Human Security: a Need and a Challenge

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the fact that everyone should contribute to the security aspects, that includes individuals, the society and the state. Each one of us want to live without fear from everyday risks and threats which happen in our surrounding. Nevertheless, each one of us should give our contribution to make this happen, with the purpose of protecting our lives in the same scale as we expect from the society and the state to provide that security. The purpose of this link or relationship of interest between the individual and the society is to reciprocally increase the societal and individual security. Thus, people should protect their lives as strongly as they expect from the society/state to do so. From the context of security provided by the society/state, we want to emphasize that the protection of our community from crime is one of the protection functions of the criminal law, while on the other hand the legal security is an element of rule of law. Criminal law is tasked with safeguarding citizens, by protecting human life, bodily integrity, rights and freedoms, honor, authority, equality and safety and security of the citizens. Security at its broader political and legal meaning includes defence measures and activities for protecting from the endangering of the independence and integrity of the country (nation) and the internal constitutional and legal order. Security as a constitutional value and need should defend the public order, the state and its citizens as well as enable unimpeded functioning of the institutions in all of its segments. On the contrary, the lack of trust of citizens in the judiciary impacts every individual member of the society in the form of legal insecurity which leads to self-judgment with all its destructive elements of this phenomenon. The modern concepts of security everyday and more are based on the obligation of states but also of its citizens, to establish the feeling of collective security based on the principle that “whoever lives and acts in a respective country has the right to feel free.” Democratic countries while preparing their policies in the security field, as a very essential and sensitive issue in all aspects of life and of special importance worldwide, try to increase the feeling of social, economical and political security of the nation and its institution towards threats and risks, and they do so by among others by preparing documents, strategies and other above mentioned policies.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n19p515