06 Bhattacharjee 2007

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1303250

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CHALLENGES TO THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN SECURITY

Dhrubajyoti Bhattacharjee1

“Human security is a child who did not die, a disease that did not spread, a

job that was not cut, an ethnic tension that did not explode in violence, a

dissident that was not silenced. Human security is not a concern with weapons –

it is a concern with human life and dignity … It is concerned with how people live

and breathe in a society, how freely they exercise their many choices, how much

access they have to market and social opportunities – and whether they live in

conflict or in peace”.1

After the post Cold War era, the idea of human security has again come

up in the forefront as an issue that is being dealt as well as analyzed in detail

around the entire global intellectual arena. The era of the Cold War, was seen as

a time period that is co terminus with the period of tacit as well as overt conflict.

The threat of war loomed over the entire human race all throughout the four

decades after the end of the Second World War, and no nation or nationality

could have seen themselves secure from the clash of the two super powers,

super ideologies, or super power blocs.

But with the end of the Cold War, global analysts seemed to rest back as

they thought that after the long period of conflict situation, the long expected era

of peace and development will usher in.

However, shattering the dreams of the dreamers, the forthcoming years

brought in numerous threats, conflicts, and challenges in practically every sphere

of life that the global individual had to pass through. The only difference from the

Cold War era and the post Cold War era was the dispersing of the threat to the

well being of the world society. The security challenges that normally emanated

1 Dhrubajyoti Bhattacharjee, Lecturer, Department of Political Science, Siliguri College, Darjeeling, West

Bengal

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1303250

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from power centers during the Cold War now got dispersed and scattered among

the civil societies of the world. It is the sphere which includes ‘religious networks,

communities, work places and other associations which can be termed

private…sometimes it is seen as a fluid association of social groupings which are

based on caste and kinship linkages…a rag bag, consisting of households,

religious denominations, and each and every activity which is not of the state’.2

Everyone by today will be aware about the manner in which the Acquired

Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS works. It breaks down the inbuilt immune

system that is present in the body without the awareness of the general human

body. The security threat that has taken shape before the society today functions

in a similar fashion where the society is being affected at the very roots without

the general awareness of the society, or, if aware, they have no control over it.

Today the concept of security has been broken down from the security of

nations to the security of the individual and the people. According to the 1994

UNDP report on human security in the Cold War period, involved ‘security of

territory from external aggression, or as protection of national interests in foreign

policy, or as global security from the threat of nuclear holocaust. It has been

related more to nation – states than to people’.3 Traditional notions of security,

shaped largely by the Cold War, were concerned mainly with a state’s ability to

counter external threats. Threats to international peace and security were also

usually perceived as threats from outside the state environment that is not

injurious to their health and well-being. But today the concept of security has

become more individual and people centered. The civil society has turned out to

be the vanguard of the security at a very individual level. UNDP has analyzed

human security more as an integrative concept rather than a defensive one.

Sadako Ogata mentioned in the 56th annual DPI/NGO conference that the hopes

that were raised after the end of the cold war quickly were dampened by the

resurgence of widespread and pervasive insecurities. The need to address these

appalling situations affecting the daily life of so many people has become more

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urgent than ever. For this, a new understanding and consensus on security

thinking is urgently required.

The Commission on Human Security’s definition of human security is to

protect the vital core of all human lives in ways that enhances human freedom

and human fulfillment. Human security means protecting fundamental

freedoms— freedoms that are the essence of life. It means protecting people

from critical (severe) and pervasive (widespread) threats and situations. It means

using processes that build on people’s strengths and aspirations. It means

creating political, social, environmental, economic, military and cultural systems

that together give people the building blocks of survival, livelihood and dignity.4

Mahbub ul Haq pointed out in the UNDP report that the concept of human

security has mostly seven values. They are ‘economic security, food security,

health security, environmental security, personal security, community security

and political security’.5 Human security implies that States are responsible for

national security (including promotion of peace) but also for ensuring that citizens

enjoy a wide range of rights. While this shift in emphasis is primarily conceptual

in nature, it nonetheless entails concrete policy and institutional changes that are

necessary to respond to the challenges posed by human security.6 The basic

elements of human security include survival, safety, opportunity, dignity, agency

and autonomy.7

The present age has been a witness to a massive amalgamation of

cultures, traditions and identities. The spread of people from one area to another

has been the trend of the age in search of greener pastures that might provide

them with better opportunities in life. The movement also has been prevalent due

to the nature of job one is involved with.

If the seven values of Mahbub ul Haq is taken, then it will be seen that all

these seven elements has, in some way or the other, gone through rapid

transformations that has brought in significant changes in the lives of the ordinary

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individual. In each and every way, the life and liberty of the individual has been

threatened and scarred. ‘Security becomes an all-encompassing condition in

which individual citizens live in freedom, peace and safety and participate fully in

the process of governance. They enjoy the protection of fundamental rights, have

access to resources and the basic necessities of life, including health and

education, and inhabit an environment that is not injurious to their health and

well-being’.8

Though there is no broad consensus to this definition, but still there is all

throughout a unanimity on the decision that there must be a full scale awareness

about the degrading situation of the lives of the normal individual that might be

due to the fight against terrorism, separatism, racism and communalism; the

diffusion of weapons of mass destruction; the incessant war against one another;

the spread of infectious diseases; the loss of employment , huge population

explosion, the day by day scarcity of resources that is leading to the decline in

economic growth.

