Community Perspectives on Human Security
JCIE has been developing case studies of projects supported by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS) since 2003. Through this research, the JCIE team has found several elements that are essential to a human security approach: 1) focusing on communities as the main actors; 2) taking comprehensive approaches that go beyond the expertise of any individual agency, based on the context of each community; and 3) involving governments of the target countries (particularly local governments) in the entire process and encouraging their ownership of the efforts.
The research that JCIE has done on human security so far has focused on UN agencies and looked at human security’s value added from the viewpoint of donors. This project will shift the focus to the community to look at the utility of human security in dealing with the various issues that communities face. By taking up cases in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, it is hoped that this project will contribute to mutual learning among regions on the utility of human security approaches in improving people’s lives.