Li se tte G o ti n k A p ri l 2 0 1 1

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Li se tte G o ti n k A p ri l 2 0 1 1

T o M o v e o r N o t to M o v e ? C li m a te C h a n g e a n d D is p la ce m e n t

Abstract

Ever more, climate change and human displacement are together placed within the realms of international security, disaster risk reduction and development. It has become important to understand the possible effects of climate change on different vulnerable population groups and the risks people face now and in their near futures. Recognizing human security and its different components – economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community and political security – as an analytical tool, this paper attempts to determine the needs of people forced to move as a consequence by changes brought on by the effects of climate change. Several communities in the South Asian regions and the Pacific are currently at risk of major consequences of environmental change due to numerous local vulnerabilities. In the climate change and displacement debate, economic security by way of livelihoods, emerges as the most pressing issue to those environmentally displaced.

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

IR/IO – Master Thesis

Supervisor: Dr. A.J. Zwitter

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2 Tables 3

Acknowledgements 4

Acronyms 5

Introduction 6

I. Threats to Human Security – Passing Thresholds 11

1. Rethinking Security 12

2. Towards a Framework 16

2.1 Different Perspectives

2.2 Owen’s human security mapping: location and severity threshold

17 24

3. Human Security and Needs 30

Conclusion 34

II. Climate Change and Displacement – A Complicated Nexus 36

1. A Multi-Factor Relationship 37

2. Conceptual Matters and “Guesstimates” 47

3. Protection of Migratory Populations 51

Conclusion 58

III. Needs of the Displaced 59

1. To Move or Not To Move? 60

1.1 Hotspots in South Asia and the Pacific

1.2 An environmentally displaced person’s human security

62 70

2. Call for a Re(New)ed Protection Regime? 73

Conclusion 79

Conclusion 80

References 82

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3 Tables

Table 1: New thinking on security 15

Table 2: Scheme to indicate threats to human security 28

Table 3: IASC Typology for causes of migration/displacement related to climate change 44

Table 4: Possible protection regimes related to disaster type 55

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4 Acknowledgements

This paper was finalized with the belief that that all people are equal and deserve

opportunities for a better standard of living. Migration is increasingly becoming an

important factor on international and national agendas causing much change in political

compilations across the world. Climate change is predicted to pose effects that will

potentially change much of the environment. The thesis attempts to bring these two widely

discussed subjects together within the perspective of human security. I would like to pay

deep respect for those who have been and will be deeply affected by the dangers of

environmental change. You have been an inspiration. I would like to thank those who

provided their advice, comments, areas of improvement and their serenity – my supervisor

for his endless enthusiasm for the topic and his patience; my family for their tremendous

support and confidence; my friends for believing in me.

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5 Acronyms

ADB – Asia Development Bank AU – African Union

CHS – Commission on Human Security HDI – Human Development Index HDR – Human Development Report

EACH-FOR – Environmental Change and Forced Migration Scenarios GIS – Geographic Information Systems

IASC – Inter-Agency Standing Committee

ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

ICCESCR – International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights IDP- Internally displaced person

IOM – International Organization for Migration ILO – International Labor Organization

IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change NGOs – Non-governmental organizations

OCHA – Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance RSG – Special Representative to the Secretary General UDHR – Universal Declaration on Human Rights UN – United Nations

UNDP – United Nations Development Program

UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNU-EHS – United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security

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6 Introduction

There is increasing discussion among members of the international community about the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on human society, in particular on possible mass displacement situations. It is believed that climate change is affecting the nature, pattern, intensity and frequency of extreme natural disasters and hazards, particularly with regard to flooding, storms and droughts. According to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)

¹

, nine out of every ten natural disasters are now related to climate change.

²

Weather patterns affected by climate change are predicted to have disastrous effects on the sustainability of human life. Emergency humanitarian preparedness and response is becoming an important emerging component of this debate. As with any mass movement of people, environmental migration entails political, humanitarian and development ramifications and can be considered a “truly cross-cutting issue requiring proactive intervention.”

³

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognized in its Fourth Assessment Report that migration and displacement are likely key impacts of climate change due to changing weather and climate patterns, which may be gradual or sudden.

⁴

The IPCC predicted that “the gravest effects of climate change may be those on human migration as millions are displaced by shoreline erosion, coastal flooding and severe drought.”

⁵

Increasing evidence suggests that with the impacts on human societies by climate change, people will have no other option, when all other coping mechanisms are overcome, but to migrate as a permanent or temporary coping strategy.

⁶

Migration may become an adjustment mechanism

1 The Inter-Agency Standing Committee is a unique inter-agency forum for decision-making, policy development and coordination involving key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners. It was established in response to UN GA Resolution 46/182 in June 1992 on strengthening humanitarian assistance.

2 Kirsch-Wood, J., J. Korreborg and A. Linde. “What humanitarians need to do”. Forced Migration Review: Climate change and displacement, Issue 31. Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford. October 2008, p. 40.

3 Morton, A., P. Boncour and F. Laczko. “Human security policy challenges”, Forced Migration Review: Climate change and displacement, Issue 31. Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford. October 2008, p. 5.

4 Informal group on Migration/Displacement and Climate Change of the IASC. “Climate Change, Migration and Displacement: Who Will be Affected?”. Working paper, 31 October 2008, p. 1. Available online at:

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a2d189e0.html

5 Zetter, R., Boano, C. and Morris, T. “Environmentally displaced people: Understanding the linkages between environmental change, livelihoods and forced migration”. Forced Migration Policy Briefing 1, Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford Department of International Development, November 2008. p. 4. Available online at:

http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/PDFs/RSCPB1-Environment.pdf

6 Ibidem, p. 1.

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7 of first resort or a survival mechanism of final resort. Stated differently, migrating to another location may be a method of adapting for those with the resources to move early and away from the posing danger. However, in other more extreme cases and for those with fewer means to move, migration may be an expression of failed adaptation to the more extreme weather conditions.

