Global Issues & ODA

The seventh meeting of Friends of Human Security (FHS) was held on 10 December 2009 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Co-organized by the Permanent Missions of Japan and Mexico and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the meeting was co-Chaired by Ambassador Claude Heller (Mexico) and Ambassador Yukio Takasu (Japan). Representatives from 85 Member States and 21 international organizations attended the meeting. The FHS is an open-ended informal platform for Member States and UN organizations to discuss human security related themes based on paragraph 143 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document. In particular, the FHS aims at advancing a common understanding of human security and engages in collaborative efforts to further mainstream human security in UN activities.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Claude Heller of Mexico welcomed Mr. John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and extended his appreciation to the co-chair of the FHS, Ambassador Yukio Takasu of Japan as well as Member States for their continued interest in advancing the goals of human security. Highlighting the multi-dimensional aspect of today's insecurities, Ambassador Heller underlined that a major goal of the FHS is to place people at the center of national and international policies in an effort to protect their freedoms and enable them to live a life free from fear, want and indignity.

Following Ambassador Heller's opening remarks, Mr. John Holmes stressed that 2010 will be a crucial year for human security. In view of the number of major challenges to human security such as climate change and the recent global financial and economic crisis, the upcoming UN Secretary-General report on human security presents an important opportunity to further define and mainstream human security within the United Nations system.

Ambassador Takasu presented Member States and other participants with an overview on the progress made since the sixth meeting of the FHS, including the Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its impact on Development (June 2009), the ECOSOC Ministerial Declaration on Global Public Health (July 2009), and the Security Council Resolutions on ‘Children and armed conflicts' (1882) and ‘Women and peace and security' (1888).

Ambassador Takasu noted that while the term ‘human security' may not have been included in the recent resolutions however the spirit of human security is strongly reflected in these documents as a result of the commitment to human security by members of the FHS. Moreover, Ambassador Takasu highlighted that based on the UN Secretary-General's Report, a formal debate on human security should take place at the General Assembly in 2010 as follow-up to paragraph 143 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document.

In addition, Ambassador Takasu praised the activities of the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS) and highlighted that close to 200 projects have been implemented in over 100 countries, thanks to the contributions of Japan, Slovenia and Thailand, totaling US$390 million since the establishment of the Fund. Ambassador Takasu also stressed that the human security concept has also gained increasing support at the regional level, emphasizing recent initiatives such as the APEC Leaders' Meeting (November 2009), the establishment of the Center of Human Security in Nigeria, the launching of the Arab Human Development Report 2009 entitled "Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries" as well as a UNTFHS project on "Promoting and Developing the Human Security Concept in Latin America".

Speaking as the current Chair of the Human Security Network (HSN), the Ambassador of Costa Rica reiterated the readiness of the HSN to reinforce cooperation with the FHS and other actors to promote human security.

Furthermore, he stressed efforts made by the HSN in integrating the human security perspective in Security Council Resolutions on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflicts; Women, Peace and Security; as well as Children and Armed Conflict. In addition, the Ambassador of Costa Rica noted that the HSN adopted a declaration on ‘Peace and Justice' during its Ministerial Meeting on 23 September, 2009.

The following thematic areas were then chosen by the FHS for discussion at the meeting: (i) the impact of the financial and economic crisis and achievements of the MDGs; (ii) health and food security; (iii) climate change; (iv) peacebuilding; and (v) protection of civilians. Representatives from different Member States provided the participants with a synopsis on the main human security challenges for each of these themes.

(i) The impact of the financial and economic crisis and achievements of the MDGs

Highlighting the negative impacts of the global financial and economic crisis on the lives and livelihoods of people, the Permanent Representative of the Philippines emphasized the inter-linkages between the crisis and migration, especially in view of declining remittances and its impact on national budgets. In this context, he reminded that the Philippines hosted the Second Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Manila in October 2008 on the issue "Protecting and Empowering Migrants for Development" as well as its relevance to human security.

Furthermore, the Permanent Representative of Senegal noted that the achievement of the MDGs still remains one of the most pressing challenges under the human security agenda and that the consequences of the ongoing crisis threatens the progress already achieved as it has already pushed millions of people into hunger. Moreover, the Permanent Representative of Bhutan introduced the concept of Gross National Happiness, highlighting similarities to the human security concept as both focus on the wellbeing of the individual as a principal goal of economic and social activity.

(ii) Health and food security

Focusing on the recent food crisis and its negative impacts on the most vulnerable people in the world, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Thailand noted that food security is a crucial dimension of human security. Moreover, he highlighted Thailand's efforts to promote sustainable agricultural management such as the empowerment of rural communities with a view to improve their food security.

On the issue of health security, the Permanent Representative of Norway underlined that while important progress have been made to improve health conditions of people worldwide, nevertheless, millions of people continue to die of preventable and curable diseases. The Norwegian Representative emphasized that in particular countries which have removed fees for health care have seen major improvements regarding health conditions of their populations. Moreover, the Representative noted that the international community should further strengthen its efforts in vaccine initiatives.

(iii) Climate change

Speaking on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States, the Permanent Representative of Papua New Guinea underlined the adverse impacts of climate change on the livelihood and the survival of communities in the pacific region. Reminding the participants of the General Assembly's resolution on "Climate change and its possible security implications", he further underlined possible transnational impacts of climate change such as displacement and other challenges to peace and stability including climate change related tensions and possible conflicts among impacted communities and countries.

(iv) Peacebuilding

Emphasizing the importance of multi-sectoral and comprehensive responses for countries emerging from conflicts, the Permanent Representative of Jamaica stressed that the human security approach should be included in every strategic framework for peacebuilding so as to make sure that countries do not relapse into conflicts.

(v) Protection of civilians

The Permanent Representative of Austria underlined that the protection of civilians in armed conflicts (Security Council Resolution 1894) is an urgent issue under the human security framework. In this context, he noted that specific training for peacekeepers should strengthen the implementation of protection mandates of UN missions and further contribute to improving the security of civilians in post-conflict situations.

Mr. Holmes informed the FHS that the S-G Report on human security will be presented to Member States as a follow-up to paragraph 143 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document (A / 60 / 1) in which the General Assembly agreed to further discuss and define the notion of human security. In this context, the report will provide Member States with an overview of the challenges facing the international community and the importance of the human security concept in addressing these challenges. National, regional and international initiatives on human security such as the contributions made by the FHS and the HSN as well as Member States and regional and sub-regional organizations will also be included in the Report and will highlight the growing acceptance of the human security concept. In a period where multiple, complex and highly interrelated threats are occurring simultaneously, human security can become an important pillar in the decision-making processes of States and the United Nations.

Mr. Holmes further underlined that the S-G report will highlight how human security and state security are dependent on one another and that human security does not imply a threat to State sovereignty. Moreover, protection and empowerment of communities as highlighted by the human security concept is necessary so that people can cope with and mitigate risks, thereby strengthening their survival and well-being. Mr. Holmes concluded his remarks by informing the FHS that the S-G report is expected to be submitted to the General Assembly in 2010.