Santa Cops

No, they are not elves, (elves always wear green anyways).They are members of the Philippine National Police during the launch of the "Santa Cop 2008" initiative outside a mall in Manila. In order to increase the visibility of their patrols and aid the crime prevention efforts during the Christmas season, around 200 policemen wearing Santa Claus hats will be deployed from Tuesday in malls and other crowded areas. I thought you would like this peculiar example of Human Security initiative.

Piracy in the XXI Century

It seems that we are getting used to see more and more reports of hijacked commercial vessels in the Somali maritime vicinities. This is a typical case in which failed states and a poor representation of marginalized sectors of the population can become a threat to the security of others around the world.

Given the growing intensity of these attacks and piracy incidents, it is necessary, even imperative to approach this security not only by the use of military force, but to look at the causes for which these individuals incur into criminal activity. Having grown in an environment in which extreme poverty and violence as a constant companion, and the lure of obtaining big money by subversive and violent activity, it is a simply comparable to the many criminal elements that exist around the world as a byproduct of poverty.

Without taking away the place of protection of civilians, as well as law and justice, it is necessary to offer this irregular sector of the horn of Africa an exit to poverty and human insecurity that would make the violent path of more resistible, unattractive, and simply non viable. Otherwise, it will be other irregular actors, namely global terrorist networks that might seize the opportunity to grow, disseminate and contaminate more areas of the globe. Somehow we need to present an healthy economic alternative to A Pirate's Life.

Blog Action Day: Poverty as a Threat to Human Security

Jacques Necker, a Swiss royal adviser to the French crown in the XVIII century proposed the idea of assisting the poor as a political imperative to preserve stability of the state. To what extent is poverty a catalyst for insecurity? Can poverty worth being perceived as a threat to Human Security? Let's see two instances in which the link between poverty and security is evident.

According to the 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report Thailand is "a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor". Like in many of its neighbors, the generational poverty and despair among Thailand's poorest have spawned social symptoms that can be described euphemistically as perverted and wholly demeaning. Debt bondage, labor trafficking, sexual exploitation, and the selling of young progeny to slavery are among the dangers that mainly poor women and children are exposed to under the pressures of day to day survival. This damning trait has taken place mainly in the Northeast area of the country, but it is among the poorest sectors of the whole nation where these social diseases prevail. The good news is that Thailand is starting to enforce their anti-slavery laws, which will surely translate in a more secure future for the coming generations.

Our next example takes us to my birth country, Venezuela. In 1999 the population of Vargas State located in the northern coast, suffered one of the most devastating floods mudslides our country ever had. After a group of torrential clouds stationed for weeks on the northern areas of the nation, the ground in the "cerros" (shanty town hills), as well as many other areas gave in bringing down the devastating combination of mud, trees and rocks, ravaging the entire state and taking a toll of 30,000 + of missing persons. Not for naught we Venezuelans refer to this horrid event as "La Tragedia de Vargas". Whereas the disaster affected and decimated the middle-class populations considerably, the brunt of the damage and loss of life was received by the poor inhabiting the "barrios" in Vargas, who under the economic pressures of life opt to live in an increase state of vulnerability by building their houses in grounds that unsuitable for construction, making them even more prone to erosion.




Poverty is an underlying variable that touches the safety of every country on the earth. It represents a direct and imminent threat to the security of human beings around the globe and represents a complex and challenging issue to tackle. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (or MDG's) include halving the world population who live under $1 per day by 2015. Do you think it's possible? Can one do something about this scourge? What if it was possible to reduce it? What if it was possible to eradicate it? What if you could do something about it? What if I tell you that there are thousands of people who are working on this goal, waiting for a way to bring together the power of good into actions that will improve the lives of people around the globe?

They just want you to do something. Here are some suggestions of the many I could give you.

For a palliative approach:

1. Promote the work towards fulfilling MDG's by joining organizations like The Interface Foundation, or Millenium Promise
2. Donate to organizations that go to the poorest and most devastated places in the world like the World Food Program, International Federation of the Red Cross, and Stop Hunger Now among others
   
3. Help in your local food bank, or homeless shelter (Hey, there's poverty also in your neighborhood, open your eyes to reality and you will find it)

For more long-term solutions:

1. Become a lender to entrepreneurs overseas by joining Kiva
2. Sponsor local Microfranchising ventures around the globe
3. Support Fair Trade initiatives
4. Offer your expertise in your field of experience to someone who can use it to survive (yeah, the teach a man how to fish thing)

It's time we all do something. Don't have much money? That's OK, since many times money is not the solution, but dedicating one's time, talents, influences, networks, and heart to a noble cause.

Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict

During his last briefing to the Security Council on June 22nd the United Nations' Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs made crucial statements in regards the protection of civilians. During his remarks he touched on many crucial points relate to Human Security. Below an excerpt from his briefing:

"...protection of civilians in armed conflict also has a particular significance in the work of humanitarian organizations and in the context of this Council’s responsibilities. For the Council, it represents a series of primary objectives outlined in your Aide Memoire, prepared at the request of and adopted by this Council, which aim to transform the security, political, legal and moral environment in which all concerned operate. These objectives include: security for displaced persons and host communities; ensuring access to those in need and a secure environment for humanitarian workers; strengthening the rule of law, in particular police and justice systems; protection of women and girls in particular from gender-based violence; involvement of women in decision-making and incorporating gender perspectives at every level and in all areas; ensuring the rights of children by preventing their recruitment, ending abduction, supporting family reunification and fulfillment of basic needs; action on disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration of soldiers: and finally, arms control, mine action, reconciliation and reconstruction programmes..."

Lebanon

The resurgence of violence in Lebanon at the moment becomes one of the most vivid examples of the need to look at security at the human level. During the last few years the world has witnessed how the civilian population inside Lebanon has been caught between the fight of different political groups as well as states. for a better understanding of the conflict you can go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6173322.stm

The most recent example of civilians caught in between two warring factions is the current crisis at the Palestinian refugee camps. The clashes between radical groups and government troops have caused civilian population to be displaced to nearby cities, however many remain inside the camps exposed to the heavy fire despite the efforts of the rescue teams from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the Lebanese Red Cross, in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross (See: http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/lebanon-news-060607).

Sadly, two Lebanese Red Cross emergency medical volunteers were killed yesterday near Nahr el Bared refugee camp when a mortar shell (apparently fired from inside the camp) struck a their vehicle yesterday (see http://www.hfxnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=36643&sc=89 ).

Until last week the ICRC in coordination with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other United Nations agencies has transported 144 wounded and 70 sick persons, as well as escorting 495 civilians from their respective camp. It has also organized 29 humanitarian convoys and assisted more in 250 families, who were driven by the fighting from their homes in Taamir, near Ain el-Hilweh, to Sidon.

Human Security

When dealing with International Security, people used to think in terms of threats of states vs. states. To put it simply, as if states were in a football league. When a crisis occurred, the incident could be monitored and studied like a game. For example, WWII could be studied as a match between two teams ("The Axis" vs. "The Allies"), or for instance the Cold War as a typical blue vs. red match between rivals.
Others have preferred to look at International Security from a broader perspective, (and if we were to apply the same sports analogy) the focus would not be so much in the teams, but actually studying the nature of the sport, which would symbolize the system or general conditions in which the states dwell. By applying this analogy we could pose questions like: Is a terrorist attack on the US delegation in Syria a single event sport like 100 meters or part of a combined discipline like decathlon that involves many other fields? OK, this last example is bit of a stretch and a bit overbearing, but my point is that there are different ways to look at international security, and each way will provide different insights on global threats.

Having said this, there are some of us who like to look at these issues not at the state or systemic level, but at a more Human Level. From this perspective, the one that counts the most is the individual; so if we were to follow the same sports theme, the main focus of this level would be not in the sport, nor in the teams, but in the athletes, even if they are engaged in a match or not. A Human Security approach would look at the threats that each member of the team face and try to find ways to eradicate them. In other words, the human lens on security would help us see how threats affect individuals within states and across the world directly. This emphasis allows us to see more clearly what we can do to help other humans build a wholesome life full of dignity and freedom, and hopefully help us become one great team instead of just simple spectators.

The purpose of this blog is to show the world how looking at security from the individual level can actually make a meaningful impact in the lives of others. To those of you that find this type of focus in security interesting or fascinating, I simply say...

Welcome!

I humbly invite you to share your comments and experience in Human Security initiatives around the world, and to also adopt this type of initiative on your own.

Sincerely,

Gonzalo