Human security - Afghanistan

Security with a Human Face: Challenges and Responsibilities, Afghanistan National Human Development Report 2004, UNDP

"Centring a discussion about security on all the people of Afghanistan entails the idea that human security is a public good to which everyone is equally entitled. It is not the privilege of those defending their interests through war. This approach leads to two messages for state-building in Afghanistan:

"1) First, a positive message of new responsibilities for the new Afghan democracy: Human security as a public good entails state responsibility, as well as a corresponding duty of engagement by the people."

"2) Second, a warning to prevent a new cycle of further instability and renewed conflict: The existence of “horizontal inequalities”, defined in this report as differentiated access to socio-economic opportunities, resources and powersharing among various groups, could create a reality of multiple experiences within Afghanistan. Horizontal inequalities could renew deep-rooted conflicts when they combine identity with inequality in a historically or
emotionally charged situation. Power inequalities and asymmetries in Afghanistan today include sources of long-term as well as short-term grievances, ranging from economic inequality to imbalances stemming from gender, geography, religion, ethnicity, etc."

Human Security: Concepts and Implications with an Application to Post-Intervention Challenges in Afghanistan, Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh, Les Etudes du CERI, No. 117-118 September 2005.