The Vision of Human Security Chapter: 1 THE VISION OF HUMAN SECURITY The vision of human security is the‘brainchild and final legacy’ of the outstanding economist Mahbub ul Haq. Earlier, he had undertaken pioneering work on human development. 1.1 The Vision of Human Security The central motivation behind the concept of human security is clearly indicated in his book Reflections on Human Development (1996) as follows: Security to be interpreted as: • Security of people, not just territory • Security of individuals, not just nations • Security through development, not through arms • Security of people everywhere – in their homes, in their jobs, in their streets, in their communities and in their environment. He emphasized that“human security is not a concern with weapons; it is a concern with human dignity. In the last analysis, it is a child who did not die at birth, a disease that did not spread, an ethnic tension that did not explode, a dissident who was not silenced, or a human spirit that was not crushed”. The UNDP Human Development Report of 1994 articulated the vision of Mahbub ul Haq as follows: • Identified four basic characteristics of human security: universal, people-centered, interdependent, and focusing on early prevention. • Listed seven interconnected‘components’ or seven specific values of human security that needed to be protected as follows: 3