Fourth Intellectual Dialogue on Building Asia's Tomorrow

Health and Human Security: Moving from Concept to Action

Summary of Discussions

Session I

After reviewing the history of the evolution of human security in Japan since the late 1990s and the cases of human security initiatives taken by the Japanese government, Mr. Keizo Takemi, a presenter in the session, observed that human security continues to grow its importance in Japan. Furthermore, Takemi stressed that Japan's commitment to human security will remain strong. He added a cautious note on the possible mix up between human security and humanitarian intervention, which may provide an opportunity to developed countries to meddle in the internal affairs of developing countries through the back door.

The ensuing discussion in this session centered on four inter-related themes:

(1) Conceptual Ambiguity of Human Security

Acknowledging the importance of the human security perspectives, a number of participants referred to the problem of its conceptual ambiguity, particularly concerning what is included and what is not. If one takes the broadest possible definition, virtually all human issues can be included, depriving the concept of its practical effectiveness. Particular attention was paid to the inclusion/exclusion of humanitarian intervention and international terrorism. Participants seemed to be in agreement that the former should not be included. While terrorism raises issues of "human security," participants sensed that direct military attacks on terrorism should not be included in the definition of human security activities. An ASEAN participant, quoting the case of human rights being immobilized through the excessive expansion of the concept, warned against the inclusion of too many elements. Rather, he suggested that a concrete, small-scale project should be actually implemented on an uncontentious human security issue in order to avoid repeating the unfortunate history of human rights.

(2) Effective Operationalization of the Concept

While Japan's commitment to human security was admired, concerns were voiced on the difficulty in translating this excellent concept into concrete policies and making it an operative tool. Personal commitments of the three Japanese prime ministers in this cause notwithstanding, some cautioned that there might be difficulty in convincing the rest of the world of the relevance of this concept. Some warned of danger of good intentions on the executive level being hampered by the bureaucratic division of labor and vested interests. It was also pointed out that the current discussion on human security lacks a very practical viewpoint on how much security should be guaranteed.

(3) Actors of Human Security Enhancement

It was generally accepted that, unlike traditional national security, enhancing human security requires the improvement of various human conditions and it should, therefore, require the involvement of various non-state actors, including international organizations and civil society organizations. Some argued that an effective network among non-state actors and states would be a key to the mobilization of limited resources toward human security enhancement.

(4) Side Effects of Human Security Discussions on Japan

Several Japanese participants made a rather interesting observation on the unexpected effects of the human security discussions on Japan. It was pointed out that the discussions might have promoted internal internationalization of Japan by encouraging the Japanese to look into more global concerns, and away from the traditional, narrow one-country pacifism. Some argued that traditional national security evolved in tandem with human security in Japan; public awareness of their own stake in human security led to the reconsideration of the traditional national security framework. Human security, thus, may have provided a healthier ground for the national security debate in Japan.

Keizo Takemi concluded the session by claiming that Japan continues to try to use nonmilitary means to cope with new threats beyond national boundaries, and that it is high time to reformulate the vague conceptual framework of human security into a more practical operative framework, which calls for intellectual input and policy initiatives.