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The consequences of climate change induced migration are considered overwhelmingly negative. Some of the impacts of mass migration include escalating humanitarian crises, stalled development and rapid urbanization with associated growth of slum areas. Furthermore, according to studies to date, migration as an adjustment mechanism does not solve the main cause of the problem. For example, degraded regions are not emptied sufficiently to allow environmental recovery or poverty alleviation.

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Climate change is already causing migration and displacement, though exact predictions of the number of displaced persons are uncertain. It is however believed that the scope and scale of the people on the move will exceed anything that has happened before.

⁹

Presently there exists no specific protection regime for people affected by climate change. There is no particular convention related to the rights of people displaced by environmental change, including climate change, natural disasters and development projects.

In addition, neither the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), nor the Kyoto Protocol, provide any specific assistance or protection measures for those who are and will be affected by the effects of climate change.

¹⁰

With that knowledge, it deems highly essential to engage in more research in determining the needs of people displaced by environmental change in order for the international community to act as necessary. Therefore the thesis research question is stated as follows: What are the needs of environmentally displaced persons from a human security perspective?

7 Warner, K., O. Dun and M. Stal. “Field observations and empirical research”. Forced Migration Review: Climate change and displacement, Issue 31. Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford. October 2008, p. 13.

8 Morton, A., P. Boncour and F. Laczko. “Human security policy challenges”. Forced Migration Review: Climate change and displacement, Issue 31. Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford. October 2008, p. 6.

9 Warner, K. (UNU-EHS), Ehrhart, C. (CARE International), Sherbinin A. de, Adamo, S., and Chai-Onn, T. (CIESIN Colombia University). “In Search of Shelter – Mapping the Effects of Climate Change on Human Migration and Displacement”. May 2009, p. iv. Available online at: http://www.preventionweb.net/files/9870_climmigrreportjune09final1.pdf

10 Informal group on Migration/Displacement and Climate Change of the IASC. “Climate Change, Migration and Displacement: Who Will be Affected?”. Working paper, 31 October 2008, p. 1. Available online at:

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a2d189e0.html

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8 The thesis is divided into three chapters, each attempting to answer a related research question. In order to elaborate on the needs of environmentally displaced persons, the concept of human security provides an ample theoretical framework. The concept was firstly provided by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in its 1994 Human Development Report (HDR).

¹¹

The development of the concept of human security shows a change in outlook on traditional national security to human security within the international community;

a shift in thinking about security with its focus more on the individual, people’s needs and human rights. The 1994 HDR elaborated more on the threats to human security and placed these under the following main categories: economic security, food security, health security, environmental security, personal security, community security and political security.

Although precise quantification of human security is impossible, indicators can provide warnings as to whether a country or population group is facing danger.

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Thus the first chapter will provide a more detailed description of the concept of human security and attempt to link the framework to migration and displacement. The concept is continuously being debated on within several international organizations and academic research. The research question for the chapter is formulated as follows: What does the concept of human security entail and what associated indicators can be derived from this concept with regard to displacement?

Evident from the continuous debates on the concept of human security, its use as a theoretical framework is contested among scholars. Rightfully critics ask what is and what is not a security threat. Among other researchers, Taylor Owen provides a critique on the definition and measurement of human security. In particular, he addresses the feasibility of empirically measuring human security. His arguments show that monitoring and empirically measuring human security are both possible and critical to the normative future of the concept of human security.

¹³

Furthermore, a brief overview is provided of core human rights that cover the different human security domains.

¹⁴

For the purpose of this paper, human security

11 UNDP. “New dimensions of human security”. Human Development Report 1994, Chapter 2, p. 22-46. Available online at:

http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_1994_en_chap2.pdf

12 Ibidem, p. 38.

13 Owen, T. “Challenges and opportunities for defining and measuring human security”. In Disarmament Forum, No. 3, 2004, p.15. Available online at: http://www.unidir.org/pdf/articles/pdf-art2138.pdf

14 Zwitter, A. “Neutrality and impartiality in implementing human rights – A framework for measuring human security”.

Mainstreaming Human Security: Policies, Problems, Potentials. Routledge: September 2010, Chapter 2, p. 50. [Use of article is with permission from author before planned publication in September 2010; received 7 July 2010.]

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9 acts as a sufficient theoretical perspective mainly because it adds an urge of action in addressing displacement due to environmental change.

The second chapter will attempt to fully explain and conceptualize the complex relationships between climate change and displacement by answering the following research question: What are the linkages between climate change and displacement? When one would ask a displaced person for the reasons why s/he was on the move, the answer would least likely include “due to climate change”. Several social, economic and political factors underpin migration induced by environmental changes. The debate around the linkages between environmental degradation and forced migration have led to the emergence of a range of concepts and terms, particularly with regard to the label given to the displaced, such as ‘climate change refugees’, ‘environmental migrants’ or ‘environmentally displaced persons’. These terms lead in turn to further discussion on existing (legal) frameworks for the protection of groups of people on the move. Among other sources, the chapter will explore the different protection frameworks that exist for various migratory groups based on the background paper submitted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in October 2008. In addition, the work of leading researchers on issues related to environmental displacement, such as Koko Warner of the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU- EHS), will be highlighted.

