Human Security: Concept, Relevance and Challenges

Human Security: Concept, Relevance

and ChallengesPratap Kumar

Pathak

Human Security: Concept and MeaningIndividuals, their families, their communities and the

governance structures that they develop have sought

throughout the centuries to safeguard human security. During

the last decade, human security has become a central concern

to many countries, institutions and social actors searching

for innovative ways and means of tackling the many non-

military threats to peace and security. The rise of human

security is usually portrayed as resulting from a growing

humanism within the international system that draws on

increasingly accepted norms and conventions associated with

the human rights and humanitarian laws. Human security has

become an issue of concern on the global level since the

UN's Universal Declaration of Human rights and other

agreements. Transborder and global phenomena that threaten

the life or well-being of people have given rise to the

concept of human security, which focuses on the individual

and his or her security first. With this focus on each and

every person, the human security approach thus brings to the

forefront the very reason for why assistance is carried out

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in the first place: to improve the lives of fellow citizens

of the world.

The Willy Brandt Commission of 1978 known as North-

South Report focused on ensuring human survival by improving

economic and social conditions of disadvantaged

communities.1 The North-South Report produced in 1980

occupies significant role in conceptualizing human security.

With the theme of "To Ensure Survival", the report seeks

improvements in economic and social conditions in

disadvantaged countries by making the discourse on security

much wider inclusive and highlighted the need for

incorporating the human-centric agenda in global policy

framework.

The concept of human security made its appearance on

the world scene in the mid-90s, a time when new paradigms

were being sought to explain the international system and a

growing theoretical and practical debates were under way on

the traditional concepts of security that drove countries'

action for much of the last century. Since the last decade

of the twentieth century the international community has

been paying increasing attention to humanitarian crises in

the countries of conflict, both, the social and political,

and intervening in order to protect human security. Millions

1www.bwbs.de/bwbs_biografie/North-South_Report_B415.html

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of people have become the victims of such humanitarian

crises due to the failure or inability of national

governments to protect the human security of those within

their jurisdiction. Various structural and international

factors have influenced existence of human security that

include the end of bipolar conflict, impact of globalization

and growing interdependence, new power relations and

presence of new international actors, diverse threats to

security, increasing development gaps, loss of state

capabilities due to increase in intra-national conflicts,

and so on.

In 1991, the Stockholm Initiative on Global Security

and Governance highlighted the need for securing a new

concept of human security. The report entitled "Common

Responsibility in the 1990s" has identified common threats to

security other than military and political rivalry. This

wider security paradigm included failure of development

policy, ecological degradation, population explosion,

extreme poverty, health hazards, and slow down process of

democratization.2

Within the UN, the concept of human security was first

formulated in the 1992 Agenda for Peace, proposed by Boutros

2 The assessment made by Kanti Bajpai, Human Security: Concept andMeasurement, Kroc Institute Occasional papers.www.kroc.nd.edu/ocpapers/op_19_1.PDF

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Boutros Ghali, which stressed the indispensable role of the

UN "in an integrated approach to human security" as one of

the new requisites in peacemaking, peacekeeping and post-

conflict management. But it was Kofi Annan who first adopted

the human security agenda in a personal quest for a new UN

mandate, which he first proposed in the 1999 Millennium

Declaration. Defining peace as "much more than the absence

of war" he called for human security to encompass economic

development, social justice, environmental protection,

democratization, disarmament, and respect for human rights

and the rule of law.3

Dr. Mahbub ul Haq, a prominent advocate of human

development, first drew global attention to the concept of

human security in the United Nations Development Programme's

1994 Human Development Report and sought to influence the UN's

1995 World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen. Since

then, human security has been receiving more attention from

the key global development institutions, such as the World

Bank. In Dr. Haq's paper "New Imperatives of Human Security"

published in 1994 gives theoretical explanation of human

security and paved the way for its global acceptance with

the argument that "the world is entering a new era of human

security in which the entire concept of security will change

and change dramatically. In this new conception, security

3 Kofi Annan, "Towards a Culture of Peace", 2001,http://www.unesco.org/opi2/lettres/textAnglais/annanE.html

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will be equated with the security of individuals, not just

security of their nations or to put it differently, security

of people, not just security of territory." Dr. Haque played

instrumental role in constructing Human Development Index

(HDI) and was subsequently the moving force behind the more

recent Human Governance Index (HGI)4. Since then, human

security has been receiving more attention from the key

global development institutions and the governance abroad.

UNDP's Human Development Report of 1994 was the first

international document which clearly and explicitly

articulated human security as a concept for future vision

and agenda for action5 with respect to comprehensive human

development. The Report highlighted the new dimensions of

human security by presenting the first comprehensive

analysis of the concept of human security with two major

schools of thought "Freedom from fear" and "Freedom from want".

The Report also identified the four essential

characteristics of human security including

Human security is a universal concern. It is relevant to

people everywhere, in rich nations and poor.

The components of human security are interdependent.

Human security is easier to ensure through early prevention

than latter intervention. It is less costly to meet

these threats upstream than downstream.4 Human Development Centre, Human Development Report for South Asia,1999: the Crisis of Governance, Oxford University Press, 2000, Karachi.5 Dan Henk, Human Security: Relevance and Implications. www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/05summer/henk.pdf

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Human security is people-centered. 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.

The Report of the Commission on Global Governance6

entitled "Our Global Neighbourhood-1995" has highlighted that

"…..global security policy should be to prevent conflict and

war and to maintain the integrity of the planet's life-

support systems by eliminating the economic, social,

environmental, political and military conditions that

generate threats to the security of people and the planet."

Amartya Sen7 presents a broad concept of human security

by linking economic as well as developmental aspects to

political and social aspects. In his concept, human security

encompasses "economic safety nets" and "guaranteeing basic

health and education" as well as democratic participation

through "supporting human dignity", "securing continuation

of daily lives" and "security of survival".

Kanti Bajpai8 contributes to conceptualize human

security and provides objective assessment framework for6 The Report of the Commission on Global Governance, Our GlobalNeighbourhood, Oxford University Press, 1995.7 Amartya Sen, Why Human Security, 2000.- www.humansecurity-chs.org/activities/outreach/Sen2000.pdf

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auditing human security with respect to two core components

like (a) direct and indirect threats to individual bodily

safety and freedom; and (b) the capacity to deal with

threats namely the fostering of norms, institutions and

democratization in decision making process.

As a conclusion, human security shares the "conceptual

space" of human development, which is likewise people-

centered and multidimensional and is defined in the spaces

of human choices, voices as well as freedoms and rights.

Defining Human Security

The simplest definition of security is "absence of

insecurity and threats". To be secure is to be free from both

fear (of physical, sexual or psychological abuse, violence,

persecution, or death) and from want (of gainful employment,

food, and health). Human Security therefore deals with the

capacity to identify threats, to avoid them when possible,

and to mitigate their effects when they do occur.10 It is an

emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities

whose proponents challenge the traditional notion of

national security by arguing that the proper referent for

8 Kanti Bajpai, Human Security: Concept and Measurement, Kroc InstituteOccasional Papers, 19:OP:1- www.kroc.nd.edu/ocpapers/op_19_1.PDF). 10 Shahrbanou Tadjbadhsh, Human Security: Concepts and Implications with an Application to Post-Intervention Challenges in Afghanistan, Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution, 2005, p. 5.

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security should be the individual rather than the state. It

holds that a people-centered, multi-disciplinary

understanding of security involving a number of strategic,

developmental and behavioural studies and research.

According to UN Human Security Commission, the term

"Human Security" entails:

A clear focus on individual

lives in contrast to the notion of "national

security" in the military context.

An understanding and

acknowledgement of the role of civil society,

including private corporations and NGOs.

Human security describes a condition of existence in

which basic material needs are met and in which human

dignity, including meaningful participation in the life of

the community, can be met. Thus, while material sufficiency

lies at the core of human security, in addition the concept

encompasses non-material dimensions to form a qualitative

whole. Human security is oriented towards an active and

substantive notion of democracy, and is directly engaged

with discussions of democracy at all levels, from the local

to the global.11

The Canadian Government has substantiated the task of

defining human security by stating "In essence, human

11 Sabina Alkire, A Conceptual Framework of Human Security, 2003, p.15. www.crise.ox.ac.uk/pubs.workingpaper2.pdf.

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security means safety for people from both violent and non-

violent threats. It is a condition or state of being

characterized by freedom from pervasive threats to people's

rights, their safety, or even their lives….From a foreign

policy perspective, human security is perhaps best

understood as a shift in perspective or orientation. It is

an alternative way of seeing the world, taking people as its

point of reference, rather than focusing exclusively on the

security of territory or governments. Like other security

concepts - national security, economic security, food

security - it is about protection. Human security entails

taking preventive measures to reduce vulnerability and

minimize risk, and taking remedial action where prevention

fails."12

Scope and Dimensions of Human SecurityAs a pioneering effort, the UNDP's Human Development

Report13 of 1994 has broadened the scope of human security

beyond the traditional norms of international security. The

Report has expanded the dimensions of human security into

seven areas of threats. Such include

Economic security requiring an assured basic income for

all human being, usually from productive and

12 Government of Canada, Human Security: Safety for people in a ChangingWorld, 1999, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.13 Adapted from the Report.

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remunerative work or, as a last resort, from a

publicly financed safety net.

Food Security requiring that all people at all times

have both physical and economic access to basic

food. As a serious threat to human security, the

overall availability of food is not the problem,

rather the effective distributive mechanism and a

lack of purchasing power among most of the poorer

sections of world community.

Health security aiming to guarantee a minimum protection

from diseases and unhealthy lifestyles. In

developing countries, the major causes of untimely

death are infectious and parasitic diseases, and in

developed countries the major causes remains the

disease related to circulatory system. The threats

to health security are usually greater for poor

people in rural areas, particularly the women and

children, and the marginalized population at large

due to malnutrition, lack of safe motherhood

supports, insufficient supply of medicines, clean

water and the basic healthcare services.

