Monetary Fund and World Trade
Organisation, as well as the regional development banks. Target 16.8 focuses on inclusive
governance of the IFIs. More generally, manyof these organisations provide considerable
funding and technical assistance in support
of issues covered by Goal 16, particularly in
relation to institution-building and access tojustice/rule of law.

•

Regional intergovernmental bodies: Whilst the
UN has been leading the coordination of the
SDG development process to date, regional
political, economic and social intergovernmental bodies are operating as effective
intermediaries between international agendas
and their national uptake at increasing rates.
Organisations like the African Union (AU), theEuropean Union (EU), the Organisation ofAmerican States (OAS), the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Arab
League will all play key roles in supporting
national governments to move this agenda
forwards. In particular, their political and ruleof-law divisions can be useful allies in localising
Goal 16 for national partners.
•

Development partners: Although the new SDGs
are intended as a universal agenda applicable
to all countries equally, official development
assistance (ODA) is still a core part of the implementation framework for the 2030 Agenda. In
July 2015, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda wasendorsed by governments in support of the2030 Agenda and recognised that a mix of ODA,

domestic financing, and private-sector financing would need to be harnessed if
implementation of the SDGs was to be achieved.
•

International NGO coalitions/initiatives: Inorder to support and complement national
efforts, a number of international groupings ofNGOs have developed around either the SDGs
specifically and/or issues covered by the SDGs.
The Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP) Network is one such international
civil society coalition, but many others bring
together the voices, stories and experiences ofnational actors and showcase them on an international level. These coalitions can be particularly

Case Study: International and National Civil Society Collaborating to Advocate for
the Role of Peace in the 2030 Agenda
In 2014, working with six United Nations Associations (UNA) from around the world, the World
Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) ran a twelve-month project called ‘Freedom
from Violence: Peace, Security and Conflict Prevention in the Post-2015 Development Agenda’.
WFUNA supported UNAs in Armenia, India, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Venezuela in thepush for the inclusion of peace-building issues in the SDGs. Vertical learning between WFUNA andeach UNA, accompanied by horizontal learning between each UNA, added a valuable dimension to
the project and helped improve the overall impact. Each UNA attended a detailed WFUNA-led
capacity-building workshop that included context-specific training and a tailored toolkit to develop
knowledge and skills on the technical aspects of the post-2015 negotiations. UNAs were provided
support in identifying target groups and individuals for advocacy activities and were brought
together to share best practices and lessons learnt. Ensuring that training remained locally relevant
whilst building common practices and standards, project participants were provided with thenecessary tools to design and pursue their own local initiatives.
During the project, UNAs approached their advocacy in many different ways. Participants launchedblogs and social-media pages to engage wider groups of society. Twelve TV shows, twelve radio
broadcasts and two YouTube videos were recorded to try and raise the profile of the conversationin national and local contexts. Stakeholder meetings and local forums enabled UNAs to target representatives from the media, academia, civil society, and local and national government. As a result of
these efforts, more than 11,000 students and civil society activists gained knowledge about the
post-2015 agenda, as did more than two hundred journalists and politicians. One UNA was particularly successful in their government advocacy, securing the attendance of their country’s president at
one of their events. Upon conclusion of the project, forty-seen NGOs and seventy-nine NGO staff
members continued to work on including peace and security in the post-2015 development agenda.

39

GOAL 16
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40

useful in making sense of the complexities ofmultilateral processes and making it easier fornational NGOs to channel their inputs into
international discussions.

Participating in Multilateral Processes
Even if your own work is locally focused, it will be
useful to remain cognisant of major developments
at the international level so that you can identify
opportunities to leverage support for your own
efforts through international forums and processes
as appropriate. Already, many NGOs have experience in working with the UN human-rights systemand other similar intergovernmental review processes. These kinds of processes—the Universal
Periodic Review (UPR) process for human-rights
implementation or the UNCAC review mechanism,for example—will continue throughout the periodof SDG implementation. Therefore, engaging withthese processes will remain important. That said, it
is anticipated that additional monitoring and review
processes will be specifically designed to track SDG
implementation, and you may also want to engage
with these directly or indirectly (e.g. by networking
with NGOs working at the international level toshare information about your own work).
The overarching political mandate and oversightfor the SDGs sits with the UN High-Level Political
Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The
HLPF is mandated to provide political leadership,
guidance and recommendations throughout theperiod of the agenda’s implementation. It is also
responsible for keeping track of progress; encouraging the development of coherent policies
informed by evidence, science and country experiences; addressing new and emerging issues; andproviding a platform for partnerships.
The HLPF is a unique hybrid forum that reports toboth the United Nations Economic and Social Council(ECOSOC) and the United Nations General Assembly,
giving it the ability to discuss technical details about
the implementation and follow-up of the 2030
Agenda, as well as the ability to reinvigorate political will towards the SDGs at the highest level. In
37 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf

