Analysis on Human Security and itsChallenges ?

Introduction

People over the world go through the same faces in life. We take the first breath, we learn how to walk, how

to speak and how to make a living. We try to do our best as individuals, as communities, as nations. We try

to improve our lives and the lives of those we care for and love. Unfortunately that is not always easy.

Regarding to skin colour, nationality, creed, education, IQ level, or even socio-economic background the

great fear of all of us is war. How safe and free are we as individuals? That is the central question behind the

idea of human security ( Bajpai, Kanti P. 2000)

“The state remains the fundamental purveyor of security. Yet it often fails to fulfil its security obligations ...

that is why attention must now shift from the security of the state to the security of the people - to human

security.” - Commission on Human Security. (2003)

A modern description of Human security is described by ( Ronald Paris 2001)

'The idea of human security is the glue that holds together a jumbled coalition of “middle-power” states,

development agencies, and NGOs all of which seek to shift attention and resources away from conventional

security issues and toward goals that have tradition-ally fallen under the rubric of international development '

Researches like (MacFarlane, S. Neil, and Yuen Foong Khong 2006) would go further and believes that the

notion of human security includes everything from substance abuse to genocide, making it impossible to

determine where policy attention is most required and priorities for action to be established.

Human security studies recognise the threats are multiple and interlinked and identifies the thresholds below

which welfare, dignity an survival are threatened intolerably. Human security can be perceived as an

organising concept' or principle ( king and Murray 2001)

This is why a multidisciplinary approach to human security is being formed. Human security can be

discussed from the point of view of human rights, security, law, humanitarian, economic, environmental,

developmental and other perspectives or angles. (Prezelj, Iztok.2008) Different actors have the same roles in

different levels in Human Security such as International Actors, State and Governance, Communities and

Individuals which includes four basic characteristics: universal, people-centred, interdependent and early

prevention and seven key components; economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community and

political security .No country can enjoy development without security, security without development, and

neither without respect for human rights (Paris 2001).

This essay will look into different challenges which Human Security faces and how those challenges can be

turned into positive outcomes.

Human Security Challenges

(Buzan 2008) argues that Human Security as a concept aspires to explain almost everything and

consequentially, in reality explains nothing

That is why Human Security must classify different types of threats and their relationship compared to

traditional security while showing the interconnectedness of threats. Human security's large field of action

directly draws upon situations of individuals in secure environments. On the other hand, existing tools and

issues in Human Security simply re-labels old tools without proposing new policy mechanism. It represents a

short-term response to threats without providing long-term solutions (MacFarlane, S. Neil, and Yuen Foong

Khong 2006)

The main goal of Human Security is putting all its energy into the individual level instead of providing

instant answers. So far, it does offer new tools in order to evaluate and prevent by shifting the focus to

individuals and communities. Applying these tools can produce numerous long-term positive externalities on

other areas. Critics contend that human security as a filed is too wide to generate a specific research

agenda. The field of human security is vast enough for much needed interdisciplinary research. For

instance , military power is not a guarantee of well-being. If we accept economic and group security , threats

are to well-being, capacities and opportunities: including these issues leads to a democratisation of security

and empowerment of people to solve these problems. The role of the state in Human security challenges of

sovereign state as a the sole provider of security. Human security remains state-centric despite the

supranational dimensions of the concept, allowing for a prominent role of the state as a necessary condition

for individual security (Bhattarai, Rajan 2013)

A state in not the only ' policy actor'. A state may in fact threaten its own people, rather than assuring their

security Human security as a concept leads to a democratisation of security and international relations.

People become stakeholders in a common security and the sate supports this empowerment (Owen, Taylor

2004)

Yet, structural factors and the distribution of power at the root of insecurities are beyond the reach of the

individual. (Winters, Matthew S., Edward Newman, and Joanne van Selm 2004)

Political Security can come from political or state repression, human rights violations, mistrust in the capacity

of the state to provide and protect. International actors can provide with support from transition to

democratic practices, reduction of corruption polices or promoting democratic culture. (Prezelj,

Iztok.2008)That will affect possibly reducing of political exclusion, corruption and implementing good

governance. Impact on the democratic evolution of political institutions, respect human rights or improving

the functioning of markets. Negatives results can be imposing a particular type of governance system, risk of

creating new inequalities in distribution of power or lobbying and financial pressure by some groups.

