Human security 

Armed violence, increasingly, occurs within, and not between, states.  Globally, far more people are killed by their own governments and countrymen than by foreign soldiers.  Whilst the traditional national security focus of defending the state from external threats remains valid, the concept of human security has become accepted as fundamental for the protection of individual human beings.

Human security focuses on the security of people and communities.  There are a number of definitions of human security, each of which considers all or any of the various threats to the lives and welfare of human beings, these can include the effects of famine, drought, natural disasters and disease as well as armed violence.

Based on its work on explosive and armed violence, Landmine Action’s human security focus is on preventing death and injury from the explosive remnants of war whilst working to reduce the potential for further armed violence through the disposal of weapons and ammunition and identifying and removing potential fighters from the cycle of violence.  The removal of both weapons and actors from the cycle of violence is at the heart of Landmine Action’s field projects and a key element in the provision of human security.

Click here for more information on Landmine Action’s human security project in Liberia.