Environmental security with the aim to protect people from

ravages of nature, human-induced threats to nature,

and the deterioration of the natural resources. In

developing countries, lack of access to clean water

resources is one of the greatest human security

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threats whereas the air pollution and the global

warming caused by the greenhouse effects remain

serious environmental security threat in both the

worlds.

Personal security that aims to protect the people from

all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation,

discrimination as well as freedom from all threats

of crime, physical as well as psychological.

Community security having the intent to protect people

from the loss of indigenous relationships and values

as well as from sectarian and ethnic violence.

Protection of minority ethnic groups from the loss

of indigenous livelihood options, occupation and the

harmony with other communities needs to be taken

care as the core need of ensuring community

security.

Political security that is mainly concerned with protecting

the civil and political rights, securing from all

forms of political conflicts and empowering the

society to exercise the basic human rights.

Political repression, systematic tortures and

disappearances are still practices in many

countries.

From an ethical dimension, human security is to be

understood as an idea that promotes respect and protection

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for individuals and that needs to be put into practice so

that individuals perceive it not as an elusive concept but

as a basic demand and a fundamental right, as well as a

personal responsibility and obligation. The normative dimension

of human security circumscribes the universal values and

principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights and international humanitarian principles regarding

the protection of individuals.

Human Security Strategies: Protection and

EmpowermentThe Commission on Human Security14 has postulated the

concept of human security that stressed for the principle of

protecting the freedom of people. According to it, civilians

have a right to be protected from deliberate violence or the

deprivations of violence such as hunger, disease and

exhaustion. But it is the reflection that protection alone,

however, does not enable people to develop their own

strengths and formulate their own hopes. It is thus two

major strategies of human security need to be explained:

protection and empowerment. Protection is afforded by

strengthening and more effectively implementing the norms

and principles of international humanitarian law, by

building the capacity of institutions to address

14 Commission on Human Security, Human Security Now, New York, 2003. www. humansecurity-chs.org/finalreport/.

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insecurities and by more generally helping the state live up

to its responsibility to protect its citizens. Empowerment

puts the needs of the individual or his/her community at

center stage and enables people to take ownership of the

larger decision-making processes determining their future.15

The strategic objective of human security, thus, should

be twofold: protection and empowerment of people and

communities that are fatally threatened by events beyond

control - political, social, environmental and biological.

Such include

To protect the vital core of all human lives from

critical pervasive threats;

To guarantee vital rights and freedoms to all

people to ensure human dignity and respect;

To create political, economic, social, cultural

and environmental conditions in which people live

knowing that their vital rights and freedoms are

secure;

To enable and empower human being to survive and

sustain with capacity to respond the critical and

pervasive threats;

To support for long-term human fulfillment by

facilitating participation, institutional

appropriateness and inclusion.

15 Handbook for transition Assistance, JICA, March 2006 , p. 55.

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In this context, the Commission on Human Security16

strategizes various strategic options for protecting and

promoting human security. The Commission stresses on

protecting people in violent conflicts, protecting and

empowering migrant population as well as people in post-

conflict situations, reducing economic insecurity by

empowering poor to choose among opportunities, health

protection, and reinforcement of global human identity.

Principles and Approaches to Human SecurityProtection and Prevention

The International Commission on Intervention and State

Sovereignty produced a comprehensive report on "The

Responsibility to Protect" in 2001, which is a comprehensive report

detailing the need for exercising the "right of humanitarian

intervention". The outcomes of the report has considered a

triumph for the human security approach and made clear about

the following principles of human security:

The protection of individual welfare is more important than the

state. If the security of individuals is threatened

internally by the state or externally by other

states, state authority can be overridden.

Addressing the root causes of humanitarian crises

(e.g. economic, political or social instability)

16 Commission on Human Security, ibid.

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is a more effective way to solve problems and

protect the long-term security of individuals.

Prevention is the best solution. A collective

understanding of the deeper social issues along

with a desire to work together is necessary to

prevent humanitarian crises, thereby preventing a

widespread absence of human security within a

population (which may mean investing more in

development projects).

Traditional Security and Human Security: What Difference?

Human security has added value in terms of reference,

scope of work, actors, means and the outcomes. Traditional

security is designed to promote demands ascribed to the

state in which other interests are subordinated to those of

the state. Traditional security protects a state's

boundaries, people, institutions and values. On the

contrary, human security is people-centered. A human

security approach attempted to transform traditional notions

of security, framed in terms of national and regional

stability and the stability of political and economic

systems, and to focus on human beings.17 The important

dimensions are to entail the well-being of individuals and

respond to ordinary people's needs in dealing with sources

of threats.

17 Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh, Human Security: Concepts and Implications with anApplication to Post-Intervention Challenges in Afghanistan, Center for Peace andConflict Resolution, 2005, p. 4.

