What is human security?

Résumé du document

The end of Cold War brought new global challenges to the security field. The arousal of new forms of conflict, such as internal wars and terrorism made it important to rethink civilian protection as the centre of this new perspective of security. Threats to security are no longer restricted to states, nor can the state protect its citizens from fear by conventional military action. In his speech appealing for a change in the way we think about security, Sergio Vieira de Mello , underlined the idea that « the security of states and the security of peoples are clearly intertwined, for the insecurity of peoples inexorably leads to the disintegration of states and to regional and international instability »...

Extraits

[...] The Commission on Human Security has eagerly engaged itself in this topic, by defining three short-term goals, where it promotes public understanding, engagement and support of human security and its underlying imperatives; seeks to develop the concept of human security as an operational tool for policy formulation and implementation; and aims to propose a concrete program of action to address critical and pervasive threats to human security. Human Security and Human Rights Human security can be closely related to human rights. [...]

[...] [Page 92] In this theory, Adam Smith highlighted that the greatest improvement in the productive powers of labour, and the greater part of the skill, dexterity, and judgment with which it is anywhere directed, or applied, seem to have been the effects of the division of labour This is so namely because a developed country is normally associated to a general economic well-being of its population The HDI calculates rankings which include life expectancy, educational attainment, and adjusted real income Keizo, Obuchi, «Opening Remarks The Asian Crisis and Human Security (Tokyo, Japan centre for International Exchange, 1999) in Sen, Amartya, Text of Presentation at the International Symposium on Human Security in Tokyo, July 2000 [page Sen, Amartya, Text of Presentation at the International Symposium on Human Security in Tokyo, July 2000 [page He suggested that a country could not have a fixed currency regime, a free flow of capital policy and an independent monetary policy all at the same time. This was one of the main causes of the pre-Asian crisis in 1997. [...]

[...] Thus, human security is not a synonym for the human development, and particularly not for the index. The two concepts are interdependent; however, human development is measured on the national level, whereas human security takes an individual or community perspective. In his opening text of the International Symposium on Human Security, Amartya Sen developed one of the former Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo's observations where he said: human beings should be able to lead lives of creativity, without having their survival threatened or their dignity impaired»[11]. [...]

[...] Considering the individual-centred approach which unites the three human concerns, is our goal ensuring that each individual is given the opportunity to fulfil his or her potential, and is able to make informed choices, acting in behalf of the determination of his or her well-being or are we seeking the preservation and protection of the life and dignity of human beings or perhaps, we're attempting at enough food ( . adequate shelter, good health, schooling for the children, protection from violence ( . and a State which doesn't oppress its citizens but rules with their consent Is Human Security our final goal? Does survival encompass everything we strive for? [...]

[...] The 1994 Global Human Development Report was one of the concept's first written appearances: the concept of security has for far too long been interpreted narrowly: ( ) It has been related more to nation-states than to people. ( . ) Human security is ( . ) a concern with human life and dignity The idea that this concept would revolutionize society in the 21st Century by creating a response to a new security spectrum, boosted the initiative of creating in January 2001, a Global Commission on Human Security. [...]