Understanding human security
Human beings instinctively understand that security means safety and protection from all types of threats to our daily lives such as hunger, disease, war and repression. When the United Nations Charter was adopted in 1945, the idea of human security was rooted primarily in the protection of states against external aggression although the freedom of the individual in the state was seen as an essential complement to the freedom of the state in the world community of nations.
Despite the improving security of states, people in many of those states feel more insecure than ever. Because of that, the definition of what constitutes human security is changing. Human security is now increasingly interpreted as security of people in their homes, in their jobs, in their communities and in their environment, which must be regarded as universal, global and indivisible.