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Traditional security seeks to defend states from

external aggression with the explanation that state security

is about a state's ability to deter or defeat an attack. It

makes uses of deterrence strategies to maintain the

integrity of the state and protect the territory from

external threats. Whereas in addition to protecting the

state from external aggression, human security intends to

expand the scope of protection to include a broader range of

threats, including environmental pollution, infectious

diseases, and economic deprivation.

The realization of human security involves not only

governments, but also a broader participation of different

actors including regional and international organizations,

non-governmental organizations and local communities. In

traditional security, the state assumes the sole

responsibility so as to ensure its own survival. Policy and

decision making power is centralized to the government

structures and the execution of strategies rarely involves

the public at large. It also assumes that a sovereign state

is operating in an anarchical international environment, in

which there is no world governing body to enforce

international rules of conduct.

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As a matter of reality, traditional security relies

upon building up national power and military defense. The

common forms it takes are armament races, alliances,

strategic boundaries, and so on. Human security not only

protects, but also empowers people and societies as a means

of security. People contribute by identifying and

implementing solutions to insecurity.

In summary, we can say that human security differs from

state security in four key respects. It is people-centered

focusing on protecting people from a wide range of menaces,

rather than approaching protection not just in terms of

territorial boundaries for preventing external aggression

alone. It merely includes protection from menaces like

environmental pollution, transnational terrorism, massive

population movements, infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and

long-term conditions of deprivation and oppression. The

range of actors in human security is also greater from

community to global, from government to civil society,

regional and international organizations, and also including

the non-state actors. It brings people together to identify

and implement solutions through empowerment.18

Human Security and Transition

18 Based on the analysis made by Commission on Human Security, Human Security Now: Protecting and Empowering People, New York, 2003.

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In transitional societies, the concept of human

security has special significance. In a society where

fragile peace has just been achieved and state institutions

are still weak, the protection of citizens, which is

normally a responsibility of state, is not fully achieved,

leaving parts of the individual population in vulnerable

conditions. The basic human needs are often not met,

especially in the early phase of the transition, posing

continuous threats to the life and well-being of citizens.

The general lessons on human security19 in transition

situations include

Human security tries to avoid gaps in transition

assistance by enabling both the humanitarian and

development organizations in an integrated and

holistic manner.

A bottom-up or empowerment approach rather than

the top-down or protection approach should be the

crucial component of transitional assistance that

includes community development and empowerment

programmes and complement top-down state building

assistance in pursuit of improved human security.

Multi-sectoral linkages need to be made at

community level to address human security concerns

in an integrated way and all activities should be

coordinated with other development and

19 Adapted from "Handbook for Transition Assistance", JICA, March 2006.

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humanitarian organizations using human security as

a core principle of intervention.

Assistance in the field of human security needs to

be used promoting peace, building capacities at

national, sub-national and community levels, and

contributing to the sustainability of the

developmental process.

Accountability needs to be ensured not only for

the process as well as the results relevant to

human security interventions.

Human Security and Development: An Interface

The growing understanding of human security dimensions

has drawn attention and challenged the practice and

behaviour of international, regional and national

development with some remarkable interfaces between

development and human security. If development can be seen

as a process of expanding the real freedoms that people

enjoy, there are three basic connections regarding

development-human security interface. One, human security

forms an important part of people's wellbeing and is

therefore an objective of development. Second, lack of human

security has adverse consequences on economic growth and

poverty and thereby on development. Third, lack of

development, or imbalanced development that involves sharp

horizontal inequalities, is an important cause of conflict.

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As analyzed by Francis Stewart20 in 'Development and

Security', drawing the inference that security and development

are deeply interconnected, the following arguments worth to

be underscored:

Human security forms an important part of people’s well-being, and is

therefore an objective of development. An objective of

development is “the enlargement of human choices”.

Insecurity cuts life short and thwarts the use of

human potential, thereby affecting the reaching of

this objective.

Lack of human security has adverse consequences on economic growth,

and therefore development.Some development costs are

obvious. For example, in wars, people who join the

army or flee can no longer work productively. Also,

destroying infrastructure reduces the productive

capacity of the economy.

Imbalanced development that involves horizontal inequalities is an

important source of conflict. Therefore, vicious cycles of

lack of development which leads to conflict, then

to lack of development, can readily emerge.

Likewise, virtuous cycles are possible, with high

20 Frances Stewart, "Development and Security", Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security, and Ethnicity (CRISE), Working Paper 3, London: University of Oxford, 2004.

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levels of security leading to development, which

further promotes security in return.

Challenging Issues of Human SecurityAs the inferences drawn by analyzing the situation in

the world, various aspects remain predominant in determining

the challenges to human security. Violation of human rights,

increased political and social conflicts leading to human

displacement, transnational organized crimes and terrorism,

trafficking in human beings, poverty and unemployment,

unsafe migration, natural disasters and environmental loss,

epidemics of HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases, drug

trafficking, and so on remain as the challenging issues with

respect to human security. In this respect, Anwaral Karim

Chowdhury 21 has identified the key challenging issues which

should receive a priority attention in ensuring human

security. According to him, human security is threatened by

(a) poverty and lack of development; (b) landmines, small

arms and light weapons; (c) drug trafficking and trafficking

of women and children; and (d) human rights violations.

