Keynote lecture at the
International Conference Space and Water:
Towards Sustainable Development and Human Security,
Santiago de Chile, Chile, 1-2 April, 2004
Jan Van Dijk
Officer in Charge
Human Security Branch
Division of Operations
UNODC Vienna
The concept of human security is sometimes critiqued as being too all-encompassing and vague. While that may be so, an element of vagueness should not necessarily be seen as a negative feature for what is essentially a political concept. According to the Vienna- born philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, words have different meanings in different contexts. He compared words with toolkits: they can be applied to different uses, depending on the tasks at hand. From a United Nations perspective, the concept of human security must show its cogency against the background of the ongoing debates about the future of international, multilateral aid. If it can suggests new ways of effective global action, which can enhance confidence of governments and citizens in international cooperation, the concept serves a most useful purpose – however vague it may be deemed by some of its detractors
In 2002 the Commission on Human Security articulated the concept of human security with a view to formulating a new agenda for UN- based global action. The report, called Human Security Now, defines human security as protection against threats to the vital cores of all human lives. The Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, outlined similar ideas in 2000 at a workshop on human security in Mongolia. He expressed it eloquently in this way:
“Freedom from want, freedom from fear and the freedom of future generations to inherit a healthy natural environment – these are the interrelated building blocks of human, and therefore national security”.
As pointed out by the Secretary-General the various building blocks of human security are interrelated. They complement each other and none of them are sustainable on their own. In an earlier report, UNDP distinguished seven realms of human security: health security, economic security, personal security, environmental security, food security, community security and political security. These are outlined in slide 1.
The report of the Human Security Commission recommends action to protect ordinary people from a wide range of threats, including environmental pollution, transnational terrorism, massive population movements, infectious disease and long term conditions of oppression and deprivation. Human security strategies should be people-centred: interventions should not only be legally mandated by the appropriate international bodies but provide measurable and sustainable benefits to real people. UN interventions should also be inclusive by empowering stakeholders to find solutions for their own problems. Strategies should combine protective measures with measures enabling people to enhance their resilience to difficult conditions.
“ The primary question of every human security activity should not be: What can we do?”, writes the report, “It should be : How does this activity build on the efforts and capabilities of those directly affected ?’’ . The report in other words argues for a UN for and by the people .
The concept of human security invites UN entities to look beyond the borders of their legal mandates and become more aware of the wider implications of their activities. The Security Now Report gives several examples of the interconnectiveness of different threats to human security, such as the indisputable links between deprivation and violent conflict. Lack of security impedes human development while underdevelopment breeds violent conflict. Many countries are caught in such a ‘poverty- violence trap’. To find solutions , the report recommends a holistic and balanced strategy of intervention. Specialized agencies are challenged by the human security concept to think “out of the box” and design comprehensive programmes of intervention in partnership with other UN and non- UN entities and civil society groups.
Let me illustrate how such principles may apply in the day to day work of three Vienna-based UN agencies. This is not to suggest that the concept of human security has been fully integrated in all sectors of the work of the UN – there is of course still much to do – but I believe it useful to provide concrete illustrations to aid our discussions.
The UN Secretariat in Vienna comprises UNODC and the Office of Outer Space Affairs. Also based in Vienna is UNIDO. On 20 January 2004 a workshop was co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Japan in Vienna and UNIDO to promote mainstreaming of human security in activities of Vienna based organizations. At this workshop, which I should note was extremely well attended, several ideas were presented and discussed which seem worth repeating here on the occasion of this conference, since they provide concrete illustrations of the concept’s potential of transforming conventional approaches.
At the workshop the Executive Director of UNODC, Mr Antonio Maria Costa, briefed the participants on the recent merger within his Office of programmes related to drugs control and crime prevention – both at headquarters and in field offices. This merger reflects the growing understanding of the many inter-linkages between problems of drugs trafficking and abuse and problems of organized crime, money-laundering, corruption and terrorism. Strategies to tackle the drugs-crime nexus must be designed and implemented in an integrated way. The Branch responsible for the substantive backstopping of these programmes is called the Human Security Branch – one of the first organizational units of the UN Secretariat carrying this name.
