“Social justice” is defined, for the purpose of the observance, as including issues of poverty, unemployment, and unfair exclusion that results in economic harm or social ostracism.

On World Day of Social Justice, there are media campaigns to raise awareness of the need for better social justice both within nations and between nations. Promoting human rights, removing artificial social barriers based on race, gender, or religion, and standing up for the rights of migrants, the disabled, and the elderly are among the observance’s themes on any given year.