Multiple organizations like that of the Commission of Human Security,

under the aegis of the United Nations as well as the UNDP have been working

on the quest of Human Security and the ways and manners to define as well as

address the problems associated with it. They have tried to find out a proper

definition of the concept as well as narrow down the analysis so that the real

threat can be perceived and addressed. Various seminars that have been held

have come about with three perspectives on human security. Human survival,

human well being and human freedom have been seen as the principle binding

force that gives the uniqueness to the concept of human security.

The regions of the world where the idea of human security is still

simmering on the back burner are the regions of the developing as well as the

least developing world. The idea of providing the people with a good life is still a

distant dream for nations, who are still going through the process of nation

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building. There are nations in Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia, where

individual liberties are not provided with but they are curbed with strong hands.

Nations going through political, social and economic turmoil have overlooked the

idea of human security, which has resulted in the gross violation of the civil

liberties that an individual enjoys in the global arena.

Today, the number of people living below the poverty line and is unable to

provide themselves as well as their dependents, the number of starvation deaths,

the growth of unemployment due to numerous factors and reasons, child labour,

environmental degradation, communal disharmony, population displacements,

drug trafficking and drug abuse, small arms trafficking, low agricultural

productivity, misuse of societal wealth by governing bodies, gender crimes and

suppression as well as oppression of the women folk, economic inequality and

numerous such social evils are on the rise. In the age of globalization, where all

the nations are standing or trying to stand on the same economic platform, the

incongruity amongst the development as well as the wealth of nations, has led to

severe exploitation by the wealthier nations on the less developed nations. The

developed nations are still practicing the age old convention of growing and

developing themselves by sucking the life blood of the less developed nations.

Though there are global mechanisms to check such misuse, but due to the

predisposed nature of the organizations towards the developed world, they fail to

check such gross violation of rights and liberties practiced by the developed

world.

‘Human security is not a ‘defensive concept’ -- the way territorial or military

security is. It is an ‘integrative concept’ acknowledging the universal desire of

people for self-preservation and self-improvement. The world will not be secure

from war and violence if men and women have no security of their individual self.

It is the people’s security which has come to the forefront over and above the

emphasis on territorial and national security. It is being felt that increased

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safeguards and preventive measures should be in place both at national and

global levels to protect the people from the real threat to human security’.9

CORE ISSUES OF HUMAN SECURITY

The areas that mostly are being taken as the core issues that are related

to the concept of human security and their challenges have been mentioned

above. There are some common problems that the societies of the developing

nations face. As the idea of human security is challenged mostly in these

societies, for that reason, there is a need to look into the basic cleavages from

where the security of the individual is being threatened.

With the introduction of numerous new ideas and movements for the

successful growth of global trade and interaction, the functioning of the nation

states in the global platform has certainly gone through as well as going through

phases of transformation. The movement that has been brought about

‘globalization’ in the global scenario has made a favorable as well as an adverse

effect on the national as well as the international civil sphere. Especially, on the

idea of human security in the developing nations, globalization has brought in

more adversities for the common man, than it has brought in development in the

lives of men. Globalization has placed them with those societies, who are well

endowed with more skills as well as by their respective societies.

Especially in the area of economic growth of the developing nations that

make an immediate impact on the daily lives of the ordinary individuals,

globalization has practically ‘prohibited the governments from developing new

public sector productive activity’.10 ‘Industrial policies and programmes to develop

the national labour force of a developing nation, for example, are of little interest

to firms committed to and dependent on overseas operations; indeed, in so far as

those policies and programmes carry a cost – as they always do – such firms are

likely to oppose them’.11

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On top of that the ‘outflow of particularly skilled nationals affects the

human security of nationals in countries of origin. “Brain drain” in some parts of

the world has resulted in serious delays in development, posing a major

impediment to shifts towards service and higher technology economies, for

example. Efforts to counter brain drain include incentive programmes for

nationals to return to their countries of origin after having acquired skills

elsewhere; diaspora contributions to their country of origin (through financial or

in-kind contributions, apprenticeships, etc.); training and replacement schemes;

and maximizing the value of remittances’.12

That does not mean that the concept of globalization itself has to be

ostracized or base ones belief with the idea that by ‘going global’ brings harm to

the foundations of the nation states. It must be kept in mind that ‘globalization’ as

a concept or a movement is, no doubt, a necessity for the proper development of

the societies, as the world today has become more interdependent not only

economically, but in every other sphere of life. However, when globalization is

used for the betterment of one or a group of nations, putting the well being of a

nation or a group of nations at stake, then there only the security and well being

of the latter society is at risk. One thing must be kept in mind, that when the world

was a larger place and communication was scarce and sparse, possibly the

Darwinian principle of ‘survival of the fittest’ could have been applicable and the

promotion of national prestige and honour through the means of imperialism and

colonialism was a valid and legitimate plan of action. But when in the present

world structure, when every action of every global actor is closely watched and

scrutinized, ‘survival of the fittest’ becomes more of a misnomer as the well being

and the increase of national prestige and honour of a state or a group of states

has shifted to the honour and well being of the mankind. With the introduction of

the concept of the global state, the well being and development of every

individual living on this planet becomes the responsibility of every state and non-

state actor.

