In partnership with the United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator in Serbia, the Human Security Unit-OCHA (HSU-OCHA) conducted its sixth Regional Human Security Workshop entitled “Applying the Human Security Concept in Project and Programme Development, Implementation and Impact Assessment” in Belgrade, Serbia from 26 to 29 September 2011.
The regional workshop brought together 35 participants representing UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM, UN Women, UNOPS, WHO and UNV from Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine.
The workshop provided an opportunity for UN Country Teams and other representatives from the region to develop their project ideas for submission to the UNTFHS. With their projects in mind, participants were taken through a rigorous four-day training on the human security concept, its relation to other people-centered approaches, and the relevant tools for its systematic application into concrete UN activities.
The first day of the training focused on the conceptual aspects of human security. Presentations focused on the background and origins of the human security concept, the reasons for its (re)emergence, the parameters for a common understanding on the concept, and its relationship to other concepts such as human development and human rights. In addition, participants were introduced to the five operational principles of human security and the protection and empowerment framework.
The second day of the training focused on the first two phases of applying the human security approach in the development of programmes and projects. Participants formed groups based on their country teams or common situations of insecurity in order to develop more concretely their project ideas utilizing the tools and approaches promoted through the UNTFHS. They were taken through the process of human security situational analysis, which identifies the causes and manifestations of insecurity across the various human security domains. Discussions on quantitative and qualitative measurements for human security were also conducted to support the analytical process. Lastly, the participant groups were introduced to the human security mapping of needs, vulnerabilities and capacities. By the end of the analysis process, groups were able to identify the priority areas of intervention to address human insecurity and the interlinkages among the identified insecurities for their target beneficiaries.
Based on the analysis done on the previous day, the third day of the training focused on building human security strategies based on the protection and empowerment framework. Working from their identified priorities, the groups developed strategies that aimed to build capacity and address gaps in the existing protective infrastructure as well as aimed to build the resilience of communities through empowerment mechanisms that were mutually-reinforcing and interlinked. The final programmes therefore encompassed comprehensive, targeted and efficient strategies for empowering and improving the human security situation of their target community(ies). Each of the groups presented their work to the other participants and received feedback from each other as well as the HSU-OCHA team.
On the final day of the training, participants were given a detailed presentation of the UNTFHS review process, the funding modalities as well as the criteria for developing successful human security projects.
Feedback from the regional workshop indicated that overall, participants left with an improved understanding of the concept of human security and the approach as promoted through the HS Handbook and UNTFHS. Furthermore, participants found it to be a useful approach as it guides collaborative responses by bringing together relevant agencies to address complex situations and thus, also supports the One UN reform agenda.
To view the resource documents from the workshop, please click below:
Programme Note: Applying the Human Security Concept in Project and Programme Development, Implementation and Impact Assessment
Workshop Tools: Designing a human security programme/project
UNTFHS Presentation: An Overview of the Sixth Revision of the UNTFHS Guidelines and the Application and Review Process
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