Refugees, Human Rights and the Issue of Human Security

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War there has been a growing conceptual shift in the academic and policy communities from the traditional emphasis on state security — military defence of the state and exertion of influence over other states — to human security. The latter emphasizes the security of the individual, at a minimum security against gross human rights violations, and in the broader sense embracing social economic, environmental, and cultural security. This shift has resulted from a number of factors, chief among which are, in the broadest sense, the forces of globalization and the weakness, if not outright collapse, of a number of states over the past 10 years. On one level, the processes of globalization have led to benefits for many. On another level the same processes have led to dramatic dislocations in many poorer countries, comprising well over a third of UN membership, and problems experienced by emerging economies, not always well suited to withstand, let alone benefit from, an intensification of market forces.