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With the advancement of the age of globalization and internationalism, the

role of the nation state is losing its grip. The more it loses its grip, the more the

role as well as the liberties of the individual in the so called developing states is

at stake. Those individuals who has access to the social and economic wealth in

the society can only reap the benefits that globalization brings forth. But in the

developing nations, the percentages of such individuals or groups are dismally

low. Here is where the role of the civil society becomes extremely important, as

they act as the platform from where the life of the individual can be closely

viewed by the individual himself as well as by the entire society. As the civil

society becomes the reflection of the lives of those living in that society, bringing

the concept of ‘human security’ into the basic foundation of the civil society itself

becomes a must.

The next point of challenge that the individuals face is forced or voluntary

migration from one land to another. Even internal displacement has turned into a

considerable challenge for the state as well as the societal machinery of these

nations. Despite the many positive implications of migration (including reducing

demographic pressures, meeting labour demands, transfers of skills and

technology, and cultural exchange, for example), migration can entail great

personal sacrifice and hardship. While it has been argued in the past that human

security underpins the notion of many threats being common to all people13,

ensuring a broad range of rights14 for different migration categories including

refugees, migrants, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and trafficked persons

can prove to be most challenging.15

Generally, the causes of internal displacement are divided into two broad

categories: one, conflict-induced internal displacement (including armed conflicts,

internal strife and systematic violations of human rights) and two, internal

displacement caused by development projects, natural disasters or economic

migration. Although in actual terms there are many more IDPs than refugees in

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the world16, it is only recently that international attention is being drawn to the

plight of IDPs since these have always been considered a matter of domestic

jurisdiction and concern. Indeed, despite multiple sources of insecurity, states

have always been considered as having a primary responsibility in securing the

protection and devising solutions to the plight of IDPs. As for refugees, the

impact on the human security of IDPs is considerable due first and foremost to

the fact that they have been forced to flee their homes and possessions. It is also

in jeopardy since they are often unable to gain a livelihood in the region to which

they flee and/or are susceptible to the hostility of local host communities.17

The international definition of “trafficking”, refers to “the recruitment,

transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or

use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the

abuse of power or a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of

payment or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over

another person, for the purpose of exploitation.18 All migrants are susceptible to

negative reactions in countries of destination—be it in the form of xenophobia,

racism, discrimination or other forms of intolerance, although it is unauthorized

migrants whose human security may be in comparable peril to those of refugees,

IDPs or victims of trafficking. Moreover, due to their undocumented status, such

migrants work in the context of the unregulated and unprotected informal

economy, where they have little if any access to outlets that can ensure minimum

standards of protection. In addition to affecting the daily lives of local host

communities, large flows of refugees or displaced persons can in and of itself

have a destabilizing effect on countries and communities in destination states.

Large spontaneous flows of persons can destabilize regions, challenge situations

of peace and stability, and even alter the geopolitical landscape. As stated in a

recent human security report, Undoubtedly, massive refugee displacements are

bound to have destabilizing consequences for global security, affecting, in

particular, regions near zones of conflict and (only indirectly) core areas. 19

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The next core issue that threatens the concept of human security is that of

health security. ‘Good health is both essential and instrumental to achieving

human security. It is essential because the very heart of security is protecting

human lives. Health security is at the vital core of human security—and illness,

disability and avoidable death are “critical pervasive threats” to human security.

Health is defined here as not just the absence of disease, but as “a state of

complete physical, mental and social well-being”. Health is both objective

physical wellness and subjective psychosocial well-being and confidence about

the future. In this view, good health is instrumental to human dignity and human

security. It enables people to exercise choice, pursue social opportunities and

plan for their future.’20 But good health, like so many things, is inequitably

distributed. The average lifespan in Sierra Leone and Ethiopia is only about half

that in Japan and Sweden.21 The World Health Organization (WHO) recently

estimated that more than 40% of the 56 million deaths each year are avoidable,

given the world’s existing knowledge, technologies and resources.22

‘In just two decades, HIV/AIDS has become the world’s fourth ranking

cause of death. Life expectancy averages only 47 years in Sub-Saharan Africa,

15 years less than it would without AIDS. With 22 million cumulative deaths and

more than 40 million HIV-infected people, HIV/AIDS will soon become the

greatest health catastrophe in human history—exacting a death toll greater than

two world wars in the 20th century, the influenza epidemic of 1918 or the Black

Death of the 14th century. The devastation is being superimposed on other

crises, such as the ongoing drought and famine in Southern Africa. Among the

few poor populations with reliable health statistics, the worst health condition

documented, due to both HIV/AIDS and underdevelopment, is in Bandim,

Guinea-Bissau, where life expectancy today is a meager 36 years’.23

The United Nations Security Council adopting the Resolution 1308, which

addresses a health issue for the first time, how even global organizations like the

UN are slowly waking up to the health security hazards that are posing a serious

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threat in front of the world order. The UN has also been mandated to follow up

this resolution and to open dialogue on HIV/AIDS as a security issue as well as

to develop a global plan of action, focusing particularly on peacekeeping

operations.24 In some nations, the level of infection of the disease is so high that

the question of human survival is at stake. Especially for the case of women and

children the scenario is much gross and disheartening. The ostracism that is

brought about by the disease kills them over and over again.

‘AIDS causes poverty even where it did not exist before but when AIDS

hits those who are already poor its impact is more intense-- AIDS deepens and

prolongs poverty. Poverty reduction is therefore an integral part of reducing

vulnerability to HIV and reducing the impact of AIDS. Similarly, in regions of war

and conflict, populations are more at risk of HIV infection, from the presence of

armies, the use of rape as a weapon of war and from social dislocation and

insecurity. The spread of HIV is facilitated by conflict, but it also serves to prolong

conflict as it places new strains on health and economic infrastructures and

destabilizes family and social structures’.25

‘Poverty has also created an environment of risk to HIV. Firstly, it

aggravates lack of access to education and health services and other economic

resources, dislocation due to cross-border or internal migration in pursuit of work,

engagement in risk occupations for survival reasons -- factors that increase

vulnerability. Secondly, those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS are further

pushed into poverty due to, among others, loss of gainful livelihood, inability to

afford health care, and alienation from community support. The poverty

experienced by women and men in developing countries has been deepened by

increasing global economic inequalities. This global economic order has

increased the vulnerability of developing countries to HIV/AIDS both in terms of

infection and impact’.26 ‘Within a few years of its discovery of HIV/AIDS, this

equal-opportunity pathogen has spread to every continent, every country. It kills

productive adults, impoverishes families, creates orphans, destroys communities

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and weakens fragile governments. Even the elderly are affected because of the

deterioration of their adult working children. In some heavily-infected countries,

HIV/AIDS is depleting skilled workers (teachers, nurses, police officers, civil

servants); with health staff losses as high as 40% in some countries’.27

Diseases like HIV/AIDS turn out to be a challenge to human security when

it becomes a threat to socio-economic development and also to human survival.

No part of the society is free from it and crosses every barrier of equality and

inequality, and has destabilized the society in every sphere and strata. ‘At a

macro-economic level the effects are as important, with severe consequences

felt at the national economic level and with the general well-being of the people,

including adverse affects on life expectancy and literacy rates. A nation can

expect a decline of 1% of its GDP each year when more than 20% of the adult

population is infected with HIV’.28 To face the challenge that has been posed by

such a health hazard some steps can be taken that will increase the perception,

awareness as well as knowledge about the disease. Issues like women

empowerment, training social workers as well as law enforcement officers that

might even are in the army, who are involved in maintaining peace in troubled

areas inside the nation, strengthening international commitment, as well as the

growth of the awareness of the institutions in the civil society. On top of that the

problem of the spreading of diseases is embroiled in a bigger social issue.

HIV/AIDS is spread through a lot by drug abuse when drug is taken intra venous,

or after the intake of drugs, people tend to indulge in irresponsible or

adventurous actions. The intake of drugs or the increase of drug addiction rises,

when individuals uses drugs as escape routes from the social frustrations that is

brought forward by unemployment, social inequalities, uneven economic growth,

below quality standard of living and so forth. The UNAIDS has formulated four

strategies that can exert a link between health and human security.

• ‘The scale of the disease burden now and into the future.

• The urgency for action.

• The depth and extent of the impact on society.

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• The interdependencies or “externalities” that can exert ripple effects

beyond particular diseases, persons or locations’.29

The next challenge that is faced by today’s individual in the path of his

personal liberties and development is the conflict situation that prevails inter as

well as intra regions. The conflicts that take place within states, that might involve

sorts of proxy wars that even include terrorism poses a major risk in front of the

individual’s survival, livelihood and dignity. ‘An estimated 190 million people were

killed directly or indirectly as a result of the 25 largest violent conflicts in the 20th

century, often in the name of religion, politics, ethnicity or racial superiority’.30

Especially, during such conflicts, the elements that are behind such conflicts as

well as those who are involved in countering such conflicts, engage ion gross

violation of human rights and liberties that include loss of lives, property in

massive quantity as well as suffocates the civil society with the ubiquitous feeling

of hopelessness and insecurity. Conflict brings forth in the society the prevalence

of weapons like land mines and other military hardware that causes great harm

to the society in general. Especially, in conflict regions, usage of landmines has

been extremely prevalent. It has been recognized all throughout the world that

especially in the nations of Africa that experienced civil wars, even during peace

times land mines remained as death traps for farmers, children, women folk and

every other ordinary individual.

‘Of the 20 countries with the lowest scores on the human development

index in 2002, 16 are in conflict or just out of it. The large majority of these

conflicts have been internal. Among the key factors that cause violent internal

conflict:

• Competition over land and resources.

• Sudden and deep political and economic transitions.

• Growing inequality among people and communities.

• Increasing crime, corruption and illegal activities.

• Weak and instable political regimes and institutions.

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• Identity politics and historical legacies, such as colonialism’.31

The inter as well as intra regional conflicts normally brings along with it

abject poverty of every conceivable resources that the region had that has a

domino effect on the other security challenges that is brought along with it. If the

cases of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda and the like in the

continent of Africa and the cases of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal

and other South and South East Asian nations are taken into consideration, then

it would be found that due to the incessant internal conflict that took place and in

some nations are still taking place, has pushed the zones of conflict into the

spheres of underdevelopment, poverty, food scarcity, drug abuse and trafficking,

immigration and human trafficking as well as numerous other evils.

As borders are no more an obstacle in constraining a conflict zone, for that

reason it easily overlaps into nearby nations increasing its area of operation as

well as damage. On top of that, groups taking recourse to violence for achieving

some political, economic or social objective, comes in close contact with criminal

groups that are involved in small arms, drugs as well as human trafficking.

Terrorist groups, which has turned into one of the principle security challenges to

the society, nowadays functions hands in glove with such groups. As terrorism

has turned out to be of a transnational nature, its effect on the civil societies it

functions in has been extremely pronounced. Most of the insurgent as well as

terrorist group’s works with state sponsorship making them more vicious and

powerful and their impact more long lasting.

Today, ‘fighting terrorism is taking precedence over protecting human

rights and promoting the rule of law and democratic governance’.32 The manner

in which attempts are being made to counter as well as ouster terrorism from the

society, brings forth serious questions on its aptness to move with tandem with

the idea of human security. The focus has been rather on ‘short-term coercive

responses rather than also addressing the underlying causes related to

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inequality, exclusion and marginalization, and oppression by states as well as

people’.33 When it comes to crime prevention and to the prevention of terrorism, it

is often the mix of social and environmental adaptations on the one hand and

technical solutions on the other that produce the best results.34

While formulating policies to combat terrorism as well as insurgent groups

that has an overlapping affect, five principles must be kept in mind if the

combating is done multi laterally or uni laterally.

‘• Placing human security on the security agenda.

• Strengthening humanitarian action.

• Respecting human rights and humanitarian law.

• Disarming people and fighting crime.

• Preventing conflict and respecting citizenship’.35

‘The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty

emphasized the responsibility of states and the international community to

protect people—militarily if necessary—in situations resulting in a “large scale

loss of life, actual or apprehended, with genocidal intent or not, which is the

product of either deliberate state action, or state neglect or inability to act, or a

collapsed state situation; or large scale ‘ethnic cleansing’, actual or apprehended,

whether carried out by killing, force expulsion, acts of terror or rape”.36

The United Nations Security Council for the promotion of human security

in such situations and areas has come up with an ‘aide memoire on the

protection of civilians, focusing on four themes: protection of civilians in conflict;

women, peace and security; children in armed conflict; and conflict prevention’.37

But as according to the Final Report of the Commission on Human Security

2003, that ‘few mechanisms can be invoked to protect the security of people in

violent conflict. Organizational mandates and mechanisms draw heavily from

state security assumptions, which are inadequate for responding to security

issues in internal conflicts. In many instances, there are no cease-fire

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arrangements to uphold, and it is often hard to distinguish combatants from

civilians. Many of the reforms of the UN peace operations recommended in the

Brahimi Report still need to be implemented— strengthening conflict prevention

and peace-building, developing rapid deployment capacities and improving

management’.38 The important thrust also must be on the reconstruction or

rebuilding of the societies that has been affected by the operations that has been

undertaken for the eradication of terrorism from a region or nation. Experiences

that has been gained in several incidents clearly indicates that wherever there

has been no sincere attempts in the reconstruction of the affected societies has

given birth to more violence and terror that has been more difficult to undermine

or control.

The growth of regional organizations must take a strong initiative in the

promotion of the decrease in violence intra region so that the incidence of

security for the ordinary man is on the higher side of the graph. The level of

violence has been the highest inside a nation’s boundary and especially in the

nations in Africa and Asia, people have been the worst affected, having their civil

liberties curbed in every point of life. The manner of violence has been so varied

that it is very hard to check each and every type of violence as they all do not fall

in the hard and fast definitions of terrorism. Caste violence, violence emitting out

of social and economic inequalities, ethnic tensions, violence due to religious

fundamentalism and extremism are some of the manners of violence that is

normally found in the whole region that can be defined outside the purview of

‘terrorism’.

However, ‘unless there are clear links between the deteriorating security

of people and threats to international peace and security, the international

community is unlikely to adopt preventive strategies or to respond. For refugees,

for example, the Security Council recognized in resolution 1296 (2000) the threat

that massive forced population movements pose to international peace and

security and the need to adopt specific measures to create a safe environment.

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In the same resolution, the Security Council asked to be informed of situations

where such a threat may occur. In practice, however, the Council is seldom in a

position to propose and authorize any specific steps’.39 How much one makes an

attempt, single handedly it is simply not possible, to manage the entire problem

of providing a sense of security to the ordinary masses. There must be a

wholesome approach towards the point of where the violence is getting emitted

from and that has to be addressed in the beginning to provide the right of life to

men. Then the issues must be addressed without any biasness towards any

community. One must always remember that it might seem that with the aid of

some short term goal implementation, that the problem is well solved but without

having a long term objective in mind, eradicating such menaces is nearby to

impossible. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan suggested ways to strengthen the

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.40

The human rights machinery should be improved, particularly the treaty

bodies and committees. And the investigation of country situations and issues

should be streamlined. Including human rights principles and mechanisms in

peace agreements provides the basis for rebuilding communities and countries.

