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Conference Title: “Human Security in an Era of Polarization: Solidarity for Crisis and the Future” co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Date: Monday, June 24, 2024
Organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Location: Tokyo (United Nations University Elizabeth Rose International Conference Hall / online hybrid)
Main participants: Mr. Haoliang Shu, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Vice President; Mr. Keizo Takemi, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare; Mr. Hosaka, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs; Mr. Yukio Takasu, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Human Security; Mr. Pedro Conseyson, Director, UNDP Human Development Report Office; Mr. Jean-Eric Maurice Paquet, Ambassador-at-Large, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan; Ms. Sachiko Imoto, Executive Director, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Mr. Fumiko Takao, Representative of Climate Youth Japan; and Mr. Sachiko Imoto, Director General, JICA. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to Japan, Climate Youth Japan Representative Fumiko Takao, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Director Sachiko Imoto, and others
Background Objective
In light of the recent global trend of polarization with increasingly complex and compounding crises, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly hosted an event titled “Human Security in an Era of Polarization: Solidarity toward Crisis and the Future” at which Director Sachiko Imoto was one of the panelists. Based on the UN Secretary-General’s Report on Human Security and UNDP’s Human Development Report 2023/24, which were released this year, the event discussed the importance of a human-centered approach to achieving sustainable development and solidarity surrounding it, as well as co-creation. The participants discussed the importance of a human-centered approach to sustainable development and the solidarity surrounding this approach, as well as the nature of co-creation.
Contents
During the panel discussion, Director Imoto noted that JICA has been working for 20 years to promote understanding and implement human security, and in light of the recent increasingly complex crises, has already reorganized human security for a new era and strengthened its efforts since 2019, sharing examples from the education and nutrition improvement sectors. He also shared examples in the areas of education and nutrition improvement.
In Pakistan, where the percentage of girls who are out of school is high, the project has provided literacy education for those who have difficulty in accessing formal public education, and as a result, 73,500 girls have received educational opportunities. She explained that people have supported this initiative and that it has led to a change in the consciousness of society as a whole.
In the Solomon Islands, where low nutrition and overnutrition are issues, residents and government officials focused on community needs and issues from a people-centered perspective. As a result, they found that the cause is a lack of vegetables, which is related to salt damage to farmlands, and that the change in people’s preference for processed foods is linked to inappropriate waste disposal and an increase in malaria. By addressing these issues, not only did they improve people’s health and living environment, but they also established a mechanism for co-creation that transcends the boundaries of disciplines and organizations.
In addition, he stressed that in order to realize human security, people’s capacities must be strengthened through investment in people from peacetime, and that giving voice to people’s needs and deepening dialogue and mutual understanding will lead to solidarity and co-creation among people, organizations, and societies, which will help overcome divisions and conflicts.
He also raised the importance of having a consensus on the direction we should aim for in order to realize a sustainable and solidaristic world, and the importance of listening to each person’s voice and understanding their subjectivity and aspirations, also using the latest technology and digital tools.
This event marked the 30th anniversary since the concept of human security was introduced in the UNDP “Human Development Report” in 1994. Amidst the increasing polarization of the world, the event reaffirmed the evolution of human security and the international community’s discussions surrounding it, the importance of a human-centered approach, and the promotion of solidarity and concrete actions by the international community in preparation for the UN Future Summit in September of this year.
JICA will continue to work with all actors to promote and disseminate human security practices and to further promote understanding of human security.
Director Imoto on stage
© Source JICA
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