In many parts of the world the drugs-crime nexus and its related social problems are a priority human security concern. In the conclusions of the IV th ministerial meeting of the Human Security Network, a coalition of twelve countries promoting the concept, in Santiago, 2002, personal or citizens’ security was given a prominent place. The meeting considered that personal security, “in particular focusing on the security of people and communities in great urban centers, is among the highest daily priorities of individuals and constitutes a field where a human security perspective is of great relevance”. This conclusion was followed up with a list of concrete recommendations such as support for modernization of police forces including regulation of private security firms , alternative actions to address drug problems based on the concept of human security and an evaluation of the role of penitentiary systems in developing safer communities in the long term (www. Human securitynetwork.org/docs/santiago).
Last year UNDP used its Human Development Report on Latvia to present the results of a poll among the public on human security concerns. Respondents were asked to choose their key concerns from a list of 20 or more possible issues. The population of Latvia was found to be the most concerned about the spread of narcotics and about organized crime. The results are illustrated in slide 2 , reflecting the ten most significant concerns of Latvians.
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These findings confirm the urgency of concerted efforts to better control these inter-related threats to human security. They also underline the usefulness of a broad-based and balanced approach and the involvement of civil society. Integrated policies to reduce drugs and crime span several countries and policy fields. It requires preventive action to reduce the demand for drugs, law enforcement and international judicial cooperation to tackle the traffickers and promotion of sustainable livelihoods for communities growing plant-based drugs in order to eliminate supply. In many of these efforts cooperation with NGO’s representing civil society is of the essence, for example, for mobilizing youth organizations against drug abuse.
Problems of drugs and crime do not just gravely undercut the personal security of citizens. If these problems are allowed to grow beyond certain limits they also impact on other realms of human security such as political and economic security. Where the rule of law is weak, corruption and organized crime flourish and prospects for sustainable development are poor. Slide 3 shows the relationship between an index of organized crime, including high-level corruption developed by UNODC and an index measuring the state of the rule of law in a country developed by the World Bank.
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Clearly, those countries where the rule of law is less secure experience higher prevalence of organized crime and related problems of high level corruption. The following slide demonstrates the relationship between the UNODC index of organized crime/corruption with the index of human development of UNDP ( slide 4 ). The plotter diagram demonstrates graphically the fundamental linkages between human security and human development. Without a functioning institutional infrastructure for the rule of law no sustainable progress can be made in fostering human security in the political and economic realms.
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At the workshop in Vienna the Director-General of UNIDO announced the creation of the UNIDO Special Facility for Human Security. This is to be used for preparatory assistance and programme development activities. One option mentioned in this context were joint activities with UNODC in post –conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Indeed, it is perhaps in this area – responding effectively to the crises resulting from conflicts, and rebuilding war torn societies to ensure sustained peace – that the concept of human security is critical. As I have already illustrated, central to such interventions must be a focus on the rule of law. Paddy Ashdown reflecting on his experience as serving as the High Representative in Bosnia drew the following conclusion:
“In hindsight, we should have established the rule of law first, for everything else depends on it: a functioning economy, a free and fair political system, the development of civil society, public confidence in police and the courts.”
Taking this into account, in which specific areas can UNIDO and UNODC join up their action?
UNODC is engaged in promoting sustainable livelihoods for farmers growing plant-based drugs in the Andean region and in Afghanistan. Building on these experiences, the Office is planning for projects on promoting alternative livelihoods for women at risk to be recruited for sexual exploitation. A project idea has been developed for the promotion of vocational training and work placements for young women in Albania. This project protects vulnerable groups through empowerment. It is an example of human security promotion pur sang. There would be sound reasons for replicating such projects in countries coming out of conflicts since such countries tend to develop into recruitment areas as well as destination areas for trafficking in women for sexual exploitation. It seems worth exploring if and how UNIDO could contribute to the prevention of this trend.
