The concept of Human Security, with its emphasis on people and prevention, has an important role to play in strengthening links at the local, national and regional levels, and creating momentum to tackle our shared challenges. I commissioned my fourth report on Human Security to foster this dynamic and contribute to a safer, more prosperous, more secure world for all.

The report focuses on the practical and operational value of human security, building on the experiences of Member States, regional and intergovernmental organizations, and the United Nations at Headquarters and in the field. It showcases examples of the Human Security approach in action: supporting national peace and development objectives; strengthening regional cooperation; improving collaboration across the United Nations system and our partners. And it illustrates how Human Security can guide strategies, partnerships and tools to reduce risks, enhance trust, and prevent and mitigate the impacts of crises and shocks.

The Sustainable Development Goals are in deep trouble. More than halfway to 2030, countries are lagging behind on more than half the targets. Some countries have gone into reverse on the most fundamental goals of eliminating acute poverty and hunger.

The lesson of the repeated shocks of recent years is that we must future-proof development efforts. We need to safeguard development gains, and prevent them from being lost during crises — whether political, economic, health, or climate-related.

The human security lens can help capture emerging risks across different sectors, creating a better understanding not only of insecurity, but of perceived insecurity — which can be just as dangerous. It promotes the systematic integration of prevention into development, climate action, and peacebuilding strategies. This means prioritizing investments in early warning, social protection, and other measures to maximize social cohesion and protect the security of every individual. These ideas are closely linked with our call for a renewed social contract, anchored in human rights and based on trust, justice and inclusion.

Human security can also enrich our analysis of the major challenges of our time, including climate change and biodiversity loss, digital transformation, and the spread of conflict and displacement. From Lebanon to Southeast Asia, human security projects have brought together stakeholders to address interlinked issues including food security, employment and social protection, and pandemic recovery.

Human security approaches can highlight blind spots and gaps in our understanding of today’s interconnected crises. They can provide a universal benchmark to assess the effectiveness of development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding efforts. And they can integrate the analysis of immediate risks with longer-term perspectives, prioritizing resilience and capacity-building to deal with future shocks.

Human security has proven its value as a framework to focus on supporting people to live in dignity, free from want and fear. It can help accelerate progress towards Agenda 2030, prevent the emergence of future crises, and deliver the hope people need.

I urge all countries to use the important tool of human security to address today’s multilayered crises — and to integrate its insight into our efforts to prepare for future challenges. 

Excerpts of Secretary-General’s remarks to the informal plenary meeting of the General Assembly on Human Security on 2 April 2024.