The Place of Human Security in Collective Security

Human security is a human- or people-centred and multi-sectoral approach to security, emphasizing the empowerment of people to enhance their potential through concerted efforts to develop norms, processes and institutions that systematically address insecurities. Since the UN Development Programme introduced the concept of human security into the policy discourse in 1994, the UN Security Council has indicated its readiness to embrace human security when it refers to, for example, the impact of HIV/AIDS on peace and security in Africa, food security, climate change, children in armed conflict, women and peace and security, and the protection of civilians more generally. Human security has also provided a theoretical foundation for the development of the responsibility to protect concept as a policy agenda, which was officially endorsed in the 2005 World Summit Outcome. However, these developments often involved heated debates over the Security Council’s mandate and competence under the UN collective security system. By reviewing those debates, this article examines how the idea of human security has informed the operation of the UN collective security system and to what extent jurisdictional, normative and operational challenges to the Security Council have been addressed in dealing with human security issues within its legal framework.