Regional human rights mechanisms—for individuals to turn to in times of

conflict—can address state obligations, as did the Inter-American Commission

and Court for Human Rights during the civil conflicts in Guatemala, El Salvador

and Nicaragua. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

promotes protection of human rights through its “Human Dimension” programme,

which links multilateral security issues with growing respect for domestic human

rights and democratization. Its High Commissioner on National Minorities

addresses the relationships between ethnic groups in conflict situations. Similar

approaches on behalf of minorities in other regions would be a helpful step

forward.41

The next challenge that the developing nations normally face is the ratio

as well as the quality of food that is present to cater to around half of the

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population of the world that resides in the developing nations. Not only food but

the availability of drinkable and hygienic water is counted amongst one of the

scarce commodities in these regions. It poses a basic security threat to the

nations human resources and as well as the health of the general masses that

leads to the degeneration of the society. ‘The intellectual resources rather than

natural resources determine national power and economic growth. How can a

nation compete internationally when 20-50% of its population is physically and

intellectually compromised? Investing in food and nutrition security is a necessity,

not a luxury.’42

The right to adequate food has a crucial role to play as a strategic tool in

policies aimed at eradicating poverty as well uplifting the general health of the

society. ‘Health is also a fundamental human right, and a right whose realization

is necessary for the exercise of other human rights and freedoms’.43 In short,

health and human security as well as rights are complementary and

interconnected approaches towards sustainable human development and the

advancement of the general human well-being.

The lack of food is not necessarily due to the unavailability of resources to

the individual but as the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

observed in General Comment No. 12 has mentioned that, “the roots of the

problem of hunger and malnutrition are not lack of food but lack of access to

available food, inter alia because of poverty, by large segments of the world's

population.”44

The right to adequate food is the right of all individuals, alone or in

community with others, to enjoy physical and economic access to adequate food

or the means for its procurement as the right to food is guaranteed in Article 11 of

the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights.45

The core content of the right to food implies two things. First is the

availability of food in a quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs

19

of individuals, free from adverse substances and acceptable within a given

culture; and secondly the accessibility of such food in ways that are sustainable

and that do not interfere with the enjoyment of other human rights.46

The ‘accessibility of food’ encompasses both economic and physical

accessibility. ‘Economic accessibility’ implies that personal or household costs

associated with the acquisition of food for an adequate diet should be at such a

level that the satisfaction of other basic needs is not compromised. ‘Physical

accessibility’ implies that adequate food must be accessible to everyone,

including the vulnerable. If access to their ancestral lands is threatened,

indigenous peoples have a particular vulnerability. The notion of sustainability is

intrinsically linked to the notion of adequate food or food security, implying food

being accessible for both present and future generations. The notion of

‘sustainability’ incorporates the notion of long-term availability and accessibility.47

The right to adequate food also encompasses food safety and food security.

Food safety implies that food shall be free from adverse substances whether

from adulteration, poor environmental hygiene or other causes. The Special

Rapporteur on the Right to Food appointed by the UN Human Rights

Commission has stressed that the term “food” covers not only solid foods but

also the nutritional aspects of drinking water. He also pointed out that water - like

food - is vital for life. Clean drinking water is an essential part of healthy nutrition

and also a necessary condition for the enjoyment of other human rights (such as

the right to life and to health). In his reports, the Special Rapporteur has stated

that, as a component of the right to food, access to safe, clean drinking water

and basic irrigation water must be protected, including through international

cooperation.48

Water is also very crucial to development.49 Sufficient and safe drinking

water is a precondition for the realization of all human rights. Overcoming the

world water crisis – achieving water, food and environmental security

simultaneously – is one of the most formidable challenges for sustainable

20

development.50 An estimated population of 1.1 billion lack access to an adequate

water supply (the overwhelming majority of these persons live in rural areas).51

On top of that, an estimated population of 2.3 billion each year suffers from

diseases linked to water.52 The right to drinking water is directly related to the

right to the highest attainable standard of health (Art. 12.1).53

CONCLUSION

As has been discussed in the Mahbub ul Huq report, sustainable

development must be handled with utmost care and must not be initiated just for

the sake for its initiation. It must match with the needs of the society and that too

not only the developing and the less developing nations, but keeping a global

perspective from the very beginning. In 1987, the World Commission on

Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) defined sustainable

development as:

“…development that meets the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the international community

adopted Agenda 21, an unprecedented global plan of action for sustainable

development. Agenda 21 was a landmark achievement in integrating

environmental, economic and social concerns into a single policy framework. It

identified three components of sustainable development – social development

economic development, and environmental sustainability – as interdependent

and mutually reinforcing pillars.54 The entire perspective of sustainable

development must be broken into four parts of development; global, regional,

national and local.

The global view must work towards the growth of machinery that will

manifest the developmental procedure and provide a world wide support network

that will always work towards the betterment of the global environment. There is

21

also a necessity to provide a leadership as well as a guide in the entire process

of sustainable development that will increase the ambit of human security. Rather

being arrested in summits and conferences, it must play a more dynamic role

that will provide a global leadership to the other three organs.

The entire world is still broken up into various regions and for that the

security challenges too must be seen and analyzed from the regional perspective

as well. The applicability of one solution or programme might not be applicable to

a different region. If that is done, the intrinsic problems that take birth with a

region will be overlooked and the relevance of the entire effort that will be given

for the upliftment of the development pattern of the region might get stalled in the

very initiation process. The manner in which food scarcity is being controlled in

nations of Africa, where productivity itself is very low due to the natural

adversities might not be present in some nations in Asia, where proper

development and research in the field of irrigation and agriculture might solve the

issue of food scarcity.

The concept of human security still involves those who live in a nation,

and for that reason keeping the nation state outside the purview of human

security will be a judgmental error. National policies as well as the government of

the nation still acts as the protector of civil rights and works for the development

of the individual. Any sort of challenges that the individual faces today in a nation

can be resolved in some way or the other by the state. Sometimes, the problem

at hand can be mitigated through state intervention as well as the global and

regional policies that are being taken in higher forums can be moulded and

interpreted for its proper implementation by the state machinery only. For that

reason, nation too plays a very important role in the promotion as well as the

safekeeping of human security.