Based on the analysis and review, the following issues and

concerns of human security worth to be discussed:

21 Mr. Chowdhury was Permanent Representative Representative of Bangladesh to the UN. He presented the issue paper at the Fourth UN Conference on Disarmament Issues on "Human Security: A Broader Dimension", Kyoto, Japan 1999.

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Conflict, Displacement and Post-conflict Human Security

In 2002, of the 20 countries with the lowest scores on

the human development index, 16 were in conflict or just

emerging from it. Conflicts represent a threatening context

for those whose rights to protection and assistance have

been denied and ignored. Almost without exception the

world's worst human rights abused and humanitarian crises

take place during conflict. (World Disasters Report 2004)

The number of refugees, internally displaced peoples,

and asylum-seekers jumped from under 15 million in 1990 to

over 22 million in 2000, a fifty percent increase in just

one decade. Refugees are a symptom of a deeper malaise in

the polities from which they have fled. The failure to

establish satisfactory coping mechanisms is a symptom of a

deeper malaise afflicting the world. At the same time, the

institution of asylum is under grave threat. Many

politicians in receiving states see refugees and asylum

seekers in negative terms, as a threat to social cohesion,

employment, or even as posing a threat of insurgency and

terrorism. In both developing and developed countries,

governments have for some time been constructing legal and

physical barriers to the influx of asylum seekers or those

displaced by war. Individuals are effectively precluded from

precluded from asylum, through visa regulations, carrier

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sanctions, shifting the burden of assessing and processing

claims to adjoining territories, physical closing of

borders, detention of asylum seekers, and withdrawal of

welfare support. These have all been employed to interdict

and deter asylum seekers.22

According to Human Security Report23, despite the

decline in the number of people killed in conflicts during

21st century in comparison to 20th century, many people in

large parts of the world live in intolerable situations of

insecurity, often as a result of conflict. High levels of

insecurity in most of the conflict-prone countries are

indicated by the levels of refugees and displaced persons

and the low ranking in human development indicators. A

noteworthy feature of contemporary conflicts is the very

high level of population displacement. Such conflicts are

also associated with high levels of human rights violations

and violation of humanitarian law, including forced

detention, atrocities such as amputation or decapitation,

widespread or systematic rape and other forms of sexual

abuse and violence, and the use of child soldiers. Most

seriousness is that displaced children are often trapped in22 'Globalization, Migration and Human Security' presented by Ramesh Thakur at the seminar on "Globalization, Migration, and Human Security: Challenges in Northeast Asia", United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan, October 2003. 23 Human Security Report 2005: War and Peace in the 21st Century, New York, Oxford University Press prepared by Human Security Centre, University of British Columbia, Canada. Available at: http://www. humansecurityreport.info/

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a cycle of vulnerability to both recruitment and

displacement.

All forms of violence against women remain high in

post-conflict situations, including domestic violence, rape

forced and child marriage, harassment and trafficking. In

many conflict-affected countries, health facilities for

women are non-existent or inadequate.24 As a major

consequence, the conflicts have significant impacts on

economic insecurity because of dramatic falls in GDP and

reduction in employment opportunities because of diversion

of productive resources to manage conflicts rather to

development human potential.

Another area of interest to be assessed is the

prevalence of the "conflict economy" that is the informally

regulated economy based on violence and exploitative forms

of financing prohibiting the development funding, limiting

the scope for human development, decreasing employment

opportunities and pushing the productive mass to unsafe

migration and exploitative labour.

Unsafe migration and Impact of Human Security

24 Human rights violations recorded in the six case-study countries as included in the report of UNDP's evaluation. Available at www.undp.org/eo

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The issue of irregular and unsafe migration is

inextricably linked to that of human security. Many of the

people migrate in an irregular manner due to several push

factors like armed conflict, political instability and lack

of economic opportunities. As the impact of globalized

labour market dynamics, the flow of migrant workers from

underdeveloped economy to development economy is increasing.

The growth of irregular migration is driven by the tendency

of using cheap and flexible labour in destination markets.

It is also linked to a lack of regular and facilitated

migration opportunities.

Human insecurity in labour migration is due to the

involvement of migrant labour in '3-D work': dirty,

dangerous and difficult without any measures of labour

protection. The underdeveloped economies are bound to export

the unskilled labour without involving into bilateral labour

agreements because of the pressure of increasing number of

unemployed youths. The situation is alarming that most of

the migrant labour work in the markets without any labour

laws or labour protection standards. Neither the source nor

the destination countries are serious in complying with the

ILO standards of decent migration or the UN Convention on

protecting the migrant workers and their families.

