Introduction = 1
1 Dimensions of international justice and social justice = 11
1.1 International justice: legal and developmental aspects = 11
1.2 Social justice: a recent and politically charged concept = 11
1.3 Social justice: the equivalent of distributive justice = 13
1.4 Economic justice: a component of social justice = 14
1.5 Universal grounds for the determination of what is just and what is unjust = 14
1.6 Three critical domains of equality and equity = 15
1.7 Six important areas of inequality in the distribution of goods, opportunities and rights = 17
1.8 The need for further distinction and greater precision = 20
2 Rising inequalities among countries = 21
2.1 National sovereignty and the right of intervention = 21
2.2 Equality among Member States and inequalities in power = 21
2.3 The developmental aspect of international justice : a legitimate concern? = 23
2.4 Evidence of the decline in international justice from a developmental perspective = 26
3 Rising inequalities among people = 28
3.1 Issues relating to the reliability and diversity of sources of information = 28
3.2 Trends in six major areas of inequality among people = 29
3.3 Progress in critical aspects of “horizontal” equality = 39
3.4 Economic justice and social injustice: the current state of affairs = 40
4 International justice and the United Nations: from the new international economic order to the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals = 41
4.1 Auspicious beginnings for development and international cooperation = 41
4.2 Questioning the development model and seeking a new distribution of power in the world = 42
4.3 A new consensus: the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals = 44
4.4 International justice through cooperation and partnership = 47
4.5 Critical views on the prevalent conception of international justice = 48
5 Social justice and the United Nations: the divide between human rights and economic and social development = 51
5.1 Auspicious beginnings for the promotion of human rights and justice = 51
5.2 Social justice seen as a substitute for the protection of human rights = 52
5.3 The World Summit for Social Development: an attempt to reconcile social justice and the protection of human rights = 55
5.4 The short life of the commitments made in Copenhagen = 59
5.5 The focus on poverty eradication = 60
6 Are international justice and social justice politically obsolete concepts? = 72
6.1 Less redistribution because of lack of resources? = 72
6.2 The effect of different policies on patterns of distribution = 73
6.3 A great political and ideological transformation with strong implications for the idea of distributional justice = 77
6.4 The dangers of a world indifferent to justice = 80
7 Concluding notes on the role of the United Nations = 84
Annexes = 93
I. Commitments of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development = 93
II. The Millennium Development Goals, targets, and indicators for monitoring progress = 114
III. Themes and questions figuring in the agendas of the four meetings of the International Forum for Social Development = 118
IV. List of participants in the four meetings of the Forum = 145
1 Dimensions of international justice and social justice = 11
1.1 International justice: legal and developmental aspects = 11
1.2 Social justice: a recent and politically charged concept = 11
1.3 Social justice: the equivalent of distributive justice = 13
1.4 Economic justice: a component of social justice = 14
1.5 Universal grounds for the determination of what is just and what is unjust = 14
1.6 Three critical domains of equality and equity = 15
1.7 Six important areas of inequality in the distribution of goods, opportunities and rights = 17
1.8 The need for further distinction and greater precision = 20
2 Rising inequalities among countries = 21
2.1 National sovereignty and the right of intervention = 21
2.2 Equality among Member States and inequalities in power = 21
2.3 The developmental aspect of international justice : a legitimate concern? = 23
2.4 Evidence of the decline in international justice from a developmental perspective = 26
3 Rising inequalities among people = 28
3.1 Issues relating to the reliability and diversity of sources of information = 28
3.2 Trends in six major areas of inequality among people = 29
3.3 Progress in critical aspects of “horizontal” equality = 39
3.4 Economic justice and social injustice: the current state of affairs = 40
4 International justice and the United Nations: from the new international economic order to the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals = 41
4.1 Auspicious beginnings for development and international cooperation = 41
4.2 Questioning the development model and seeking a new distribution of power in the world = 42
4.3 A new consensus: the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals = 44
4.4 International justice through cooperation and partnership = 47
4.5 Critical views on the prevalent conception of international justice = 48
5 Social justice and the United Nations: the divide between human rights and economic and social development = 51
5.1 Auspicious beginnings for the promotion of human rights and justice = 51
5.2 Social justice seen as a substitute for the protection of human rights = 52
5.3 The World Summit for Social Development: an attempt to reconcile social justice and the protection of human rights = 55
5.4 The short life of the commitments made in Copenhagen = 59
5.5 The focus on poverty eradication = 60
6 Are international justice and social justice politically obsolete concepts? = 72
6.1 Less redistribution because of lack of resources? = 72
6.2 The effect of different policies on patterns of distribution = 73
6.3 A great political and ideological transformation with strong implications for the idea of distributional justice = 77
6.4 The dangers of a world indifferent to justice = 80
7 Concluding notes on the role of the United Nations = 84
Annexes = 93
I. Commitments of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development = 93
II. The Millennium Development Goals, targets, and indicators for monitoring progress = 114
III. Themes and questions figuring in the agendas of the four meetings of the International Forum for Social Development = 118
IV. List of participants in the four meetings of the Forum = 145