ABSTRACT
In the post-Cold War period ideas of human security help to expand the historically forged parameters of humanitarianism and human rights. They do so principally by broadening conceptions of human needs and entitlements in an age of global threats, interdependency and inequality. The United Nations’ Commission of Human Security, for example, reconceptualizes security by:
(i) moving away from traditional, state-centric conceptions of security that focused primarily on the safety of states from military aggression, to one that concentrates on the security of the individuals, their protection and empowerment; (ii) drawing attention to a multitude of threats that cut across different aspects of human life and thus highlighting the interface between security, development and human rights; and (iii) promoting a new integrated, coordinated and people-centred approach to advancing peace, security and development within and across nations.
