Is a Human Security Approach Possible? Compatibility between the Strategies of Protection and Empowerment

This article explores the delivery of strategies for human security,protection and empowerment, using as case study the UN AssistanceMission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) during 2002 and 2003. This UNoperation took place in the context of the international interventionsin Afghanistan and was a direct consequence of the US-led waron terror and the post-conflict state-building process whichensued. It was tasked to address the immediate human insecurity.The analysis of this mission highlights the pertinent issueswhich relate to the development of an effective human securityapproach and which apply to UN operations in general. It isvital, in this respect, to examine the compatibility betweenthe strategies of protection and empowerment, as human securitynow forms a central value of UN operations. This exploration,in turn, questions the distinct role of the UN in dealing withhuman insecurity in post-conflict situations.