Page 9 - Empowerment and Protection - Stories of Human Security

Introduction
Jenny Aulin
Human security offers an opportunity to reorient and broaden traditional security approaches to prioritise the survival, livelihood, and dignity of all individuals. Unlike national security, which emphasises the territorial integrity of the state, human security addresses sustainable peace by recognising the social, economic and political grievances that are often at the root of violent conlict and societal violence. In the following chapters, women and men in six widely different contexts share
their everyday experiences of security. Their stories tell us that feeling secure has many dimensions; these are both deeply personal and intimately connected with the broader community, state and society. While the views expressed are illustrative rather than based on scientiic samples, they are a striking reminder of the premise of a human security approach, where the understanding and deinition of security is in the hands of those individuals and communities that directly experience it.
The combination and relative importance of different types of security, ranging from freedom from fear to freedom from want and freedom from indignity, are unique to each individual
and each context. This publication aims to give voice to the concerns of the local communities, leaders and activists interviewed by local civil society organisations in Afghanistan, Ukraine,
the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Mexico, The Philippines and Zimbabwe. We hope that these accounts will move the human security debate to the contexts where people experience insecurities on a daily basis. They encourage us to listen to multiple voices and respect their experiences as the starting point for genuine discussion about what human security means and how it can be strengthened. In a human security approach, local voices should lead the conversation.
from theory to practice
Twenty years after the 1994 UNDP Human Development Report irst introduced the idea
of human security, academics and policymakers continue to argue about the practicality, scope and the very deinition of the concept. Progress in implementing human security programmes has also been delayed by misgivings over the tension
a
with state sovereignty , illustrating just how much
the discussions on human security have mainly
a A historical association with interventionism through the Responsibility to Protect doctrine continues to colour debates on human security, in spite of United Nations General Assembly (UN GA) resolution 66/290 explicit clariication that human security respects state sovereignty.
been conined to international or foreign policy arenas rather than being explored as a framework for domestic agendas.1 Disagreements often centre on which threats human security analysis should encompass, and the means by which individuals and communities should be protected.2 Yet, the very principles of human security point to the
The understanding and deinition of security is in
the hands of those individuals and communities that directly experience it.
importance of listening to people and communities as the referents of security themselves. It is high time to move beyond conceptual debate. What
is needed is investment in exploring the practical applications of human security, to understand its limitations and dilemmas, and ultimately, to breathe life into the concept.b
b Efforts to map human security projects have taken place under the UN Trust Fund for Human Security and in the Report of the UN Secretary General 'Follow-up to GA resolution 66/290 on human security' 2013, however their dissemination beyond UN and academic arenas has been limited.
9