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Women constitute a substantial proportion of the many

migrants with irregular status. Because they are confronted

with gender-based discrimination, including restricted

access to regular migration opportunities, female migrants

with irregular status are often obliged to accept the most

menial informal sector jobs. The majority of migrant

domestic workers and migrants employed in the sex industry

are women and are at particular risk of abuse and

exploitation. Vulnerability and incidence of HIV/AIDS is

becoming a crucial aspect in international labour migration

due to unsafe and irregular migratory patter and women in

particular face exposure to such vulnerability including

several health-related risks associated.

HIV/AIDS and Human Security Implications

A dramatic expansion of the HIV/AIDS epidemics appears

increasingly likely in the world of human population with

grave implications for human security. The threats posed by

such epidemics remain further amplified by the rising

regional and global interdependence and interconnectedness

which means that the spread of HIV/AIDS has significant

economic, political and security implications, even for

countries that have for some time considered themselves

insulated from the afflictions of poor countries. AIDS is

intrinsically linked with a variety of problems having

impact on human development like severe poverty, gender

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inequality, insufficient public healthcare infrastructures,

low level of education, human rights violations, and so on,

which feed off the disease and fuel its spread.

The vulnerability of HIV/AIDS has severe human security

challenges as it impacts the spread of other infectious

diseases. According to World Health Organization estimates,

one-third of people infected with HIV will develop

tuberculosis, which is the leading infectious killer of

people with AIDS. As a challenging indication, the magnitude

and dimension of resources needed to respond to this

epidemic is geometrically increasing with serious impact on

diversion of scarce resources to be utilized for human

development.

Disasters and Human Security

Human security has been extremely challenged by the

natural and human-induced disasters affecting mostly the

underdeveloped countries. The disasters have led to

increased human displacements, loss of infrastructures,

survival opportunities and livelihood options. Disasters

force the economies to divert scarce resources for

humanitarian relief, recovery and reconstruction leading to

increased constraints of resources for human development

funding. It is the proven fact that disasters, whether

natural or human-induced, negatively affect the vulnerable

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and marginalized, poor and downtrodden communities with

serious implications on human security.

The Hyogo Framework for Action, the Millennium

Declaration and the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment have

different points of departure but come to the similar

conclusion that environmental degradation, poverty and

disaster risk share common causes as well as common

consequences for human security and well-being.25

It has become obvious that climate change is the

biggest threat the planet faces, especially to the poorest

and the most vulnerable among us. Climate change, and the

natural hazards and extreme weather events that are

associated with it, are not some distant, future threats.

The threat to human security is here, it’s real, and it’s

today. The implications of climate change and the

devastating effects of global warming on the livelihoods of

the most vulnerable people are equally significant with

respect to human security. In recent years, hydro-

meteorological disasters are becoming more common,

exacerbated by environmental degradation. Floods, landslides

and storms are the most recurrent events affecting the

highest number of people every year. The widespread

devastation caused by landsides in Uttarakhand, India;

25 UNEP: Environment and Disaster Risk - Emerging Perspectives, preparedon behalf of the UN ISDR Environment and Disaster Working Group.

28

Indonesia earthquake and the Indian Ocean Tsunami; Tsunami

in Japan; earthquake in Haiti, India and Pakistan, and

earthquake of China; and many more disasters have been

underscored as the major threat to human security leading to

massive human displacements, deprivation and sufferings

asking for integrated and strategic response.

Terrorism as a Serious Threat to Human Security

As an indisputable threat to human security, terrorism

has become most serious concern for peace and security as

well as development of whole human society these days.

Terrorism can only impede the efforts for the promotion of

peace, security and stability and consequently force to

compromise the chances of socio-economic development. The

tendency of "anti-state actors" is resorting the means of

threatening the world's human order. Terrorism constitutes a

negation of the ideals of peace, respect for human life and

justice. While terrorism itself is a scourge of human

security in its substantive sense as security of the person

from mindless violence and cruelty, and anti-terrorist

measures can be justified as protection for individuals as

well as states, there is considerable scope for abuse in the

way the discourse of terrorism is conducted and the

responses to it.

29

The increased impact of terrorism has forced many

states to divert their capacity to respond the causes and

consequences of terrorism rather than promoting human

security. Much of the response to terrorism has been to

strengthen the traditional toolkit of state security,

intelligence agencies, surveillance networks and counter-

terrorism forces rather than allocate resources to poverty

eradication and to education and health sectors that could

address these root causes.

The so-called "war on terror" coined by the developed

world has also reduced humanitarian space, as the UN

discovered in Iraq and Afghanistan. Heavy security

restrictions, especially in countries where the war is

taking place, and where the states are dealing with the

armed conflicts, have greatly hampered the capacity to

respond to human security needs. As the consequence, such

situation has influenced the priorities for official

development assistance as well as the conditions attached to

aid, and has affected the legitimacy of international

efforts.

