Human rights now paving the way toward human security

Since 1950, every year, 10th December has been celebrated as Human Rights Day, commemorating the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

- Dr Nandini Basistha

That 1948 document is still relevant, and almost all states try to ensure adherence to all human rights-civil, political, economic, social, and cultural-as per the dictum of UDHR. However, in the post-pandemic era, ensuring human rights is not enough; one must think about human security, too.

The basic difference between human rights and human security? No doubt, human rights form the core of human security. However, human security expands beyond just the physical security sense. It encourages individuals to get 'freedom from fear,' 'freedom from want,' and 'freedom to Live in Dignity.'

This concept emerged after the end of the Cold War when state versus community conflict became rampant, and states became more concerned with internal conflicts rather than external ones. Now, human security encompasses modern security threats like cyber-attacks, environmental degradation, and mental insecurity.

It encompasses all seven security threats of modern human beings, like: