Human Security Award Ceremony

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues and friends.
Good afternoon.
Bonjour, Buens Tres, Konchua.
My name is Maher Nasser, and I'm the Director of the outage Division in the UN Department of Global Communications and particularly honored to moderate today's inaugural Human Security Awards.
Competing with the World Cup schedule is not easy these weeks, particularly when two of our co chairs have teams competing in the World Cup.
But luckily for Japan, not today, Senegal later tonight.
Good luck.
Today, however, we're not here to compete with the World Cup fever or to debate which teams are likely to win, but to recognize the different kinds of championship, programs and partnerships that are helping communities confront complex challenges, strengthen resilience, and improve people's lives.
Thank you all for being with us in person or joining us online.
Welcome, Yokoso as you say in Japan.
Today's event is organized by the co chairs of the group of Friends of Human Security, Costa Rica, Japan, and Senegal with the support of the United Nations Human Security Unit.
I would like to thank the co chairs for their leadership and for continued commitment to advancing the human security agenda.
Today, we celebrate outstanding initiatives from different regions of the world.
While each program reflects a unique context, they all share a common commitment to improving people's lives, dignity, and well being.
Please help spread the conversation by posting about today's event on social media and use the hashtag Human Security Award one Word and hashtag UNTFHS United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security.
It is now my pleasure to invite His Excellency Kazuyuki Yamazaki, permanent representative of Japan to the United Nations and co chair of the group of Friends of Human Security.
To deliver some remarks, Japan's longstanding engagement with human security reflects the country's commitment to placing people at the center of peace, development, and resilience efforts, a commitment that I was privileged to witness in person during the seven months I spent living in Japan last year in Osaka.
Yamazaki, you have the floor.
Thank you, Mr.
Nasal.
Excellencies, dear colleagues.
As one of the co chairs of the Group of Friends of Human Security, together with Costa Rica and Senegal, I am delighted to hold today's ceremony.
At the outset, I'd like to thank all the guests for their participation, including UNICEF Executive Director, Madam Brazo and I think that the UNDP Administrator, Mr.
Duco, will be joining us online and as well as the representatives of the programs to be awarded today.
We the co chairs of the group of friends strongly believe in the relevance of human security and its potential to contribute to the achievement of three pillars of the UN, namely peace and security, human rights, and development.
Convinced of the value of the concept, we established the Human Security Awards to further raise its profile.
The awards seek to demonstrate how human security can deliver tangible improvements in the survival, livelihoods, and dignity of people, and to inspire future efforts both within and beyond the UN system.
While the final awardees for this inaugural year will be announced later, I can say that they are diverse in geography, context, and thematic focus.
They address challenges ranging from environmental degradation, climate change, and displacement to violence, fragile livelihoods, weak governance, health risks, and social exclusion.
Across this diversity, what these selected programs have been common is that they embody the essence of human security, protecting and empowering individuals, fostering local ownership, strengthening resilience, contributing to humanitarian development piece nexus, and advancing human centered solutions to today's complex challenges.
I hope that today's event will help to further promote human security and lead to the improvement of living conditions of the people around the world.
Thank you.
Thank you, Your Excellency for these thoughtful remarks and for Japan's continued engagement with and support for the human security agenda.
Within the UN family, UNDP leads on human security and operationalizes efforts to build resilience and promote risk informed development in countries and communities across the world.
It is now my pleasure to welcome UNDP administrator, Mr.
Alexander DeCr, who will join us virtually to deliver his remarks.
Mr.
DeCrx, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.
Her Ecellency miss Epa Erie, permanent representative of Japan, who we just listened to, our very valued counterpart here in New York, Mr.
Kazuyuki Yamazaki.
Dear Katherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, dear colleagues, Excellencies.
Let me begin by thanking the group of friends of Human Security for convening this important event.
Though I cannot be with you in person here today, it's a privilege to join you to celebrate the Human Security Awards of 2026.
We meet at a time when insecurity is a defining experience for hundreds of millions of people.
Conflicts are more violent and last longer.
Shocks are compounding.
Economic uncertainty is spreading, different crises, but one shared reality.
People feel less secure about tomorrow than they did yesterday.
That is exactly why the idea of human security is so powerful.
More than 30 years ago, UNDP helped introduce this simple but transformative proposition in the 1994 Human Development Report.
Security is not only about the safety of states.
It must be measured by the security of people, their freedom to live without fear, their freedom to live without want, their freedom to live in dignity.
Since then, human security has evolved from an idea into a framework for action.
In that journey, this group of friends has been indispensable.
Together, member states and the United Nations entities have kept human security at the center of international cooperation.
You have kept the idea alive and relevant as we confront new global challenges from rapid technological change to planetary pressure.
And Japan's leadership has been pivotal guiding this agenda in policy and leading the creation of the UN Trust Fund for human security.
UNDP is proud to have been part of that journey, delivering more than 100 human security programs around the world.