Gender-based Violence and Human Security Challenges

If 'freedom from fear' is a touchstone in the human

security approach, then the issue of violence against women

must figure prominently. Given the pervasive nature of

violence against women, this is a very different security

30

issue for women and men. Violence against women is 'any act

of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to

result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or

suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion

or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in

public or private life.'26 It is the recognition that

violence against women is a manifestation of historically

unequal power relations between men and women, which have

led to domination over and discrimination against women by

men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women,

and that violence against women is one of the crucial social

mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate

position compared with men. It generally impairs or

nullifies the enjoyment of rights and freedoms. The major

causes, push and pull factors, of gender based violence thus

include economic inequality, socio-cultural discriminations,

unequal power base, human development disparities, the

dynamics of labour market, and the weak governance

capability. According to the survey conducted by World

Health Organization, one-sixth of women in the world suffer

from different forms of family violence.

One of the serious concerns regarding the security

issues of working women is the prevalence of sexual

harassment at the workplace. It is the unwelcome sexual

26 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 1993, Article 1.

31

advance or conduct against women having the effect of making

the workplace intimidating or hostile. Such form of violence

generally has impact on women's productivity and managerial

capability having serious consequences on women's security,

both physical and psychological.

Human Trafficking: Serious Threat to Human Security

Trafficking in human beings encompasses all acts or

attempted acts that involve the recruitment, transportation,

sale, purchase or harbouring of a person within or across

borders involving the use of coercion, deception or debt

bondage for the purpose of holding the person in involuntary

servitude, bonded labour or slavery like conditions, with or

without pay, in a place different from that in which the

person had been at the time of recruitment. Human

trafficking is a business whose profitability is equating

with the arms and drug smuggling. Advances in communications

and globalization have been reflected in the extension and

diversification of the human rights violations to which the

victims of trafficking are subject.

According to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),

around 4 million women are sold each year for the purposes

of prostitution and exploitative labour and around 2 million

children are brought into the sex trade. Push factors like

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violence and discrimination, poverty and unemployment,

conflict and displacement are fueling the drive of

trafficking in human beings. Likewise, the pull factors like

increased globalization and changing labour market dynamics

that demand for exploitable labour, strong and extensive

networks of organized crime and the increased attractions

for young population to migrate are the major determinants

in human trafficking.

The major impacts of human trafficking on human

security is multi-fold ranging from social impacts like

gross violation of human rights and social disorder to

economic impacts like loss of productive human resources and

lost returns to human development investments, and from

physiological as well as multiple psychological impacts like

HIV/AIDS and other forms of health hazards and

vulnerabilities, and increased stress, stigma and trauma

among the victims of trafficking.

Human Security: Relevance to Policy Implications

and Moving ForwardDevelopment Policy Reorientation

Human security has reinforced redefining national

development frameworks of both the developed and developing

states from humanitarian perspectives. It has drawn

attention to integrate national security needs with human-

centered standards of response. It should be considered

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today as a paradigm in the making, for ensuring both a

better knowledge of the rapidly evolving large-scale risks

and threats that can have significant impact on the whole

human society and the nature. It should ensure an adequate

framework for accelerating the transition from past

restrictive notions of security, tending to identify it

solely with defense issues, to a much more comprehensive

multidimensional concept of security, based on the respect

for all human rights and democratic principles. A

strengthened and participative mobilization of the wide

array of actors should be made in pursuit of framing and

realizing the national policies and strategies. Effective

mainstreaming of human security issues into the national

development can pave way for humanizing development.

Especially, in the post-conflict governance, the human

security should have appropriate policy interventions as the

effective governance strategy in providing protective,

restorative as well as redistributive justice to the human

being as well. Broad-based collaboration with regional and

sub-regional approaches should also be elaborated for the

promotion of human security in order to more precisely

identify the nature, scope and impact of the risks and

threats, be prepared for effective mitigation and response,

recover and restore by utilizing the fullest potential

capacity. It should be the strategic framework for

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contributing to sustainable development and especially to

the eradication of extreme human poverty by respecting the

human rights and humanitarian principles and standards.

Political development should be backed by appropriate and

adequate economic growth strategies especially targeted to

employment generation in the rural and marginalized

communities with the guidance of redistribution of state's

resources. Rationalizing military or traditional security

funding and diverting resources for meeting the basic human

needs is a must-do action in this respect.

Human security requires the recognition of

interconnections between development, security and human

rights by adopting the multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral

solutions on an inter-disciplinary approach. The role of the

state in the promotion of human security must be addressed

on the basis of exhaustive analysis of the opportunities and

critical challenges in matters relating to human security,

both from within to ensure sustainable human development,

and from the rapidly evolving international and regional

processes linked to economic and financial globalization.

Encouragement should also be made to boosting cooperation

with civil society and professional space agencies that can

contribute effectively to policy formulation and

collaborative actions in the field.