addition to meeting annually under the auspices of
ECOSOC, where it will play a central role in global
follow-up and review for the 2030 Agenda throughnational and thematic reviews, the HLPF meets
every four years under the auspices of the UN General Assembly, where world leaders, sustainable
development experts and civil society will convene
to assess progress towards the SDGs at the highest
level, and provide political direction and guidance
for SDG implementation in the years ahead.
With the focus around implementation and follow-up and monitoring of the SDGs firmly placedon national governments, the HLPF represents a
critical opportunity for countries to convene to collectively discuss progress towards the SDGs and2030 Agenda. This will be particularly important toexamine key challenges and emerging issues and to
explore partnerships between governments, civilsociety and the private sector to accelerate progress
towards achieving the SDGs.

TIP

It will be particularly useful to keep your eye out
for the statements and outputs of the HLPF.37 The
meetings of the HLPF are designed to be open
and inclusive to the participation of civil society
and a wide range of other stakeholders, making ita prime target for engagement of civil society at
the global level. With the HLPF serving as themain forum for countries to submit their national
SDG progress reports, it will be particularly important for civil society organisations that are interested in SDG accountability to keep track of these
discussions on a yearly basis. Even for CSOs notable to attend the HLPF in person, meetings will
be available via webcast on official UN channels,
and outputs and national progress reports will be
posted on the UN Sustainable Development
Knowledge Platform.

TIP ven if your organisation doesn’t undertakeE
primary research or data collection, civil society
plays an important role in international
monitoring processes through the productionof ‘civil society reports’. In the human-rights
sector, for example, many NGOs submit their own
reports on treaty implementation to relevant
human-rights treaty bodies in order to provide

different or supplemental perspectives on thegovernment’s official treaty report. Likewise,some NGOs submit their own civil society reports
to the UNCAC review mechanism to provide
additional data on implementation of the convention. Civil society organisations could develop
simple Goal 16 Alternative Civil Society Implementation Reports to assist national governments andthe UN in tracking implementation.

Case Study: Inputting into International Monitoring Processes to Advocate
for National Reforms
Based on information from the Human Rights First Rwanda Association (HRFRA), we know thatin Rwanda, despite constitutional guarantees for the right to freedom of speech and the media,
there remained gaps in legislation and policy to protect these rights. As part of its response to thisproblem, HRFRA engaged with the Ministry of Justice to input into Rwanda’s Universal Periodic
Review (UPR) report, drawing attention to the challenges of access to information, freedom of
expression and access to justice. HRFRA was active in identifying which ministry was responsible
for the UPR process and engaging with the unit responsible for putting together the report. Using
evidence-based research, HRFRA provided technical inputs to the report. HRFRA undertook theirown legal analysis of existing legislation on media freedom and access to information andincorporated relevant report findings from bodies such as the Rwanda Media Commission (RMC).
As a result of HRFRA’s lobbying, one of the key recommendations from the Human Rights Council(HRC) following the 2011 UPR process called for better protections of the rights to freedom of
expression, the media and access to information. HRFRA used this as the basis for their advocacy,
engaging in open dialogue with the government on how to take this recommendation forwards.
Subsequently, Parliament passed Law N°02/2013, which removed certain restrictions on the pressin Rwanda, and Law N°04/2013, which gave every person the right to information in possessionof public, and some private, bodies. Since then, HRFRA, in partnership with Africa Freedom ofInformation Network, provided input into the second UPR process, producing a parallel report for
Rwanda in November 201539 that updated the HRC on progress on freedom of expression andinformation, as well as highlighted ongoing challenges with implementation. It is hoped that these
inputs will enable the HRC to make practical recommendations for the government on improving
the current rights protections in Rwanda.
41

39 African Freedom of Information Centre (2015). Rwanda: Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review, http://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/rwanda/session_23_-_november_2015/js1_upr23_rwa_e_main.pdf.

GOAL 16
ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

42

Conclusion

To date, the process to define the vision for the2030 Agenda and the SDGs has been the most-participatory endeavour that the United Nations has
ever undertaken with a wide range of nongovernmental stakeholders. The SDGs and the entire
agenda is an action plan that reflects the impetus ofmillions of people who shared their views on what
would be needed for a transformative sustainable
development agenda over the next fifteen years.
If our ambition for this new agenda is to stimulate‘inclusive, equitable, sustainable development’
and to ‘leave no one behind’, civil society mustensure that governments are engaging withpeople in the design, implementation and accountability for sustainable development policies at alllevels, and in ways that are transparent, inclusive
and participatory. In many ways, the 2030 Agenda
and the SDGs reflect this reality. However, muchwork remains, and thus the roles of civil society
and all other stakeholders remain as important as
ever. Whilst civil society stakeholders have had an
important role in the development of the vision
for the SDGs and the entire 2030 Agenda, it can beargued that we have an even more important roleto play in the implementation and accountability
for these commitments.

