Press Releases

1. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced the establishment of a High-level Advisory Panel for a special report on human security on May 19, 2021 (local time). The Government of Japan welcomes this announcement, aligned with Prime Minister Suga's proposal to tap into the wisdom from around the world to deepen discussions on human security in the new era, in his statement made at the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly, last September.
2. The Panel will advise on a special report on human security being prepared by the Human Development Report Office at UNDP. Mr. Keizo Takemi, member of the House of Councillors of the Parliament of Japan, will participate as a co-chair of the Panel, together with Ms Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica.
3. The Government of Japan hopes that the Panel will engage in active discussion to deepen the debate on human security in the new era in order to accelerate efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and tackle other global issues.

The HLAP is an independent group of eminent experts and policymakers who will participate in their personal capacity.

The concept of human security was first publicly addressed in UNDP’s Human Development Report 1994, and was subsequently discussed under the Commission on Human Security established in 2001 and co-chaired by former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ms. Sadako Ogata and Professor Amartya Sen. In 2003, a report entitled "Human Security Now" was published.

The HLAP will discuss what human security means in this new era and how it can address a range of current global challenges. The HLAP is expected to be consulted three times, to provide strategic advice on the special report on human security which will be written by the Human Development Report Office of UNDP. The HLAP’s advice will inform HDRO as they write this independent UNDP report.

List of the 12 HLAP members

• Co-chairs:
  • Keizo Takemi, Member of the House of Councillors of the Japanese Parliament
  • Laura Chinchilla, Former President of Costa Rica
• Other Members:
  • Amat Al Alim Alsoswa, Former Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Arab States
  • Kaushik Basu, Former Chief Economist of the World Bank
  • Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, Special Coordinator for development in the Sahel of the UN Secretary-General
  • Ilwad Elman, Head and co-founder of the Elman Peace Center
  • María Fernanda Espinosa, President of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly
  • Haishan Fu, Director of the World Bank’s Development Data Group
  • Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Former President of Estonia.
  • Amy Jadesimi, CEO, Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL)
  • Jennifer Leaning, Senior Research Fellow, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  • Belinda Reyers, Chief Scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research