Health and Human Rights are affect in places like in Bangladesh which are specially alarming. Poor people

in Bangladesh face a number of legal and law enforcement disadvantages, according to a new report by the

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

"Human insecurity is like a cancer," said UNDP Representative Jorgan Lissner in Dhaka, "No single group of

people or causes can be blamed for it, and it can only be tackled by all segments of society working closely

together - the Government, academia, political parties, civil society, local communities and the private

sector." (Abu Tayeb Rafigur Reahman , Dolgor Solomgo 2002)

According to ( Abu Tayeb Rafigur Reahman , Dolgor Solomgo 2002) one can see that the Human Security in

Bangladesh: In Search of Justice and Dignity shows that in a country where more than 70 per cent of the

population earns less than $2 a day, impoverished people face frequent court delays and lack access to legal

aid. As such, many Bangladesh are "priced out of the legal system." The poor are also at a disadvantage

when dealing with the police, who, according to the report, are most responsive to influential members of the

community. To address the problem, the report recommends improved police monitoring and training.

Another key finding reveals that despite constitutional and legislative guarantees, women in Bangladesh

continue to be subject to violence, acid throwing, murder, rape and trafficking. (The United Nations

Development Programme UNDP) suggests that the country tackle this problem through setting up a help

line, increasing the number of women officials, and launching a systematic awareness raising campaign

about gender-based violence. Human security as a discipline favours large non military solutions to threats,

ideally addressing root causes of tensions and conflicts before the war or massacre ensues, which might

then require military intervention, while the international community recognises a ' responsibility to protect',

guidelines for intervention, including prevention, have been created by the United Nations to prevent misuse.

Human security might look as a thereat to the state sovereignty as the concept of human security may be

used to justify military interventions and may impose military solutions to problems of the welfare state. It can

become a new excuse for interventionism in areas where sovereignty was previously respected (Bain,

William. 2001)

As individuals one of the main areas that concern us is Personal Security that can include crime and

violence. International donors can provide Law and Order, crime prevention or peace negotiations ICC

campaign or UN Security Council and UN trust fund for Human Right and Security. This could help in

strengthening human rights monitoring, demilitarisation , employment and gender empowerment. In the other

hand can replace states, militarisation and increasing in policing, privatisation of security or creating

stereotypes of ethic/ religious communities. Individual and universal are placed at the centre of the analysis,

people are seen as critical to international security and thus people are instrumentalised as international

security becomes dependant on individual security (Nef, Jorge. 1999)

The practitioners in Human Security have revolutionised and transformed the global agenda in the last two

decades with one success after another with the stabilising of The Coalition for the International Criminal

Court , Together for Justice the ICC Treat signed by over 139 and 123 countries have ratified . (Cassese,

Antonio, Paola Gaeta, and John RWD Jones, eds. 2002)

Security as ' responsibility' . Linking suffering in the other countries to one's own national security could lead

to 'wall-building' instead of ' bridge-building' .(Gladwin, Thomas N., James J. Kennelly, and Tara-Shelomith

Krause.1995)

Human Security is not based solely on the changing behaviour of various actors and 'bridge building'

capacities: sufficient conditions for a ' sustainable human security' involve restructuring legal and political

institutions, reconstruction of the economy and redefinition of prevailing social norms (Hampson, Fen Osler,

and Holly Reid.2003)

Economic security threats stem from poverty, unemployment, indebtedness, lack of income, etc. International

actors can provide poverty eradication strategies , safety nets and social welfare programmes and debt relief

affecting in a positive way increasing in incomes, social inclusion, empowerment of women, boosting the

private sector or reducing inequality. The 'freedoms' should be promoted because of their close connection to

human rights. (Evans, Paul M. 2004)

In a possible negative effect could be that states can become more dependent on foreign donors and is no

longer accountable to the population. Targeting women or other vulnerable groups can be a danger of

marginalising in the community. Conditional and political aid can affect the political system. Unregulated

private sector can increase the gap between the rich and the poor. Increase competition between groups.

Quick fix projects can harm the environment. Relief aid can have negative long-term consequences for

sustainability. (Ul Haq, Mahbub. 2003).

Environmental degradation, natural disasters, pollution and resource depletion are all threats rooted from

Environmental security . External action by international donors can implement strict environment laws or

management practices. This can affect in positive ways such recovering waste and polluted renewable

resources, environmental-friendly technologies, mitigating the negative impact of man made disasters

amongst others. In a negative way it might ignore agricultural traditions or exacerbating land disputes.

REFRASE Complexity and subjectivity make prioritisation difficult as human security's complex nature does

not allow policy-makers to prioritise between competing goals and security needs ( Paris 2001).

The strengthen of human security approach lies in its flexibility , which allows individuals and communities to

prioritise the different components of human security according to their needs. Since policy making is a

networked , flexible , and horizontal practice between different actors, each with their own hierarchy of

security needs and capacities to react, priorities can this be determined via a process of negotiation and

exchange between different actors (Uvin, Peter. 2007) , recognising that political actors 'priorities are a factor

of individual contexts.