And the results, they are tangible.
For instance, in Ukraine, together with Japan and a broad coalition of partners, we are restoring essential services, strengthening institutions and expanding access to justice and economic opportunity for millions of people, even amidst the devastation of war.
Recovery is not simply about rebuilding infrastructure.
It is about rebuilding confidence, resilience, and hope.
Across Central Asia, from the Kyries Mountains to the shores of the RLC, Japan and UNDP are helping people adapt to climate change, strengthening water security, promoting climate resilient agriculture and creating new anues.
In in West Africa and the Sahel, we are working together to prevent violent extremism, strengthen local institutions, and create jobs, helping to address the drivers of conflict before it takes hold.
This is human security and practice.
When people trust institutions, when they have access to economic opportunity, and when they feel included in society, crises are less likely to become conflicts and recovery becomes not only possible but also real.
This much is clear.
Investment in development is investment in security.
Excellencies, colleagues and friends.
That is why today's ceremony matters.
The Human Security Awards recognize people and partnerships that prove every day that practical solutions exist, that investing in human security strengthens societies, that resilience can be built, that cooperation delivers.
My sincere congratulations to all of this year recipients of this prestigious award.
Your work reminds us that every community made more resilient, every institution made more trusted, and every opportunity created for the next generation expounds the security we all share.
That is the promise of human security.
It is a promise worth renewing together.
Thank you.
Thank you, Administrator DeCrex, for your thoughtful remarks.
The next speaker heads an organization that works every day to support some of the most vulnerable members of our global community, children.
UNICEF's work reflects a fundamental principle of human security.
That lasting progress requires protecting and empowering children while addressing the interconnected risks that shape their lives.
It is now my pleasure and honor to invite the Executive Director of UNICEF, miss Catherine Russell, to deliver her remarks.
Miss Russell, the floor is yours.
Great.
Thank you very much.
Vice Minister, it's very nice to see you.
Excellencies, my dear friend, Administrative DeCre, it's always nice to see you.
You're looming over the meeting, just so you know.
Distinguished delegates, colleagues, partners.
It's a great honor to join you all here today.
My sincere thanks to the government of Japan and to the group of Friends of Human Security for your leadership and for bringing us together around such an important and timely agenda.
We're living through a period of extraordinary complexity.
Conflict, climate change, economic instability, disease outbreaks, displacement, and inequality are reshaping lives all around the world.
These challenges do not happen in isolation.
They overlap, they reinforce one another, and they fall hardest on those already facing the greatest risks.
Too often, that means children.
A child displaced by conflict may also be out of school.
A child affected by climate shocks may also lack clean water, nutrition, healthcare, and protection.
A child living in poverty may face not one obstacle, but many and all at the same time.
For children, these challenges are not separate crises.
They're part of daily life, and that is why the human security approach is so important.
It asks us to see people's lives as they are actually lived, not in sectors, not in silos, but in all of their complexity.
At its core, human security is about protecting people's survival, livelihoods, and dignity.
It's about addressing immediate needs while tackling the deeper causes of vulnerability.
It's about ensuring that people are not only protected but empowered to shape their own futures.
For UNICEF, this is not an abstract concept.
It's central to who we are and how we work.
Every day UNICEF works with governments and partners to support children across the full range of their needs, nutrition, health, education, child protection, water and sanitation, and social protection.
We do this because children's lives cannot be divided neatly into sectors.
A child who is malnourished may struggle to learn, a child without clean water is more likely to fall sick, a child who is not protected is less able to grow, learn, and thrive and a child who is excluded from basic services today may carry the consequences of that for a lifetime.
That's why integrated people centered programming really matters.
It helps us reach children who are hardest to reach.
It helps families and communities withstand multiple shocks, and it helps address the root causes of vulnerability, including poverty, exclusion, and discrimination.
This is human security in practice, connecting interventions, putting people at the center, and turning shared principles into concrete results.
These ideas are also at the heart of UNICEF longstanding partnership with the government of Japan.
For decades, Japan has been a global leader in advancing human security and human dignity.
Through our partnership, over the last ten years, we have reached more than 720 million children and families with support in over 100 countries.
This is a remarkable achievement.
Behind that number are individual stories, children vaccinated against disease, girls able to continue their education, families accessing safe water and communities better equipped to withstand crises and build more secure futures.
That is a real impact of human security.
Today's awards help shine a light on exactly that kind of work.
It recognizes practical solutions.
It celebrates partnerships that break down silos, and it honors the people and organizations that are demonstrating what human security looks like in action.
Because if there is one lesson from the challenges we face today, it is that no single actor can solve them alone.
Progress requires collaboration across governments and across the United Nations and with civil society, communities, the private sector, and with children and young people themselves.
The award recipients we honor today embody that spirit.
Me offer my heartfelt congratulations to each of you.
Your work reflects leadership, innovation, and a deep commitment to improving people's lives.
