Rome Commons Ballroom, Storrs, CT, USA
Human Rights and Human Security
October 25, 2005
09:00 AM
OVERVIEW:
It is becoming increasingly clear that the traditional realpolitik approach to international relations that views security in purely military terms is insufficient to achieve viable security. Viable security can be attained only when respect for human rights, eradication of poverty and deadly diseases, protection of the environment and promotion of sustainable development are simultaneously achieved.
The intimate inter-connection between human rights and human security is emphasized in both the UN Millennium Development Declaration adopted in 2000 by world leaders and the UN Secretary-General’s proposal for reform of the United Nations, In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights (2005). The UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, captures the symbiotic relationship between human rights and human security poignantly when in his proposal he states: “Accordingly, we will not enjoy development without security, we will not enjoy security without development, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human
rights. Unless all these causes are advanced, none will succeed.”
The triple principal objectives of the 6th Annual UNESCO Chair in Comparative Human Rights Conference are, (1) to examine the concept of human security, as complementary to the traditional notion of security advanced by proponents of realpolitik; (2) to raise awareness about the various issues that are integral to human security; and, (3) to contribute to a balanced understanding and appreciation of a more integrated human security within the framework of human rights. To achieve these objectives, speakers will direct a searchlight on the issues identified and emphasized by the Millennium Development Declaration and by the UN Secretary-General, as constituting human security. Speakers will identify, describe, and provide diagnosis and possible practical solutions within ethical frameworks, to the problems and issues that either hinder or foster human rights and human security in their field or region of competence. Topics will include food and water (in) security, poverty, diseases, illiteracy, civil violence, organized crime, terrorism, repression, the rule of law, governance, cultures, environment, xenophobia, racial and gender chauvinism, and sustainable development.
Speakers:
Professor Amii Omara-Otunnu, UNESCO Chair in Comparative Human rights President Philip T. Austin, University of Connecticut Dr. Vandana Shiva, Physicist, Ecologist, Human Rights Activist, and Author, India Mr. Salvatore Scalora Dr. Yeraswork Admassie, Professor of Sociology, Ethiopia Dr. Yakın Ertürk, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Turkey Dr. Govind Kelkar, UN Fund for Women, Asia Dr. Shyamala Raman, Professor of Economics and International Studies, Saint Joseph College Create Africa South Project Director Andries Botha and Artist Khoboso Nthunya Dr. Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven, Henry R. Luce Professor of Health and Human Rights, Trinity College Dr. Roberto Brant, Head of the Civil Society and Human Rights Unit of the National STD/Aids Program, Brazil Dr. Roland Msiska, Director of the UNDP Regional Project on AIDS, South Africa Dr. Rafael Perez-Escamilla, Professor of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut Dr. Gothom Arya, Research Center for Peace Building, Thailand Dr. C. C. Mokadi, Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Johannesburg, South Africa Dr. Naeem Mushtaq, Islamabad Club, Pakistan Ms. Afi Yakubu, Foundation for Security Development in Africa, Ghana Dr. Bandana Purkayastha, Professor of Sociology, University of Connecticut Dr. Ibrahim Wani, Regional Representative, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia