The first meeting of the Advisory Board on Human Security was convened in New York on 16-17 September 2003. The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Sadako Ogata and attended by the following members: Professor Adebayo Adedeji, Ambassador Koichi Haraguchi, Ms. Sonia Picado, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Mr. S. Iqbal Riza, and Mr. Bradford Smith. Also present were Mr. Hiroshi Minami (Japan), Mr. Peter Schmitz (UN Secretariat) and members of the secretariat of the Advisory Board. Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi regretted not to be able to attend the meeting.

Mrs. Ogata welcomed the Board Members and outlined the linkages between the work of the Commission on Human Security, the UN Trust Fund for Human Security that is funded by the Japanese Government and existed preceding the Commission, and the Advisory Board. She stressed the importance of the Board in establishing the modalities for translating the Commission’s recommendations into concrete policies and actions.

Ambassador Haraguchi reiterated the Japanese Government’s commitment to the Trust Fund and the promotion of human security and ensured Members that the Government will do its utmost to provide additional funding for the Trust Fund in the coming fiscal year. Furthermore, Ambassador Haraguchi informed Members that his Ministry will endeavour to obtain sustained funding for the Advisory Board and its secretariat beyond the present budget ending on 30 June 2004.

Members recognised that while initial reactions, based on preliminary briefings with the UN Heads of Agencies and Permanent Representatives, as well as, discussions held in Washington D.C., Geneva, Thailand, Chile, Japan, Costa Rica, Austria, and other places, have been positive, however, the Commission’s Report on Human Security, Human Security Now, still needs to be further disseminated and clarified at both the conceptual and operational levels.

Members noted that many governments and other stakeholders continue to adhere to traditional notions of security and therefore will need to be convinced of the relevance and importance of the human security concept and the Commission’s conclusions in responding to the new challenges faced by states and communities around the world.

2. Significance of the Commission’s Report for the Government of Japan and an update on the UN Trust Fund for Human Security

Ambassador Haraguchi informed Members of the positive response by the Japanese Government to the Commission’s Report and its implications on the direction of Japanese foreign policy. Since the launching of the Report, Japan has been aligning its policies with the recommendations of the Report. Subsequently, the ODA Charter was amended to reflect ‘Human Security’ as one of the guiding principles in extending ODA; a Grass-Roots Human Security Grant was launched earlier this fiscal year with a budget of approximately $120 million to directly support communities and civil society organisations engaged in human security activities; significant contribution was made to promote closer collaboration among international organisations through the Comprehensive Regional Development Assistance, the so-called “Ogata Initiative” in Afghanistan; greater emphasis has been placed on the Assistance for Peace; and every effort has been made to propagate the importance of human security at different international meetings, such as, the G8 Summit, the ASEAN Charter, and the Japan-Poland Summit.

Ambassador Haraguchi then briefed the Board Members on the status of the Trust Fund. He noted that the aggregate contributions to the Fund by the end of Japanese fiscal year will amount to approximately US$ 230 million. Furthermore, based on cooperation between Japan and the United Nations, 90 projects (approx. US$ 113 million) have been approved, with another 49 projects (approx. US$ 50 million) under consideration for approval by either the Government of Japan or the UN Secretariat. This leaves some US$ 77 million available for funding of new projects.

Ambassador Haraguchi informed Members that in order to better reflect the conclusions of the Commission’s Report, the old Guidelines of the Trust Fund needed to be revised. He explained that a draft amendment of the Guidelines has been successfully negotiated with the UN Secretariat and needs to be finalised after deliberations and endorsement by the Members.

Ambassador Haraguchi recognised that while the human security concept has been a very useful intellectual framework to the Japanese Government in extending its traditional assistance into a more effective and meaningful way, however, several challenges remained. First, while the concept has begun to permeate UN organisations and member states, human security has not yet become a formal “UN word” and therefore the concept needs to be further refined in order to be adopted by other quarters and institutions besides the Trust Fund. Second, although individual projects have been successfully carried out, there is still room for improvement in coordination and collaboration among the relevant international organisations. Third, the examination and approval process has to be accelerated.

Ambassador Haraguchi stressed the significant role of the Board in (i) providing guidance on the Trust Fund in order to ensure that the Fund is more effective in implementing the recommendations of the Commission’s Report, and (ii) engaging with the international community, civil society and UN members states to further advance the human security concept as well as the achievements of the Trust Fund.

Mr. Riza thanked Ambassador Haraguchi and the Japanese Government for their generous Trust Fund and noted that the challenges facing the Fund and the Advisory Board centre on the need to exemplify new approaches, show that the Fund is being put to effective use, and look for other sources of funding.

Ambassador Haraguchi noted that Japan while welcoming the possibility of broadening the funding base of the Trust Fund, however, does not intend to actively promote such an endeavour at this particular juncture.

3. Discussion on the Trust Fund and revision of the Guidelines

Following the presentation of Ambassador Haraguchi on the Trust Fund, the Board reviewed past projects.

Members recognised that previous projects in many cases focused on a few countries; were dominated by a few agencies; and had paid little attention to multisectoral approaches and interagency collaboration.

The Board agreed that in moving forward, projects will be selected in line with the recommendations of the Commission’s Report, as codified in the new Guidelines. Also, in view of the need to assess the impact of approved projects on human security, the Board agreed to undertake an impact assessment under modalities to be proposed by the secretariat of the Advisory Board.

After reviewing past projects, it was agreed by the Board that the Trust Fund should, inter alia, adopt a holistic and integrative approach; refrain from duplicating existing programmes and activities; promote novel approaches that can convince others in adopting the human security framework; engage civil society and other local partners; pay particular attention to the special needs and vulnerabilities of women and children; and remain strategic and focused in translating the recommendations and approaches of the Commission into funded project activities.

Furthermore, it was decided that priority should be given to funding activities that address more than one element in the following situations: that is, of people in conflict; people on the move; transition from war to peace; economic, health and educational insecurities; as well as, greater understanding and acceptance of the human security concept world wide.

The Board approved the new Guidelines and requested the secretariat of the Advisory Board, in collaboration of the UN Secretariat and the Government of Japan, to host a workshop in New York to update UN Agencies on the new Guidelines of the Trust Fund.

4. Update on dissemination activities and the proposed work programme for the Advisory Board

Mr. Fouinat briefed Members on the dissemination activities since the launching of the Commission’s Report in May 2003. It was noted that translation of the Spanish version was completed and the Spanish version was launched at a regional seminar on Human Security in Santiago, Chile, on 21 August 2003. Meanwhile, translations will be completed for the French version at the end of September 2003; Japanese version, at the end of November 2003; and the Russian version, at the end of December 2003.

Members noted and appreciated the proposed work programme submitted by the secretariat of the Advisory Board highlighting the importance of combining disseminations activities with follow-up actions by the Board. They acknowledged that the proposed themes and activities could only be dealt with over a period of time and that some prioritisation would be necessary. The Board also considered advisable to undertake these activities in association with other partners.

The Board concurred with the secretariat on possible areas of intervention, such as, a West African regional meeting in Mali in collaboration with the Chair of the Human Security Network, a follow-up regional event in Central Asia, a regional seminar in Africa on Social Minimum and other events that rely on the creation of partnerships and alliances in which interested bodies or groups can play a multiplying role in advancing the understanding and acceptance of human security.

In closing, the Board requested, to the extent possible, to have an impact analysis of the projects approved under the new Guidelines prior to the next meeting of the Advisory Board.

A tentative schedule of 18-19 May 2004 was established for the next meeting of the Advisory Board.

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