Page 3 - Empowerment and Protection - Conclusions Chapter

People’s perspectives on human security
Holistic experiences of security
Across contexts as different as Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and the Philippines, people’s perspectives on security show complex, diverse understandings of human security that encompass far more than survival or freedom from fear. Respondents view their security and the
security of their communities as a multi-faceted, interrelated experience that includes physical safety, access to education, livelihood, government protection, health care, the right to residence, and development. At the same time, intangible factors such as trust in others, being treated with dignity, and protection of cultural identity and community are just as integral to perceptions of security.
The interviews clearly reflect the broader notion of human security adopted by the UN in 2012, encompassing freedom from want, freedom from fear, and freedom to live in dignity.
The interviews clearly reflect the broader notion of human security adopted by the UN in 2012, encompassing freedom from want, freedom from fear, and freedom to live in dignity.
Environmental security
Environmental insecurity threatens individual survival and economic opportunities. In Zimbabwe, the government’s inability to address water shortages and support development in rural areas leads to economic insecurity and endangers educational rights, according to a church leader: “[Due to the drought] people are unable to feed their families and take the children to school because they are unable to earn a livelihood [...] what is required is the construction of dams and boreholes.” In the West Bank, barriers to water
and land access fuel economic insecurity, as a respondent in Jericho explains: “Farmers in areas north of Jericho buy water from Israel at a high price despite the presence of water on their land,
as they are banned by Israel from digging artesian
wells – [due to the water scarcity] the crops are beginning to suffer.” Natural resources are a determinant of economic opportunities, which in turn affect many other dimensions of human security.
Economic and political security
Economic insecurity is both a result and a cause of other forms of insecurity, and is intimately linked with political security. One shop owner in Kabul clearly equates his education and the opportunity to run his own business with increased security: “Education and employment have put me in a position to fight for my rights.” In Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland, respondents are concerned with a lack of development that they see as linked to their political marginalisation and the legacy of severe historic conflict that still feeds community tensions. A Filipino respondent draws the connection between political power, economic opportunity, and security by pointing to the lack of opportunities of poor people to change their fate, perpetuating
an overall sense of insecurity in society. Poverty, political marginalisation, and insecurity go hand in hand.
Youth and employment
Many respondents see economic opportunity for others as an important element of security. They describe work as an important way to empower vulnerable people, particularly youth, who otherwise could be recruited for violent causes or become socially disruptive. A respondent in Mexico links the violence in Ciudad Juárez to a lack of opportunities for youth. A respondent in Zimbabwe feels that education and livelihoods of young people is key as it “becomes difficult for them to be abused by politicians for violent missions.” Part of respondents’ emphasis on work is the perception that it keeps people busy and less likely to engage in violence. An interviewee in Kabul is relieved
that “everybody is so busy with their own work, that they do not interfere or disrupt the lives of others.” However, in other areas of Afghanistan, “unemployment has pushed people to join the insurgency.” In Ukraine, one mother laments the lack of economic opportunities for her son: “The state doesn’t provide for our kids.”
Cultural norms:
source of protection or insecurity?
Cultural values are less tangible factors seen across regions as influencing personal and community
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