The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Koji Tsuruoka, Director-General for Global Affairs (Japan) and was initiated by Ambassador Yukio Takasu in Charge of Human Security (Japan) who made an overall presentation on the concept of human security.
Thereafter, the morning session focused on situations where human security is in immediate need such as humanitarian crisis, protection and empowerment of refugees and IDPs, and food assistance in humanitarian relief. Three representatives from UN Agencies made presentations on these topics including Mr. Rashid Khalikov, Director of UNOCHA, Ms. Gesche Karrenbrock, Deputy Director of Division of Operational Services, UNHCR, and Mr. Stanlake Samkange, Director of WFP. Following these presentations, representatives from Slovenia and Canada as well as Thailand, India, Mexico and Singapore made brief comments on the topic of the morning session.
The afternoon session addressed the issue of human security needs in the transition period from humanitarian relief to development. As the first speaker of this session, Ms. Kathleen Cravero, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP, shared her insights on the benefits and challenges for achieving human security in pursuing seamless transition from humanitarian relief to development. Mr. Toshiro Ozawa, Director General of the International Peace Cooperation Headquarters, Cabinet Office, Japan, then made a presentation on the role of UN peacekeeping in volatile post-conflict situations and Japan’s recent efforts in this field. This was followed by a presentation by Mr. Tsuneo Kurokawa, Senior Assistant to Director General, Regional Department IV (Africa), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Human Security Action Guideline for JICA, and Mr. Alan Court, Director of Programme Division, UNICEF, on concrete means to sustain the benefits of human security by meeting basic human needs such as sanitation, education and health care. The final presentation during this session was made by Ms. Mari Simonen, Deputy Executive Director, UNFPA, on the human security challenges in the fields of infectious diseases and gender. In general, participants during this session praised the human security concept and the work of the UNTFHS for linking emergency response phase with what some called the ‘durable solution phase’ and promoting collaboration between the respective players including UN agencies and the NGO community that allow for more sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by the targeted communities and peoples.
The meeting was closed by Ambassador Takasu who informed the participants of the next meeting of the Friends of Human Security (FHS) planned for 20 April 2007.
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