The third chapter will attempt to determine the needs of environmentally displaced persons. In support to addressing the main thesis research question, the following questions are posed: After examining the climate change-displacement nexus, what elements constitute the needs of environmentally displaced persons in order to reach human security? To what extent can the needs of environmental migrants be fully addressed by existing frameworks?

To what extent are there gaps in addressing these needs, and if so, what approach should the international community take in filling their needs? The chapter will thus assist in the development of policy and other recommendations regarding the needs and protection of people displaced by environmental change mainly due to climate change.

Through the two year long research project sponsored by the European Commission,

the Environmental Change and Forced Migration Scenarios (EACH-FOR), trends of multiple

environmental problems and socio-political and demographical aspects of a large number of

regions and countries were put to focus by empirically collecting information from over 20

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10 cases.

¹⁵

Data from the project will be used to concretely reveal certain needs of people displaced by environmental cause, as the project reflects on contextual information on various regions throughout the world faced with the potential damaging effects of climate change on population groups. It becomes apparent that the South Asian region deems most affected by climate change and shows varies possible scenarios related to natural disasters. The thesis will therefore highlight these case-studies in the attempt to answer the questions on the needs of those forcibly displaced.

The research for this thesis will generally consist of an analysis of academic articles, working papers, articles in journals, and policy papers concerning climate change induced migration. The issue of climate change and its impacts on migration has only been emphasized on among academics and the international community until quite recently. It should be noted that newly published articles are presented continuously as issues concerning climate change are considered increasingly important on national and international agendas.

Climate change and human displacement are often currently together guiding policies on emergency relief efforts, humanitarian programs and development projects. It deems highly productive to invest in more research on their complex relationship in order to justify such policy making and potentially provide a proper and timely approach to the huge number of communities at risk.

15 For general information on EACH-FOR see: www.each-for.eu

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11 I. Threats to Human Security – Passing Thresholds

“The demands we face also reflect a growing consensus that collective security can no longer be narrowly defined as the absence of armed conflict, be it between or within States. Gross abuses of human rights, the large-scale displacement of civilian populations, international terrorism, the AIDS pandemic, drug and arms trafficking and environmental disasters present a direct threat to human security, forcing us to adopt a much more coordinated approach to a range of issues.”

~Kofi Annan

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For the purpose of the thesis, the concept of human security as defined by the author Taylor Owen, among others, will be used to identify the needs of people displaced by environmental factors brought on by climate change. Through examining the different approaches to the concept of human security, an ample theoretical framework emerges for understanding and determining the needs of the environmentally displaced. The first chapter begins by posing the following research question: What does the concept of human security entail and what associated indicators can be derived from this concept with regard to displacement?

Accordingly, this chapter firstly briefly highlights the development of the concept of human security by describing a renewed thinking of security from traditional state security to human security, which largely took place during the Cold War. Consequently, various debates have taken place showing the different emerging perspectives on human security discussing its use in policy development and analytic research. Notwithstanding the critique of the usefulness of the concept, particularly referring to the general broadness of the term, Owen provides a methodology for its use in analytic research. His working definition provides clarity on the term by including threshold-based criteria and the use of location when establishing threats or risks to human security. Owen’s perspective is explained in more detail during the chapter, and will be used as a basis for an analytical framework in exploring the needs of people displaced by environmental change.

Additionally, the chapter will elaborate on the differences and similarities between the fields of human rights, human development and human security, as at times they are used in

16 “Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization”. General Assembly, Fifty-fifth session, p. 4. Available online at: http://www.un.org/documents/sg/report00/a551e.pdf

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12 similar fashion but it is crucial to keep them differentiated. The use of the human security framework, instead of human rights or human development, is justified through revealing its distinct differences with these two fields. Its emphasis on security, yet in domains traditionally not associated with security, stresses the urge to indeed increase research on the possible effects of climate change on people and their forced movements. In order to gain clarity on the needs of environmentally displaced people, it is important to highlight the linkages between human needs and human rights, as basic needs are governed and protected by human rights. In particular, social, economic, civil and political rights are covered by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICCESCR). Certain human rights relevant to the human security concept are briefly elaborated on in the third section below to further illustrate the relation between needs, human security and human rights. In ensuring the survival of the individual, being the ultimate goal of human security, other aspects besides the traditional core securities of personal and political security, food, economic, health, environment and community security are encompassed by the concept of human security.

1. Rethinking Security

Millions of people are killed a year by disease, famine, civil wars and environmental disasters, “none of which [fell] under de mandate of [conventional] security thinking”.

¹⁷

Traditionally the notion of security focused on the protection of the state, its boundaries, its population and institutions from external attacks by another state. Although its present manifestation is novel, the core principle of human security – the individual human being rather than the state at the centre of security policies – has its roots in eighteenth century enlightenment liberalism. However, it was towards the end of the Cold War that a shift in thinking about security was presented. It is now increasingly understood that as the primary threats to security have changed, so too must the security mechanisms.

¹⁸

The renewed thinking about security was mostly built upon a number of developments in the international arena that occurred mostly within the United Nations (UN), regional organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The process towards an

17 Owen, T. “Human Security – Conflict, Critique and Consensus: Colloquium Remarks and a Proposal for a Threshold-Based Definition”. Security Dialogue, 35, 2004, p. 374. Available online at: http://sdi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/35/3/373

18 Owen, T. “Challenges and opportunities for defining and measuring human security”. In Disarmament Forum, No. 3, 2004, p. 23. Available online at: http://www.unidir.org/pdf/articles/pdf-art2138.pdf

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13 individualized notion of security was highlighted by the international community of the rights of individuals in the face of threats from states. Foundational documents, such as the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) and its associated covenants, and conventions related to particular crimes and the rights of specific groups, suggest a concern with the “survival goals of individuals”. This forms a central element in the concept of human security. Also, there was an increasing trend on changing perspectives on development from state objectives towards individuals and their welfare.

