Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United Nations
tive and ought to be prevented by all possible means. They affect mainly those who are economically, socially and politically weak. Individuals and families with money, social connections, and an elevated social position are usually better able to protect themselves from the effects of man-made and natural threats and disasters than are poor people.
3.3. Progress in critical aspects of "horizontal" equality Although the subject of horizontal equality was not on its agenda, the Forum acknowledged the need to highlight certain relevant facts. Above all, the Forum recognized that while progress is often slow and uneven and subject to local reversals, the equality of rights, opportunities and conditions for women and men constitutes a fundamental dimension of justice that is steadily improving. In terms of gender equality, particularly as it relates to the status and treatment of girls and women in society, significant advances have been made with regard to the adoption and enforcement of kgislation (and particularly in the application of corrective measures addressing long-standing male biases and outright discrimination against women), the provision of educational opportunities, access to participation in political processes and institutions, and the availability of work and employment opportunities; respect for the principle of equal pay for equal work is growing but has not yet been fully achieved. Biases, prejudice and discrimination still exist in many contexts, often to an extreme degree; very few societies can be said to have achieved true equality between women and men. One disturbing development has been the recent surge in various forms of religious fundamentalism and secular obscurantism, which threaten the idea that all human beings have equal rights and fundamental freedoms. On the whole, however, it seems reasonable to assert that the trend towards greater equality between men and women has not been halted or reversed during the current period of social, political and intellectual upheaval. The Forum noted that various other forms of horizontal inequality, particularly as experienced by ethnic and other minority groups, were being given a certain amount of priority on national and international agendas. Within the United Nations, for example, a forum for indigenous peoples has recently been created. In a number of countries and regions, the political debate on poverty and inequality has increasingly focused on the relative wealth and social position of groups defined by their ethnicity or race rather than on the growing income gap between the rich and the poor. In another domain, greater overall equality is currently being sought, and to some extent achieved, for persons with disabilities; the United Nations has been at the forefront of developments in this area. These trends suggest that in today's world, inequalities associated with various forms of discrimination have a much better chance of being addressed, if not redressed, than do inequalities deriving from the functioning of the economy.