Communicates securities threats can stem from discrimination and abuse of various groups from groups

armed conflicts, from oppression by traditional practices. Assistance from International donors can be from

Human rights interventions , good migration policies or secular education that will affect positively in areas

like social harmony or culture of non-discrimination. Negative outcomes can come from cultural interference ,

exclusion if targeting specific groups such as women or refugees and racist policies. Individual or societal

perception of gravity can trump quantitative evaluation of needs by the international community, so the

usefulness can vary according to the human security definition employed (Booysen, Frikkie 2002)

Tools for measurements are unclear. The concept's subjectivity limits effective measurement and analysis,

which is necessary given that existing resources for intervention are limited. A human Security Audit or

measurement will always be context-specific. (Landman, Todd, and Edzia Carvalho 2009)

Health security threats include inadequate health care, new and recurrent diseases including epidemics and

pandemics, unsafe , environment and, unsafe lifestyle. International donors can help in building health care

system, technical cooperation, health education programmes, primary care, prevention strategies or

regulating private health care. Some concerns can arise issues in equal access to health care, gender

empowerment, health environment, health labour force or nutritional programmes that are sustainable. A

conflict or disease like a Ebola in one country can easily spread to another affecting regional or even

international security. (Heymann, David L., et al 2015)

Tuberculosis for instance have more attention and resources that an issue like traffic accident. Something

we consider to tolerate as a fact of modern life, it kills far more people daily than terrorism, war or crime. In

global scale traffic accident is the 3rd most frequent cause of death amongst people between the age of 5

and 45. Most of these deaths are in the developing world. A lot of this deaths could be avoided by creating

better infrastructure, better governance or even more child friendly streets, this issue are now under the UN

agenda. (Murray, Christopher JL, and Alan D. Lopez. 1997)

Another group who are particularly affected are women who have suffered burn injuries from accidents,

domestic abuse and a increase self-mutilation. In some countries the number of kids have overtaking the

amount of people suffering from HIV and Tuberculosis combined together. (Knudson-Cooper, Mary S.1981)

This effect is not only physical but also can affect their future as they could be kept back from school and

education because they suffered this type of injuries. They also can be housebound and dependant on

members of the families, leaving the family bankrupt. However there are solutions as burns are a solvable

global health crisis. ( Robinson, Emma, Nichola Ramsey, and James Partridge 1996)

Food Security. Threats stem from human hunger, famines and the lack of physical and economic access to

basic food. Help provided by international donors can provide public food distribution system, crop

distribution and improved farming techniques, meals in schools, food and work programmes affecting in

positive ways as hunger relief , increased and improved agriculture. On the other hand can discourage local

agriculture , affect the community metabolism by changing what they can eat, crops cannot meat the soil

conditions or food might be inequitable ( Paris 2001)

All this threats correlate and can produce a domino effect. For instance, a violent conflict leads top poverty

which could in turn lead to losses basic resources and infectious diseases. National borders know no barriers

in this aspect. (Pedersen, Duncan 2002)

CONCLUSION

The first such challenge is inadequate conceptual coherence. The Human Security Concept addresses

almost all aspects of human life, which is theoretically attractive, modern and comprehensive at first sight,

yet almost no serious interdisciplinary work exist at theoretical and practical level. Disciplines do not interact

enough, there are no joint methodologies, operational institutions that try to provide human security work too

much parallel and too little in close interaction. For these reasons, this concept is challenging to implement.

The Western Balkan complex human security situation is an excellent proof for this (Prezelj, Iztok.2008)

A further challenge is to make clear to the scientific community that the concept of human security by its

content is not something really new. This is believed by many people, who represent human security related

topics as something new. New are only the concept, stronger focus on individuals as referent objects and

comprehensiveness involved. (Prezelj, Iztok 2008)

The central challenge in conceptualizing human security likely refers to balancing human security with other

human rights. States are obliged to provide all human rights, including security. How to achieve this balance

is simultaneously a theoretical and practical dilemma. At the theoretical level, the concept of human security

has not answered sufficiently how to achieve this balance and does not integrate various disciplines enough

to at least be in position to do it. For the mean time,the Human Security Concept refers to providing security

within the limitations of respect for human rights. (Jones, Peris S.2009)

An interesting challenge appears with parallel and apparently unconnected development of human security

studies and critical infrastructure protection studies. Both actually deal with effects of threats on safety and

security of people but from different aspects. The key again is in the greater inter-disciplinarity that would, in

this case, exceed social sciences and natural sciences. (McGee, Anthony 2006).

The last challenge addressed in this essay refers to the problem of subjectivity in threat perception. This is a

fundamental problem in security academic research as threat perception determines shaping and

implementing security policies. Some more objective measure of human security situation should be

developed, and a benchmark in shape of a Human Security Index would be helpful. (King, Gary, and

Christopher JL Murray 2001)