ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an operational framework for human security and one of its various applications as an evaluative tool, which is then applied to the case of the United Nations (UN). If we place human security within the set of objectives of the UN, it is important to evaluate the extent to which human security as both a concept and a practice has been operationalised to date. Developing principles of human security represents part of the process of marking and implementing the paradigm shift from traditional notions of security. As a fundamentally people-centred approach, human security, in grounding situational analyses on processes based on people's own perceptions of fear and vulnerability, can yield accurate insights into the main sources of people's insecurities as well as the concrete needs of populations under stress. A people-centred approach requires the continued identification and development of alternative arrangements and strategies that are aimed at strengthening the security of people.