¹⁹

One such foundational document, the UN Charter, makes provisions for the protection of individual human rights and people’s welfare. It “balanced its recognition of sovereignty with an embrace of human rights and a concern for human welfare[; in] the Charter, sovereignty involved obligations as well as rights”.

²⁰

Yet another document, the UDHR, declares human rights to be intrinsic to a human being’s status, and therefore inalienable. The distinction between the UN Charter and the UDHR is that the first can be considered to apply only to situations where human rights violations threaten peace, whereas the latter is applied universally.

²¹

It was through the years after the two World Wars and the Cold War that the UN pushed for further conventions related to narrower rights. These included, among others, the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees which universalized the status of refugees established in the 1951 Convention, the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the 1984 Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

²²

There was a degree of international recognition of individuals’ rights vis-à-vis the state, and an attempt at providing international standards for the protection of individuals, accordingly constituting key elements of the concept of human security.

²³

Provided that this thesis attempts to analyze the needs of displaced people, whether they cross an internationally recognized border or stay within their national boundaries, it is

19 Macfarlene, S.N. and Foong Khong, Y. Human Security and the UN: A Critical History. Bloomington and Indianapolis:

Indiana University Press, 2006, p. 62-63.

20 Ibidem, p. 66.

21 Ibidem, p. 68.

22 Ibidem, p. 68-69.

23 Ibidem, p. 75.

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14 interesting to shortly highlight the development of the human security perspective and refugees. These two notions are often elaborated on together in related research articles. The development of the refugee protection regime shows significant steps towards international recognition of the rights of an individual to security and an international responsibility to protect individuals whose security is threatened. With the establishment of the International Refugee Organization (IRO) in 1946 a step was made in setting standards concerning the protection of displaced persons. Previous attempts had focused on the protection of particular groups of displaced persons; the IRO was the first organization that considered the refugee status dependent on the situation of an individual rather than a group. The organization was replaced by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with the 1951 Convention. The convention provided minimal standards for the treatment of refugees, established the principle of non-discrimination regarding race, religion, and country of origin and the principle of nonrefoulement, and suggested a generally accepted travel document for refugees. However, these early protection provisions were limited to Europe. This changed through an expansion of refugee problems geographically, such as in Asia (Vietnamese refugees), North Africa (Algerian war) and Sub-Saharan Africa (flight from Rhodesia) resulting in the universalizing of the refugee status. While the refugee protection regime began as agreements handling specific displacement situations, it increasingly held more permanence in international law and operations. In spite of these efforts, it remained incomplete failing to address protection of those displaced within the borders of their countries.

²⁴

Normative developments within the UN were complemented by activities in the Council of Europe and the African Union. The AU extended and broadened its definition of a refugee beyond the criterion of fear of persecution. However, there lacked a regime for the protection of those within national borders.

²⁵

The development of the 1992 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement met this gap, but has not been rectified as international law. Many of the principles follow standards set in international human rights law.

Furthermore, Sabine Alkire provides that changes in empirical accounts, analytical advances and institutions, both at national and international levels, have altered the concept of security and its threats. Empirically observable events and changes are increasingly familiar

Indiana University Press, 2006, p. 76-81.

25 Ibidem, p. 79-81.

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15 to the world, such as the shift towards internal conflicts with huge numbers of civilian casualties. Also, increasing population contributes to environmental change, an increase in immigration and a heightened importance of sustainable water and energy sources. Analytical advances include mainly developing causal links and interdependencies showing possible relationships between kinds of insecurity, such as will be described further below. There is increasing recognition that solutions lie in addressing interrelated variables together.

Regarding changes in (international) institutional corporation, there has been an increase in participatory methods and efficient coordination. However, there remain gaps between humanitarian relief and development work, while these fields should work in a coordinated manner, as reality requires concurrent assistance, rehabilitation and development incentives.

²⁶

Likewise, Taylor Owen highlights the philosophic roots of the concept of human security. Pluralists, such as Montesquieu and Rousseau, and realists, such as Hobbes, and idealists, such as Kant, all claimed individual security to be the primary responsibility of the state, although their ideas all led to different schools of international thought. As mentioned before, post-Cold War skepticism led to terms such as (international) corporation, collectivity and society. The term human security changed the referent object from the state to the individual revealing actual issues threatening the individual human being (see Table 1).

Table 1: New thinking on security

²⁷

Type of security Referent object Responsibility to protect Possible threats

Traditional security State State Interstate war; Nuclear

proliferation; Revolution

Human security Individual Societies, groups,

individuals

Disease; Poverty;

Natural disaster;

Violence; Landmines;

Human rights abuses

26 Alkire, S. “A Conceptual Framework for Human Security”. Working Paper 2, University of Oxford: Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (CRISE), 2003, p. 11-12. Available online at:

http://www.reserach4development.info/PDF/outputs/inequality/wp2.pdf

27 Compiled from Owen, T. “Challenges and opportunities for defining and measuring human security”. In Disarmament Forum, No. 3, 2004, p.17. Available online at: http://www.unidir.org/pdf/articles/pdf-art2138.pdf; and Alkire, S. “A Conceptual Framework for Human Security”. Working Paper 2, University of Oxford: Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (CRISE), 2003, p. 17. Available online at:

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16 In general, during the last few decades, the content of the term ‘security’ has been heavily contested. Post- Cold War discussions have led to, as described by Emma Rothschild and Roland Paris, both a broadening and deepening of the concept of security in all directions.

A broadening of the concept involved inclusion of nonmilitary security threats, such as overpopulation, mass refugee movements, environmental degradation and resource scarcity.

A deepening of the concept meant there was a shift in focus on the security of individuals and groups rather than solely focusing on external threats on the state.

²⁸

An expansion in horizontal direction beyond military issues takes into account other issues, such as the economy, gender, culture, health, the environment, and including welfare and identity into our core values. A vertical expansion, questioning the select focus on the state and suggesting that security has other references, goes both upward, covering regional and global identities, and downward, to society and groups within it. Ultimately this expansion leads to encompassing the human being. “In short, human security is distinct in its focus on the human individual as the principal referent of security.”

²⁹

Some advocates of human security would further argue that the concept is distinct in recognizing that the security needs of an individual go beyond physical survival. Access to the basic necessities of life and institutionalizing of the basic rights permit people to lead a life in dignity.

³⁰

The earlier conceptualization of security

“provides an example of how narrow the previous paradigm has been, as well as how complex the expansion of the concept can become.”

³¹

2. Towards a Framework

As previously discussed, human security has been dubbed as the new paradigm of security – it complements state security, embraces human rights and strengthens the need for development. “It seeks to protect people against a broad range of threats to individuals and

28 Paris, R. “Human Security: Paradigm Shift or Hot Air?”. International Security, Vol. 26, No. 2, Fall 2001, p. 97. Available online at: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/016228801753191141

Indiana University Press, 2006, p. 2.

30 See Macfarlene, S.N. and Foong Khong, Y. Human Security and the UN: A Critical History. Bloomington and Indianapolis:

Indiana University Press, 2006, p. 2.; and Owen, T. “Challenges and opportunities for defining and measuring human security”. In Disarmament Forum, No. 3, 2004, p.17. Available online at: Available online at:

http://www.unidir.org/pdf/articles/pdf-art2138.pdf; and Alkire, S. “A Conceptual Framework for Human Security”. Working Paper 2, University of Oxford: Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (CRISE), 2003, p. 14-15.

Available online at: http://www.reserach4development.info/PDF/outputs/inequality/wp2.pdf

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17 communities and, further, to empower them to act on their own behalf.”

³²

The human security framework enhances state security perspectives by focusing its concern on the individual and the community rather than solely the state. The framework includes threats and conditions that have traditionally not been regarded as risks to state security, such as massive human movements and environmental contamination. Hereby the range of actors involved expands beyond that of the state. International organizations, NGOs and civil society hold crucial roles in fighting and handling (human) security issues. Additionally, achieving human security involves not only protection, but empowering people and society, meaning that people can directly be involved in identifying and implementing solutions in coping with their insecurity.

³³

The following sections will further elaborate on a more concise framework of human security by firstly describing the general debates around the concept, highlighting the different approaches and their critiques. Secondly, Owen’s proposal for a threshold-based working definition, enhanced with the idea of location, is put forward for further analytic use in the paper.

2.1 Different perspectives

After closer examination of the literature concerning human security it becomes clear that there are differing views on the concept, which makes the use of the concept as a theoretical tool contested. Several narrow and broad definitions are suggested; however for the purpose of this thesis, a proposal for a hybrid definition formulated by Owen is presented.

This working definition provides an ample framework for analysis of climate change induced migration such that the threat of climate change to possible migration patterns can be further explored. By firstly elaborating on the various debates surrounding the concept of human security, Owen’s suggested methodology involving location and a severity threshold, emerges as a sufficient tool for further analysis of displacement brought upon by environmental change.

Human security is much associated with the 1994 UN Human Development Report (HDR) that firstly referred to the well-known phrase “freedom from fear and freedom from

32 Commission on Human Security. “Human Security Now”. Final Report, New York: 2003, p. 2. Available online at:

http://humansecurity-chs.org/finalreport/English/FinalReport.pdf

33 Ibidem, p. 4, 6.

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18 want”. The report identified four characteristics of the term human security: universality, interdependency of all components of human security, its preference of rather early prevention than intervention, and its people-centered way of thinking. It further provided seven dimensions of human security: personal, environment, economic, political, community, health and food security.

³⁴

The report has led to many debates concerning the practical purposes of the concept because of these all-encompassing components. Also, there emerged a lack of clarity on the differences between development and this new concept of human security. Thus human security has undergone substantial discussion on its key elements, mostly on whose security is being referred to while contemplating human security. Recent literature has contested the state as being the primary, if not the exclusive, referent of security.

Other entities mentioned have been the individual, an ethnic group or class, a region, the international system, and the world. Equally important, there has been particular discussion on the content of the concept of human security.

³⁵

Mostly however, there appears to be a generally accepted given meaning to the concept of security. Based on the 1994 HDR, Macfarlene and Foong Khong claim it follows that “security implies the absence of, or freedom from, threats to core values.”

³⁶

Core values are considered to include physical survival, welfare and identity. The term human security implies the absence of or threat to the core values of the individual human being. This shift in focus from the state to the human being does not escape the vagueness of the concept as it does not provide an answer to what is or should be secured. Alternative formations of the concept, one being the perception of (human) rights grounded in various instruments of international law. Another formation is the protection of people from threats of violence, otherwise formulated as the “freedom from fear”. A third possible conception employs the broad notion of development, where human security involves economic, health, food, environmental, personal, community and political security.

³⁷

Indiana University Press, 2006, p. 12.

36 Ibidem, p. 13.

37 Ibidem.

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19 Presently, in Owen’s research on human security, three general themes emerge when contemplating the human security debate: the theory, the practice and the critique. Firstly on the theory of human security, further exploration of the foremost literature has led to an emergence of a dichotomous broad versus narrow conceptualization of the subject.

³⁸

The various definitions can be placed along a spectrum. In its broad sense, the concept can be seen as incorporating a list of all possible threats, from traditional security threats such as conflict to more development-oriented threats such as poverty, disease and the environment. At the narrow end along the spectrum, the term, although still focused on the individual and therefore including more threats than traditional security, is limited to violent threats such as violence, arms, landmines and intra-state conflict.

³⁹

The school of thought that places a narrow focus on the concept, the so-called Canadian Approach, clearly separates human security from the field of international development. This side of the spectrum restricts the parameters of human security to violent threats against the individual. However, these threats are to be countered by the use of soft power, such as diplomatic resources, economic assistance, and information technology. A valid argument for the use of a narrow definition is merely the number of international initiatives using its parameters. Most of these policy outputs in the name of human security have used this narrow definition.

⁴⁰

The question follows if a severe natural disaster brought on by climate change can be considered a violent threat to the human individual. This seemingly narrow parameter could then be used to advance on successful international policy aimed at the environmentally displaced. In the traditional view on security, this would not be the case.

On the other hand, arguing for a broad conception of human security, academics suggest human security means more than just safety from violent threats. They not only emphasize the importance of a wider range of issues, but claim that in shifting the referent of security to the individual, these broader issues are justified as risks to human security. The difficulties encountered in using human security analytically is an unavoidable consequence

40 Ibidem, p. 19.

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20 of broadening the security paradigm beyond threats to the state.

⁴¹

Subsequently, three critical points come forward when examining the broad perspective on human security: its scope, its system-based approach to understanding causal relationships between different aspects of life, and its focus on the individual’s vital core. These points are shortly illustrated by the concept of human security as supported by the UNDP, Jorge Nef’s account of human security, and the independent Commission on Human Security, all discussed below.

⁴²

The 1994 UNDP HDR formed the first attempt at articulating a broad approach to human security. It describes human security having two distinct elements: the freedom from chronic threats, such as disease, hunger and suppression, coupled with the protection from sudden calamities.

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Climate change, which is further discussed in the following chapter, is believed to lead to both slow-onset natural disasters, such as drought, which can be considered a chronic threat to population groups, and severe sudden natural disasters, such as typhoons, which can be regarded as a sudden calamity. The report recognizes the definition as broad, but justifies it by saying that it is a reflection of absolute harms to human society. It proposes the following categorical components of human security: economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community and political security. This categorization sets boundaries to the broad definition, separating itself from past security conceptualizations.

⁴⁴

The following domains of human security are identified:

• Economic security – An individual is possibly threatened by poverty, and in such cases remains vulnerable to global economic change.

• Food security – An individual or community is threatened by hunger and famine.

Any extreme climate events or agricultural changes can cause increased vulnerability.

• Health security – An individual or community is threatened by disease and injury.

Due to, for example, poor access to hygiene and sanitation the risk for contracting disease remains high.

43 Ibidem.

44 Ibidem.

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21 • Environmental security – An individual, community or society is threatened by pollution, environmental degradation and resource depletion.

• Personal security – An individual is threatened by forms of violence. Conflicts, natural disasters or “creeping” catastrophes lead to increased vulnerability.

• Community security – An individual, community or society is threatened by social unrest and instability. Also, the integrity of different cultures is at risk.

• Political security – An individual or community is threatened by political repression.

⁴⁵

In support of a system-based approach to understanding causal relationships within the framework of human security, Nef describes five sub-systems of the concept that are seemingly interconnected: ecosystem, society, polity, economy and culture. These five sub- systems are part of a complex interplay through their linkages that define its systemic balance.

The importance of this point is to show that acknowledgement of the human security components, however defined, being interconnected, is critical to both understanding and approaching policy.

⁴⁶

The third significant point in elaborating on the broad perspective of human security is its focus on the individual’s vital core highlighted by the Commission on Human Security (CHS). This is important in separating human security from human development, which will be elaborated on later in this chapter. Development has been more associated with the general well-being of a population than their security during emergencies, for example. The CHS, established at the initiative of the Japanese government, underscores the importance of focusing on the vital core of the individual, rather than on anything that could cause harm.

The Commission vaguely set criteria that, once surpassed, specifies an issue has become a threat to human security.

⁴⁷

It attempted to expand on the 1994 UNDP concept to include

45 See Owen, T. “Challenges and opportunities for defining and measuring human security”. In Disarmament Forum, No. 3, 2004, p.18. Available online at: http://www.unidir.org/pdf/articles/pdf-art2138.pdf; Liotta, P.H. and T.Owen. “Why Human Security?”. The Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations. Winter/Spring 2006, p. 42; and UNDP. “New dimensions of human security”. Human Development Report 1994, Chapter 2, p. 22-46. Available online at:

http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_1994_en_chap2.pdf

47 Ibidem, p. 18-19.

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22 protection for people suffering violent (internal) conflict, for people on the move, for those in post-conflict circumstances, and for improving conditions in health, poverty and knowledge.

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Another more concrete example of an academic adding limiting criteria to the broad definition of human security is Kanti Bajpai. He argues that at some point “floods, famine and massive refugee flows warrant the security label and require the subsequent exceptional policy response”.

⁴⁹

He implicitly flags a scenario of mass migration as a consequence of climate change as a human security threat.

Referring back to the second theme when conceptualizing human security, the practice, Owen identifies the difficulties in policy utility of the term due to its broad characteristics. Some supporters of the concept only find human security having use if it can be applied to policy problems. Peter Uvin, academic dean of The Fletcher School, Tufts University, considers human security as a conceptual bridge between humanitarian relief, development assistance, conflict resolution and human rights. It is the intersect between these fields that he names human security.

⁵⁰

In addition, Fen Hosler Hampson states that human security gives a political voice to the otherwise politically marginalized. This will lead to increased awareness of indirect social, ecological and economic “menaces to human security”.

Moreover, other authors consider human security as a framework in which to reassess the norms of sovereignty.

⁵¹

For these reasons, among others, the concept of human security functions as a tool for flagging the imminent threats of climate change and migration to the different domains within human security.

The third significant theme Owen highlights in the debate about the conceptualization of human security is its strong critique present in both the academic and policy spheres. In short, the theoretical critique affirms that by labeling more harms as security threats by shifting the referent to the individual, it will become more difficult to analyze the links between them. This leads to the second line of critique which is policy oriented. By listing all potential harms to the individual human being as security threats, prioritization of any

48 Liotta, P.H. and T.Owen. “Why Human Security?”. The Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations.

Winter/Spring 2006, p. 39.

50 Uvin, P. “A Field of Overlaps and Interactions”. Security Dialogue. Vol 35, No. 3, 2004, p. 353.

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23 political policy becomes impossible. The term ‘security’ has been given to label issues in high politics. Additionally, a consequence of securitizing a concern such as education, which traditionally tilts towards development and humanitarian assistance, may be that it does not facilitate helpful action, but instead leads to militarization of social policy.

⁵²

Another significant point of critique of the concept of human security, as Roland Paris suggests, is that the term ‘security’ is intractably linked to violence. He also critiques the way advocates of human security have shifted attention and resources away from issues that have traditionally fallen under the field of (international) development. Within the human security framework there is little room for prioritization. He therefore suggests that human security should “serve as a label for a broad category of research in the field of security studies that is primarily concerned with nonmilitary threats to the safety of societies, groups, and individuals, in contrast to the more traditional approaches to security studies that focus on protecting states from external threats.”

⁵³

Considering the comments made by Paris, it remains however increasingly important to stress the sense of urge and danger, closely associated to the term “security” in matters identified within the different domains of human security.

Referring to the debates mentioned above, there results a paradox when conceptually articulating and measuring human security. The closer one gets to the original all- encompassing framework of human security, the more difficult it becomes to operationalizing it. However, that difficulty should by no means shape inaction.

⁵⁴

The sheer number of deaths from internal conflict, famine, hunger, disease and environmental disasters that could have been prevented should provide sufficient reason to contemplate the use of an all- encompassing tool such as human security. Owen, convinced of the possibility of measuring human security, proposes a methodology that takes into account severity and location.

52 Owen, T. “Human Security – Conflict, Critique and Consensus: Colloquium Remarks and a Proposal for a Threshold-Based Definition”. Security Dialogue, 35, 2004, p. 378-379. Available online at:

http://sdi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/35/3/373; In the direct aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12 2010, a rather militaristic approach to relief efforts was observed. The author refrains from further analysis of the relief efforts due to the natural disaster happening so recently and major relief efforts are still underway.

53 Paris, R. “Human Security: Paradigm Shift or Hot Air?”. International Security, Vol. 26, No. 2, Fall 2001, p. 96. Available online at: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/016228801753191141

Winter/Spring 2006, p. 50-51.

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24 2.2 Owen’s human security mapping: location and severity threshold

As Owen suggests, in order for the framework of human security to have a meaningful impact, its advocates must agree to a workable definition and a method of measuring the concept. The feasibility of measuring such a concept as human security has been increasingly central in the debate on its use. It however remains a reality that natural disasters, civil conflict and disease are among the leading causes of death. Under the framework of human security, “it is a set of harms that threatens the integrity of the individual and the community”, but it remains unclear which parameters one selects in identifying human security threats.

⁵⁵

Owen remains certain of the possibility of measuring human security and its use in analytic study. A measurement can resolve the ambiguity of the term and reveal patterns that cannot otherwise be examined. Reviewing the interdependent components of human security can reveal causal relationships and cumulative impacts that are previously not observed. Also, a measurement seeks to provide objective data that can positively influence policy development.

⁵⁶

Based on Owen’s research, existing ways of measuring human security each emphasize different aspects of the concept, one focusing, for example, on development issues while another rather stresses environmental variables.

⁵⁷

One problem he encounters is data availability, which he suggests can be resolved by measuring only regionally relevant threats.

Another problem that emerges from these methods is data integrity, which should be disregarded with the acceptance of certain levels of subjectivity and if the data is compiled by local experts. A third problem encountered by previous methods of measuring human security is data aggregation. Using space as a common denominator, by for example Geographic Information Systems (GIS), is suggested as a solution. Integral to these solutions, together forming Owen’s proposal for a methodology for measuring human security, is the notion of space. By measuring at local levels instead of national levels there forms a human security framework.

⁵⁸

55 Owen, T. “Measuring Human Security – Methodological Challenges and the Importance of Geographically Referenced Determinants”. In P.H. Liotta et al. (eds.), Environmental Change and Human Security, Springer: 2008, p. 37. Available online at: http://www.taylorowen.com/Articles/2008%20Owen%20-%20Measuring%20HS%20Chapter.pdf

56 Ibidem, p. 38.

57 Ibidem, p. 46.

58 Ibidem, p. 48.

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25 Owen claims that threats to human security should be included not because they fall into a certain category, but because of their actual severity. Through this conception, what human security means is not defined by a random list, but by threats that can potentially harm and actually affect people.

⁵⁹

Referring back to the effects of natural disasters increasingly propelled by climate change, it may be concluded that they indeed have direct effect on people all over the world.

Taking into account that all preventable harms should be considered threats to human security, a possible working definition of human security recognizes that there is no difference between a death from, for example, a gun or from a flood. However, any threat should be assessed on its severity, as diverging harms require varying policy responses. Only those that surpass a certain threshold of severity should be included in what poses a threat to human security.

⁶⁰

Exactly where this level lies has significant impacts on national and international policies. Actually the threshold line is decided upon by international organizations, national governments and NGOs as a result of the following: political priority, capability and will.

⁶¹

A threshold-based conceptualization of human security limits the impacs of hazards, in terms of both threats and vulnerabilities, by their severity rather than their cause. This approach allows for all possible harms to be considered, but can be selectively limited by asserting a sense of priority through its security label.

⁶²

Equally important, Owen states that it is necessary to move from a standardized set of input indicators to ones that only focus on those threats that are critical in a certain area (region or country). Additionally, it is important to change the scale of indicators to a sub-national level in order to identify locally dispersed threats to human security.

⁶³

In his early article “What is Human Security?” (2004), Owen proposes the following definition of human security: “[It] is the protection of the vital core of all human lives from

59 Owen, T. “Challenges and opportunities for defining and measuring human security”. In Disarmament Forum, No. 3, 2004, p.19-20. Available online at: http://www.unidir.org/pdf/articles/pdf-art2138.pdf

60 Ibidem, p. 20.

Winter/Spring 2006, p. 51.

63 Owen, T. “Measuring Human Security – Methodological Challenges and the Importance of Geographically Referenced Determinants”. In P.H. Liotta et al. (eds.), Environmental Change and Human Security, Springer: 2008, p. 53. Available online at: http://www.taylorowen.com/Articles/2008%20Owen%20-%20Measuring%20HS%20Chapter.pdf

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26 critical and pervasive environmental, economic, food, health, personal and political threats”.

This definition separates the possible threats to the individual into categories for easier analytic study.

⁶⁴

The first part of the proposed framework is roughly based on the conclusions by the CHS. Following the above, the severity threshold for what is reasoned a human security threat is somewhat set by the terms ‘vital core’ and ‘critical and pervasive threats’.

The vital core refers to what constitutes a minimal level of survival of the individual.

⁶⁵

In other words, it implies that the institutions that protect human security, such as national governments, judicial systems and human rights organizations, are not able to protect every aspect of human welfare, but at least they should protect this core. It refers to a basic and fundamental set of purposes related to dignity, survival and livelihood. Only when the vital core is identified can subsequent practical questions emerge. One such central question will be what the key threats to human security are, and additionally, questions can be asked about the nature, probability and possible responses to the threats. Another question relates to how concretely institutions form their human security agenda’s with regard to setting priorities.

Lastly, it can be questioned how then these threats and agenda’s should be approached, evaluated and reviewed.

⁶⁶

In a like manner, the second part of the human security definition as proposed by Owen, establishes conceptual categories under which critical and pervasive threats to human security are ordered. Certain environmental, economic and human rights abuses would cross the threshold and therefore become threats to human security.

⁶⁷

However, in his following article “Measuring Human Security” (2008), Owen recognizes that the definition mentioned above does little to identify actual threats, whom they are or will be affecting, and where they would pose concerns. He therefore elaborates on his definition by firstly seeking to determine from qualitative research what specific threats affect a particular region, in other words by performing a threat assessment. These threats,

65 Ibidem.

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27 each assessed within the six categories

⁶⁸

of human security as mentioned in the definition, should present a critical and pervasive threat to the vital core. The next phase includes organization of data collected on relevant threats – those that surpass the human security threshold. Along a spatial reference, being either nations, cities, or provinces, data sets are collected and organized. A specific threat severity is thereby linked to location (space). The third stage of the methodology includes mapping and analyzing the spatially referenced threat data. This is done by using GIS and involves, for example, map creation, hotspot analysis and functional analysis. In short, base maps are generated through GIS by linking threat data to boundary maps using their spatial reference, for example national borders. Each threat can then be mapped resulting in different layers of threats. Subsequently, hotspots showing aggregated human insecurities can be established showing places experiencing high levels of threat followed by functional analysis of these results.

⁶⁹

For the purpose of the thesis, the above methodology suggested by Owen can be summarized in Table 2 (see below) where an initial system highlighting the possible threats to human security is established. Threats to an individual within each domain is initially ascertained before moving to the analysis. Climate change and the possible increased levels of mass movements of people are considered possible threats to human security in their totality.

By providing data within the different domains of human security, taking into consideration the displacement of individuals as a consequence of environmental change, an articulation of a human needs emerges. In support of the human security framework, there arises a considerable urge to address these emerging issues.

68 Owen chooses to only take into account six security domains instead of the original seven by excluding community security.

69 Owen, T. “Measuring Human Security – Methodological Challenges and the Importance of Geographically Referenced Determinants”. In P.H. Liotta et al. (eds.), Environmental Change and Human Security, Springer: 2008, p. 54-57. Available online at: http://www.taylorowen.com/Articles/2008%20Owen%20-%20Measuring%20HS%20Chapter.pdf

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