Last but not the least comes the role of the civil society, in which the

individual directly resides and interacts with. If the societal structure is not mature

22

or stable, providing individuals with any liberty or rights is nearby impossible as

well as will be a farce. If the organs of the civil society are not aware about the

methods and means through which the well being of the individual can be

brought in, then it becomes the responsibility of the other three organs to develop

as well as train the organs for the civil society to perform its duties. All the basic

challenges that the individual faces in the path of its development is in the sphere

of the civil society and this is why this sphere itself can address the problem as

well as look forward for its reconstruction and an amicable solution for the proper

growth of those residing in that society. Especially, if the general health of the

children in a society, reflects the effects of development as well as holds a

promise for the future of the nation. After birth, growth promotion and

development programs, integrated early childhood programs, and parent

education are critical—and cost-effective. The return on investment in growth

promotion and micronutrient programs varies from 7:1 to 84:1, and early

childhood development programs are calculated to have a benefit-cost ratio of

around 2:1.55 Through local development programmes, the development and well

being of the individuals can be properly addressed. They will be able to identify

the vulnerable areas as well as communities as well as the economic,

environmental, social, and cultural threats experienced at the household and

village levels, and the corresponding coping strategies of the community. To

ensure human security, there is a need to identify the vulnerable, the economic,

environmental, and socio-cultural threats they face, the strategies they use to

cope when under duress, and the mechanisms used for conflict management.

This is best done at the local level through governments that represent the

interests of all groups or through coalitions between government and civil society

that allow for wide representation.

To cope with the existing threats four areas becomes critical to strengthen

positive coping strategies and reduce negative coping strategies. Firstly, there is

a need for the development of human resources through the provision of a wide

range of skills related to economic activities, community organization, and

environmental protection and management. Secondly, in developing nations the

23

need for the environmental management of land, water, and forests resources

has turned into a necessity. Indigenous means need to be documented and

studied as well as techniques for the improvement of land quality, management

of water during floods and droughts, and protection and replenishment of forest

resources have to be imparted at the village level. Dependence on the vast but

rapidly dwindling environmental resources is a primary coping strategy with

dangerous implications in the long term if the resources are depleted and

degraded. Thirdly, access to credit seems to be the key to initiating alternative

means of livelihoods to reduce vulnerability and food shortages and for that

reason provisioning of the society with such credit also becomes an important

need. And lastly, the communities must be mobilized for the participation in

planning and implementation of projects for livelihoods, infrastructure,

environmental resource management, and cultural preservation.

1 United Nations Development Programme, “Redefining Security: The Human Dimension”, Current History, Vol. 94, 1995,

p. 229. 2 Neera Chandhoke, State and Civil Society, New Delhi, Sage Publications, 1995, p. 167, p. 28, p. 38.

3 Ibid.

24

4 Final Report on the Commission of Human Security, 2002 - 2003 Commission of Human Security, New York, Chapter 1,

‘Human Security Now’, p. 4, see www.humansecurity-chs.org/finalreport 5 Ibid, pp. 230 – 234.

6 Colleen Thouez, A Global Programme for Government Capacity Building and Cooperation

Migration and Human Security, Paper submitted by The International Migration Policy Programme, For the Consultations on

International Migration, Berlin, 21-22 October 2002, p.1. 7 Elhadj Sy, Gender, HIV/AIDS, and Human Security, UNAIDS see http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/Sy2001.htm,

downloaded on Saturday, March 06, 2004, 10:23:31 AM. 8 Final Report on the Commission of Human Security 2002 – 2003, p. 3.

9 Keynote Paper by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, Permament Representative of Bangladesh to the United

Nations on "Human Security: A Broader Dimension" presented at the Fourth United Nations Conference on Disarmament

Issues in Kyoto, Japan, 27 July 1999 10 Arthur MacEwan, “Globalisation and Stagnation”, Paper presented on “The Worlds Today: Circumstances and

Alternatives”, Centro de Investigaciones Interdisciplinaria en Humanidades, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico,

Mexico City, December 7, 1993. 11 E.J. Hobsbawm, Industry and Empire, Penguin Books, London, 1969, as cited by Arthur MacEwan.

12 Op. Cit. (Colleen Thouez, 2002) p. 9.

13 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Human Development Report 1994 “New Dimensions of Human

Security”, New York: Oxford University Press, 1994, p.22. 14 Commission on Human Security (CHS) Report, Third Meeting of the Commission on Human Security, Haga Castle,

Stockholm, 9-10 June 2002, p. 4. 15 Op. Cit. (Colleen Thouez, 2002) pp. 1 – 2.

16 Estimated figures for IDPs from conflict range from 20-22 million. However, as stated in the “ Internally

Displaced People: A Global Survey” publication, “if everyone who ever fled their homes for whatever reason was included

(in the definition of IDP), then the global figure for IDPs would probably exceed 100 million.” In Janie Hampton (ed.)

Internally Displaced People: A Global Survey, Norwegian Refugee Council, Earthscan Publications, 1998, p. xvi 17 Ibid. p. 5.

