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Mercy Global Concern - 2003
Annual Conference Human Security and Dignity: Fulfilling the Promise
of the United Nations
8-10 September 2003
United Nations Headquarters, New York
The concept of security has for too long been interpreted narrowly:
as security of territory from external aggression, or as protection
of national interests in foreign policy or as global security from
the threat of nuclear holocaust. It has been related more to nation
states as to people. The superpowers were locked in an ideological
struggle-fighting a cold war all over the world. The developing
nations, having won their independence only recently, were sensitive
to any real or perceived threats to their fragile national identities.
Forgotten were the legitimate concerns of ordinary people who sought
security in their daily lives. For many of them, security symbolized
protection from the threat of disease, hunger, unemployment crime,
social conflict, political repression and environmental hazards.
For most people, a feeling of insecurity arises more from the dread
of a cataclysmic world event. Will they and their families have
enough to eat? Will they lose their job? Will their streets and
neighbourhoods be safe? Will they be tortured by a repressive state?
Will they become victims of violence because of their gender? Will
their religion or ethnic origin target them for persecution?
In the final analysis, human security is a child who did not die,
a disease that did not spread, a job that was not cut, an ethnic
tension that did not explode in violence, a dissident who was not
silenced. Human security is not a concern with weapons -it is a
concern with human life and dignity.
The idea of human security, though simple, is likely to revolutionize
society in the 21st century. A consideration of human security must
focus on four of its essential characteristics:
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Human Security is a Universal Concern. It is relevant to people
everywhere, in rich nations and in poor. There are many threats
that are common to all people - crime, drugs, human rights violations.
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The components of human security are interdependent. when the
security of people is endangered anywhere in the world, all
nations are likely to get involved. Famine, disease, pollution,
drug and people trafficking, terrorism, ethnic disputes and
social disintegration are no longer isolated events, confined
within national borders. Consequences travel the globe.
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Human Security is easier to ensure through early prevention
than later intervention. It is less costly to meet these threats
upstream than downstream.
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Human Security is people-centred. It is concerned with how
people live and breathe in a society, how freely they exercise
their many choices, how much access they have to market and
social opportunities - and whether they live in conflict or
peace.
Several analysts have attempted rigorous definitions of human security
but like other fundamental concepts, such as human freedom, human
security is more easily identified through its absence than its
presence. And, most people know instinctively what human security
means.
If you think you might be interested in attending the above conference,
you are asked to contact me by June 18th, 2003.
Please do not book a place and then cancel at the last minute as
this prevents someone else from attending!
It is a three-day conference and you are expected to attend the
entire event.
Participants are responsible for their own travel expenses and
accommodation while in New York.
Please contact me by fax or email.
Fax: 1 646 227 1879
Email: Mercyun@aol.com
Sr. Deirdre Mullan
Director
Mercy Global Concern
777 United Nations Plaza
New York
USA
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