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Human Security as a Tool for Foreign Policy Option

Since the ongoing globalization process offers new

opportunities for the strengthening of broad-based

collaborations working in further human security, at all

levels, the human security as foreign policy agenda has

become an opportunity to draw attention to states with

middle-power influence and status in the international

arena. As a foreign policy option it serves as a

demonstration of a government's interest in the well-being

of people by integrating the human security issues in the

trans-border cooperation and collaboration, especially in

development funding by the bilateral and multi-lateral

agencies. Within the community of donors, the growing

interest in the relationships between security and

development has led to a renewed concept of development

assistance as a means of conflict prevention, a concept has

been referred to as "securitization of aid".27 The human

security approach in diplomatic policies not only addresses

the protection and empowerment of native population as the

core accountability of receiving states but also creates an

obligation for the states and agencies funding to take care

of humanitarian principles at large in a proactive way.

After 1994, the concept of human security became a central

theme of a number of governments through their foreign and

defense policies. In particular, the Canadian, Japanese and

27 Sharbanou Tadjbakhsh, ibid., p.39.

36

Norwegian governments led the way in institutionalizing

human security concerns in their respective foreign

policies.28

Focusing international support through the human

security lens is also a useful approach for promoting

peacebuilding in transitions. The human security framework

brings focus to the well-being of individuals, without which

peace building cannot take place and state security can not

be ensured in today's world. It is also a holistic approach,

as it allows programme planners to make linkages between

various sectors and addresses a variety of concerns that

exist in a post-conflict society, many of which were part of

the structural causes of the conflict.

Human Security and Human Development

The concept of human development refers to the broad

approach to expanding people's choices or capabilities not

only in terms of income, but also in areas such as health,

education, technology, the environment and employment.

Enlarging people's choices is achieved by expanding human

capabilities and functionings. Human security has provided

an enabling environment for human development. Where

violence or the threat of violence makes meaningful progress

on the developmental agenda impractical, enhancing safety

28 Richard Jolly and Deepayan Basu, The Human Security Framework and National Human Development Reports, UNDP, May 2006.

37

for people is a prerequisite. Promoting human can also be an

important strategy for furthering human security. By

addressing inequalities, which are often root causes of

violent conflicts, by strengthening governance structures

and by providing humanitarian assistance, development

assistance complements political, legal and military

initiatives in enhancing human security.29

Human Security and Human Rights

Human rights have become a widely accepted normative as

well as prescriptive concept for international humanitarian

relations and human-centered policy. In this respect, human

security and human rights are deeply interconnected in

motivation and area of concern to identify a rudimentary set

of universal concerns that span poverty and violence. Both

address violence and poverty and the identification

protection and promotion of central facets of human lives

from the 'freedom from fear' and 'freedom from want' is the

fundamental aim of human security as well as human rights.

It is the matter of fact to be traced in our mind that most

of the underdeveloped world where the human sufferings are

extensive, have framed the social, economic and cultural

rights as well the right to development of citizens based on

welfare cases rather than the cases of fundamental rights.

Reinforcement to the prevention at the root of different

29 Human Security: Safety for People in a Changing World, A Paper presented at the Summit of the Americas Information Network, April 1999, p. 4.

38

forms of violence, discrimination, conflict and internal

strife that are taking a heavy roll on civilian regime

should be the priority issue without any exception.

The impact of human security of migrations and of

movements of populations displaced due to conflict should be

paid to countering practices in host countries that

discriminate against legal immigrants. Regarding the

irregular migrants, the international protection standards

should be complied for ensuring decent labour migration.30

In the case of populations displaced due to conflict, the

efforts of the international community should be reinforced,

especially when the displacements take on a semi-permanent

character.

Capable Governance and Human Security

It is the fact that human security depends on the

factors like capacity and willingness of governance to

deliver as well as the enabling environment to support the

governance. Building state as well as international

capacities in realizing human security is a must. Only good

governance can provide and sustain human security. Most of

the countries of developed world have shown the tendencies

of lipservicing and rational ignorance towards the human

30 Decent labour migration ensures rights at work, advancement in employment, social protection and social dialogue for all migrant labour.

39

security needs of the underdeveloped world whereas the

countries of underdeveloped core support and ratify the

international standards of human security in aggression with

limited capacity to realize, and thus are mostly trapped in

marginal incrementalism. For ensuring result-oriented human

security, constructing human security index through human

security audit as part of the governance review mechanism to

assess and strategize the way forward in terms of direct and

indirect threats to human freedom and safety as well as the

capacity of governance to deal with such threats should be

realized.

It is also to be borne in the mind that human security

can only be achieved through challenging the strategy,

structure, process and behaviour of governance and by being

proactive towards natural and social changes that fuel

negative contributions comprising of multiple insecurities,

vulnerabilities and risks. Building state as well as

international capacities with better coordination mechanisms

for response in promoting human security is a must. In

pursuit of following up the measures put forward by the

international community, the least development countries

have come up with policies and strategies in a rational

comprehensive mode addressing human development, HIV/AIDS,

disaster, post-conflict management and transnational

organized crimes. But because of weak governance structures,

40

systems and processes most of such strategic instruments

remain as showcase rather than the instrument of

transformation.

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