An independent global commission dedicated to exploring ways of reducing human suffering and insecurity agreed over two days of meetings in Tokyo that the concept of human security is shifting from the national to the individual level.
"We agreed on the paradigm shift from national security to human security, which is more focused on individual security," said Amartya Sen, who jointly chaired the Commission on Human Security together with Sadako Ogata, Japan's special envoy on Afghan affairs.
Sen, an Indian economist and Nobel Prize laureate, explained to reporters that human security is about tackling the common, interdependent problems shared by people living in different parts of the world.
"So we are looking at . . . how we could increase each other's security in life. And that requires cooperative vision, a vision of solidarity," he said as the 12-member commission -- absent two members -- wrapped up its second meeting Monday.
The commissioners said they discussed in general how to define the concept of human security and the challenges and opportunities arising in efforts toward global integration and eliminating disparities in various areas.
He said the commission, which first met in June this year near New York, will get together for its third meeting next June in Sweden to discuss such issues as health, education, globalization and the clash of cultures in greater depth.