Can we also imagine future joint action of UNODC and the Office for Outer Space? The question seems more far fetched than it actually is as I will illustrate.
Crime and terrorism as well as crime and terrorism prevention in this century will increasingly be technology- driven. Space technology may well play a major part in as yet unknown ways. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is used to determine the whereabouts and contents of individual containers as well as whether or not they have been opened. Several space technology applications, which the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) supports, can enhance various aspects of human security.
Satellite images have been used for mapping crops from space and for predicting an area’s agricultural output well in advance. This application contributes to food security by providing information to decision-makers to anticipate food shortages and famines, giving them time to take preventative action. In the context of reducing drug use the same space technology provides information that help authorities to monitor illicit crops in the not easily accessible areas.
Remote sensing can be used to map areas where specific illicit crops, like the coca bush and the opium poppy, are being grown. The Office for Outer Space Affairs assisted the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (ODC) in developing a methodology for the use of satellite images in illicit crop monitoring that is now being used by countries like Colombia and Afghanistan. The next slides show satellite pictures of current, budding opium crops in Afghanistan ( slides 5 and 6 ).
Meteorological satellites are the major source of information for our daily weather forecasts. Among other things, they can warn us about tropical cyclones, tornadoes, severe storms and extreme temperatures. Their global coverage and consistency make them ideal for monitoring the global climate, including regular events such as El Niño and longer-term phenomena like global climate change.
Information derived from satellite images is used to assess damage resulting from disasters such as floods, fires, oil spills, earthquakes, volcano eruptions and landslides. Maps created from satellite image processing are used to plan and support relief efforts. Up-to-date information is distributed quickly to local authorities and relief personnel on the ground. The Office at Vienna is now a Cooperating Body of the “Charter on Space and Major Disaster” an initiative through which a consortium of agencies provides satellite images, at no cost, to civil protection authorities responding to a major disaster. Through the Office, any United Nations organization responding to a major disaster now has access to satellite images of those space agencies.
United Nations agencies, in particular UNHCR, are increasingly using space technologies in their refugee operations. The applications of space technologies such as satellite images, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) are used by UNHCR within its operations in the field during humanitarian emergencies to monitor massive population movements. Some recent satellite footage of refugee movements monitored by UNHCR are shown on the screen ( slide 7 ).
The main operations where space technology has been used to improve the lives of refugees in emergency situations are: Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, the on-going humanitarian emergencies in West Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region, Kosovo, Timor and Central and South America.
With the existence of new types of images, methods for counting and registering refugees are being developed. Refugee population information gathered at field level and with satellite images is combined within a Geographical Information System and helps in the daily management of refugee camps as humanitarian crises generally occur in poorly mapped areas and in areas that can be dangerous or difficult to visit.
In conclusion, the concept of human security as elaborated by the Human Security Commission and the Human Security Network emphasizes awareness of interconnectivities between various threats to peoples lives and argues for integrated and balanced approaches. In many situations establishment of institutional capacities to uphold the rule of law and effectively reduce drugs trafficking, organized crime and corruption is key to promoting human security. To this overarching end, specialized agencies must work together and pool their resources. Interventions should provide tangible benefits to the citizens affected and empower them to develop viable and sustainable forms of human security for their own communities. These recommendations seem of great relevance for the UN entities based in Vienna. Drugs and crime problems are closely intertwined and call for an integrated, global response with full understanding for its political and economic implications and with full use of modern technologies, including space technologies.
The concept of human security, then, has indeed, in line with Wittgenstein’s famous dictum, proven to be a toolkit; it is a rich source of ideas for the development and implementation of an agenda for integrated global action, both by the UN in Vienna and more generally.