18 (Sexual exploitation, prostitution, forced labor, slavery, servitude, removal of organs,)”. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and

Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against

Transnational Organized Crime, Article 3, United Nations, 2000. 19 Op. Cit. (Colleen Thouez, 2002) p. 7. p. 9.

20 Final Report on the Commission of Human Security, 2002 - 2003 Commission of Human Security, New York, Chapter 6,

‘Better Health for Human Security’, p. 96, see www.humansecurity-chs.org/finalreport 21 Human Development Report 2002: Deepening Democracy in a Fragmented World. New York and Oxford, Oxford

University Press 2002 22 2003World Health Report. Geneva.

23 INDEPTH Network. 2002. Population and Health in Developing Countries: Volume 1. Ottawa: IDRC.

24 Ulf Kristofferson, HIV/AIDS as a human security issue: a gender perspective, EGM/HIV-AIDS /2000/WP 2, 7 November

2000. 25 Ibid

26 Elhadj Sy, Gender, HIV/AIDS, and Human Security, UNAIDS see http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/Sy2001.htm,

downloaded on Saturday, March 06, 2004, 10:23:31 AM. 27 Desmond Cohen, Human Capital and the HIV-Epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa. Working Paper 2. ILO Programme on

HIV/AIDS and the World of Work. 2002. 28 Ibid.

29 Final Report on the Commission of Human Security, 2002 - 2003 Commission of Human Security, New York, Chapter 6,

‘Better Health for Human Security’, p. 97 30 R. J. Rummel, Death by Government: Genocide and Mass Murder since 1900. New Brunswick, NJ: Transactions

Publications. 1994 as cited in Final Report on the Commission of Human Security, 2002 - 2003 Commission of Human

Security, New York, Chapter 2, ‘People Caught up in Violent Conflict’, p. 21. 31 Nat J Coletta, 2002. “Conflict, Human Security and Poverty: Implications for IFI Reform.” Paper prepared for the

Commission on Human Security. [www.humansecurity-chs.org]. as cited in Final Report on the Commission of Human

Security, 2002 - 2003 Commission of Human Security, New York, Chapter 2, ‘People Caught up in Violent Conflict’, p. 21. 32 Ibid. p. 23.

33 Ibid. p. 24.

25

34 National Crime Prevention Institute. Understanding Crime Prevention. 2nd edition. Boston, Butterworth Heinemann, 2001.

see http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/speech_2001-10-10_1.html as downloaded on Saturday, March 06, 2004, 11:01:41 AM 35 Op. Cit. (“Conflict, Human Security and Poverty: Implications for IFI Reform.”), p. 24

36 ICISS (International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty). 2001. The Responsibility to Protect. Ottawa, p.

xii, as cited in Final Report on the Commission of Human Security, 2002 - 2003 Commission of Human Security, New York,

Chapter 2, ‘People Caught up in Violent Conflict’, p. 24. 37 Security Council, 4492nd, SC/7329, 15 March 2002.

38 Final Report on the Commission of Human Security, 2002 - 2003 Commission of Human Security, New York, Chapter 2,

‘People Caught up in Violent Conflict’, p.24 , as well as see, United Nations, Security Council. 2002b. Report of the

Secretary-General on Small Arms. S/2002/1053. New York and United Nations. 2000. “Report of the Panel on United

Nations Peace Operations.” S/2000/809. 39 Ibid. p. 25.

40 United Nations, General Assembly, Strengthening of the United Nations: An Agenda for Further Change: Report of the

Secretary-General.A/57/387, 2002. 41 Op. Cit. (Final Report on the Commission of Human Security, 2002 – 2003, Chapter 2, ‘People Caught up in Violent

Conflict’), p. 29. 42 Food Security for Human Resources Development or Why Nutrition is Important for Human Capital, ECOSOC High-

Level Segment 2002 Ministerial Roundtable Breakfast on “Food security for human resources development”, Prepared by

World Food Programme 2 July 2002, p. 1. 43 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General comment 14: The right to the highest attainable standard of

health, E/C.12/2000/4, 12 August 2000. 44 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General comment 12: para 5 E/C.12/2000/4, 12 August 2000.

45 Human Rights, Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development: Health, Food and Water, World Summit on Sustainable

Development, Johannesburg, 26 August – 4 September, 2002, pp. 9 – 10. 46 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, “General Comment No. 12: The Right to Adequate Food”

(E/C.12/1999/5). 47 Ibid. para 7.

48"Report by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food" submitted pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution

2000/10 (E/CN.4/2001/53). "Report by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food" submitted pursuant to Commission on

Human Rights resolution 2001/25 (E/CN.4/2002/58). 49 E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/10, para. 37

50 “No Water no Future: A Water Focus for Johannesburg”, HRH the Prince of Orange, 14 February 2002.

51 World Health Organization, the Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000, Geneva, 2000, at p. 1.

52 UN Commission on Sustainable Development, Comprehensive Assessment of the Freshwater Resources of the

World, Report of the Secretary General, New York, 1997, p. 39. 53 Article 12.1 of the ESCR reads as follows: “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to

the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” See also the General Comment No. 14 on the

Right to Health by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (paras. 11, 12(a), 12(b), 12(d), 15, 34, 36, 40, 43

and 51). 54 Human Rights, Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development: Health, Food and Water, World

Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 26 August – 4 September, 2002, p. 3. 55 Nutrition: A Foundation for Development; Geneva: ACC/SCN 2002.