Whilst there will surely be no one-size-fits-all
approach to the advocacy work related to Goal 16
and the SDGs, we hope that this toolkit provides astrong foundation for your work and SDG implementation and accountability. Consequently, we
hope that as you use this toolkit, that you’ll shareyour experiences with the TAP Network and help
strengthen the capacity of your own organisations,partners and governments towards Goal 16 implementation and accountability.
For more information and to share your experienceswith the TAP Network, visit our website attapnetwork2030.org.

Helpful Links
UNDERSTANDING THE SDGS•

A/RES/70/1 - Transforming our world: the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development: http://
www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E•

A/RES/69/313 - Addis Ababa Action Agendaof the Third International Conference on
Financing for Development: http://www.un.
org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/
RES/69/313&Lang=E•

UN Sustainable Development Knowledge
Portal: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
frameworks•

UNDG (2015) Mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development: Interim Reference Guide to UN Country Teams: http://www.
undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/MDG/
Post2015-SDG/UNDP-SDG-UNDG-ReferenceGuide-UNCTs-2015.pdf•

Sustainable Development Solutions Network(2015) Getting Started with the Sustainable
Development Goals A Guide for Stakeholders:
http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/
uploads/2015/12/151211-getting-started-guideFINAL-PDF-.pdf•

Article 19 (2006). Freedom of Information
Model Law: https://www.article19.org/
resources.php/resource/1796/en/model-freedom-of-information-law•

GAAV (2015). Implementing the Women, Peaceand Security agenda and Reducing Armed
Violence:http://www.allianceonarmedviolence.
org/uploads/default/files/fccdbcccba8055231a0cf697ce329278.pdf - for Goal 16
and Goal 5 linkages•

World Bank & Center for Global Development(2015). ‘The Role of Identification in the
Post-2015 Development Agenda’: http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/pubdocs/
publicdoc/2015/7/149911436913670164/WorldBank-Working-Paper-Center-for-Global-Development-Dahan-Gelb-July2015.pdf

A D V O CA C Y A N D C A M PA I G N I N G•

FWRM & RRRT (2010) Changing Laws: A
Legislative Lobbying Toolkit: http://www.fwrm.
org.fj/images/fwrm/publications/general/
Changing%20Laws%20-%20Lobbying%20
Toolkit.pdf•

UNDP (2004), The Blue Book: A Hands On
Approach to Advocating for the Millennium
Development Goals: www.undg.org/archive_
docs/6813-Blue_Book__a_ hands-on_approach_to_advocating_for_the_MDGs.pdf•

UNICEF (2010), Advocacy Toolkit: A Guide to
Influencing Decisions that Improve Children’s
Lives: www.unicef.org/evaluation/files/Advocacy_Toolkit.pdf•

Water Aid (2007), The Advocacy Sourcebook:www.wateraid.org/~/media/Publications/advocacy-sourcebook.ashx

GOAL 16 POLICY ISSUES•UN Convention against Corruption: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/•UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and the Protocols Thereto: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CTOC/index.
html•

UN Standards and Norms in Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice UNODC Compendium:https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/justice-and-prison-reform/index.html?ref=menuside

For more resources around Goal 16 and the 2030 Agenda, visit www.tapnetwork2030.org

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GOAL 16
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Annex 1: Undertaking a Gap Analysis
Step 1: Identify who is responsible for implementation

Step 2: Assess current implementation in participatory ways

Step 3: Identify priority areas for action / make recommendations

Step 4: Identify what resource are needed for implementation

Step 5: Share gap analysis report with Government

Annex 2: Stakeholder Analysis Tool
Stakeholder analysis gridHigh power toinfluence change

Little power toinfluence change

Doesn’t matter much to them and/or
does not work closely on issues

Matters a lot to them and/or
works closely on issues

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GOAL 16
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46

Annex 3: Developing an Advocacy Plan
Developing an Advocacy Plan
What needs to change?

Who do we need to influence?
What do we need them to do?

1.

2.

3.

To do
What will we do to target thisstakeholder?

Managing risks

Monitoring Success

By whom

By whenAnnex 4: Developing Advocacy Messages
Developing Advocacy Messages
This tool will help you to summarise and present your advocacy message for different audiences

Primary Message: Describe your statement, goal and actions desired resulting from your advocacy

Audience

Concerns

Possible Messages

47

Transparency, Accountability &Participation for 2030 Agenda
www.tapnetwork2030.org@TAPNetwork2030