What is Human Security? How does it undermine the concept of domestic jurisdiction and state sovereignty?

According to the United Nation Development Programme, Human Security means, first safety from chronic threats such as hunger, diseases and repression and second, as protection from sudden and harmful disruption in the pattern of life whether in home, in jobs or in communities. Its objective is to safeguard the vital core of all human lives in ways that enhance human freedom and human fulfillment.

However various scholars have given their opinion about Human Security. According to them, the concept of Human Security represents a departure from traditional nations of security which focus on the security of the state but it goes beyond and encompasses protection of People from traditional threats such as military power and non traditional threats such as poverty, hunger and diseases.

Human Security entered into policies and academic debates in the early 1990, when United Nation has presented its Human Development Report which stated that Human security means-

Freedom from Fear

Freedom from Want

Scholars argue that the Concept of Human security is undermining the concept of domestic jurisdiction and state sovereignty because it focuses on individual and his survival, livelihood, well- being and dignity rather than nation and its security, International peace and Territorial sovereignty.

Brundtland Commission in 1987 submitted its report as “Our Common Future” and in this it has linked Human development with Human security.

Firstly in Human security they put emphasis on freedom from fear that is individual’s personal security from violence, war, conflict, law and order etc and secondly it has stated that human security needs freedom from want which includes socio- economic threats such as livelihood, poverty and environmental degradation and it put that as a duty on the state to provide it to its citizen to assure their Human Security. Here it has limited the choice of state and put it as a moral obligation.

Therefore in the current scenario of Globalisation where the borders are disappearing and the world is turning into a Global Village, the sovereignty of the State internally or externally is compromised because the World is moving towards Nation’s security to individualistic security.