No.3 Revisiting Human Security: Recommendations from a Research Project Targeting Eleven East Asian Countries

The concept and operationalization of human security are still controversial even after the intensive discussion mainly in the United Nations (UN) arena in the past twenty years. The consensus on its definition has been reached only recently. This policy note elaborates how the concept of human security has been understood and practiced among the East Asian actors engaged in development and humanitarian assistance. Based on the findings of the region wide research, "Human Security in Practice: East Asian Experiences," conducted by 36locally based researchers and practitioners, this note advances three policy recommendations:

1. From protection to empowerment: The outside actors involved in emergency assistance need to shift its emphasis from protection by the government to empowerment of the people;
2. Promoting horizontal collaboration: The actors should try to meet people’s needs at the local level by making most use of network s of collaboration among multiple stakeholders across borders; and
3. Sovereignty and mutual trust: Building mutual trust between the donor and recipient governments in times of peace, while respecting sovereignty, will greatly contribute to the success of future emergency assistance operations.

We updated the original version on October 24, 2018.