International Meeting of Directors of Peace ... - unesdoc - Unesco

community. The provision of human security is a matter of good
governance, within states and among them.
As a policy imperative, human security serves to focus
attention and action not just on the security of the state, but on
the security of the person. Kofi Annan, the United Nations
Secretary-General, has given voice to this new emphasis. ‘The
state,’ he has said, ‘is now widely understood to be the servant of
the people, and not vice versa.’ By looking more to the security
of people in the conduct of international relations, we redefine
the very meaning of security – and transform the conduct of
world affairs.
2 Human security, national security
This is not to disparage the place of the state, or its
importance in protecting people. On the contrary, human
security and national security are complementary. People are
made safer by an open, tolerant and responsive state, capable of
ensuring the protection of all its citizens. At the same time,
improving human security reinforces the state by strengthening
its legitimacy and its stability.
It is important to add, however, that while the security of
the state is a necessary condition of human security, it is not a
sufficient condition. When states are externally aggressive,
internally repressive, or too weak to govern effectively, human
security suffers. Sometimes, the state itself – strong or weak – is
the most brutal enemy of human security. In such cases, the
international community will hear calls for intervention and
humanitarian necessity may ultimately outweigh arguments of
sovereignty.
3 Human security, human development
So human security and state security are closely related.
Similarly, human security is brother and sister to human
28