Justice aid (which includes aid for ending violence against women and human rights) is falling. There was a particularly sharp decline in 2021 – by 22%.

Total aid to all sectors has increased by more than 50% over the past decade, but justice aid has decreased by 27% over the same period.

An increasing proportion of justice aid is going to the particular areas of ending violence against women and girls and human rights. Core justice aid accounted for 80% of all justice aid in 2012, but only 40% by 2021. This means that funding for a basic justice service, including front-line services for lower-income countries, is reducing.

Most justice aid goes to middle-income countries. Twenty (20)% of justice aid has gone to low-income countries over the last three years for which data is available (2019-2021).

Innovative front-line services that would make a direct impact on SDG 16.3 are being provided in lower-income countries at affordable benchmark unit costs, and have scope to be scaled up.

It is recommended that the Justice Action Coalition convenes a working group of donors wishing to explore how to achieve scaled-up front-line justice services through coordinated action including commitments to: (1) shift more donor funding towards such services; and (2) report on the proportion of their justice aid that funds such services.

Report by the Overseas Development Institute