You have listened to communities, you have worked across sectors, you have designed solutions that respond to the real complexity of people's lives.
Your achievements are inspiring and they offer important lessons for all of us.
Excellencies, as we look ahead, our responsibility is clear.
We must continue to break down silos.
We must invest in prevention, resilience, and integrated approaches.
We must address the root causes of vulnerability, not only its symptoms.
Above all, we must keep children, especially the most vulnerable children at the center of our efforts because every child deserves the opportunity to survive, to learn, to grow, to thrive, and to live with dignity.
That is the promise of human security and together it's a promise all of us can help deliver.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, miss Russell, for your thoughtful reflections and remarks.
As this audience knows, Japan has been a longstanding champion of human security and has played a key role in advancing this approach within the United Nations and beyond.
I now have the honor to invite Her Exjcy miss Arfa Erie, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, to deliver her remarks.
Your Excellency, the floor is yours.
Thank you.
His Excellency, Mr.
DC, UNDP Administrator.
Her Ecellcys Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, Mr.
Sancho, Charge of Affairs and ad interim, permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the UN.
Mr.
Laden, first counselor, permanent Mission of Senegal to the UN, Excellency's, distinguished guests.
It is an honor to participate in this inaugural Human Security Awards ceremony.
In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on human Security.
Human Security's focus on individuals is also reflected in the SDGs as the principle of Leave No one behind.
I worked at the UN myself for about six years 2016-2022, and way before that, I was also an intern at the Japanese mission in charge of human security.
I'm not going to share when because then you'd know how old I am.
But I've been reflecting on those days with this event as well.
The international community has faced various global challenges, including conflicts, poverty, climate change, disasters, and the spread of infectious diseases such as the COVID 19 pandemic.
Against this backdrop, it is encouraging to see the group of Friends of Human Security actively carrying out its activities within the United Nations, the cornerstone of today's multilateral system and widely communicating the significance and validity of human security to the world.
I am delighted that the Human Security Awards have been established under the leadership of the co chairs of the group of friends.
I wholeheartedly welcome today's recognition of initiatives that have made outstanding contributions to promoting this concept.
I look forward to the announcement of the recipients of these prestigious awards later today.
I hope that through this initiative, people's understanding of the concept of human security will further deepen and that the expansion of its effective implementation will contribute to safeguarding the dignity of people around the world.
Distinguished guests, Japan has worked to co create solutions to the world's challenges by collaborating not only with national governments and international organizations, but also with civil society and the business community.
It has steadfastly upheld universal values alongside the international community, an approach that I refer to as quiet leadership.
Japan intends to continue to advance its diplomacy and international cooperation with human security at its cornerstone.
I'd like to conclude my remarks by expressing my appreciation and respect for the countries participating in the Group of Friends of Human Security, the UN agencies, including those implementing the projects recognized through these awards, and the UN Human Security Unit for their ongoing efforts.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Excellency, for your remarks.
As both will now need to leave the event, I take the opportunity to sincerely thank the Executive Director of UNICEF, the administrator of UNDP for joining us today and for contributing to setting the stage so effectively.
We now move from inspiration to recognition.
Let us celebrate the first ever Human Security Awards and remarkable individuals, communities, and partnerships behind them.
Let us honor these human security champions and now invite the co chairs to join me by the screen at the far side of the room to proceed with the awards ceremony.
We now begin the Human Security Awards ceremony, the central moment of today's event.
Today, we recognize six outstanding initiatives that have translated the human security approach into tangible results for people and communities around the world.
The co chairs will now announce each awarded program.
Once your program is announced, representatives are kindly requested to come forward to that side of the room.
It's now my pleasure to give the floor to His Ecellcy Mr.
Roberto Avendano Sancho, charge of Affairs at Interim Permit Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations, co chair of the group of Friends to announce the awardees.
Your Excellency, you have the floor.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Excellencies, distinguished guests, dear colleagues, dear friends.
Today, we celebrate an important milestone for the human security approach and for the United Nations commitment to placing people at the center of its work.
It is therefore a privilege for Costa Rica as co chair of the Group of Friends of Human Security to introduce the Inaugural Human Security Award.
Together, with the Human Security Unit of the Secretariat established this award to recognize the United Nations programs that translate the principles of human security into concrete actions and inspire innovative solutions across the UN system and beyond.
In this inaugural year, the award was open to all UN agencies from of March 12th of April and drew more than 30 nominations.
The programs we honor today respond to the diverse challenges across different regions and context, yet they are united by a common vision.
That lasting peace, sustainable development, and human dignity can only be achieved when we address people's vulnerabilities in a comprehensive and integrated manner.
They tackle multidimensional securities in an integrated way across sectors and beyond narrow mandate.
They promote prevention rather than reaction.
They strengthen resilience rather than dependence.
Most importantly, they place communities at the center, not merely as beneficiaries of assistance, but as a partners and agents of change.
At a time when the world faces increasingly complex and interconnected challenges, these programs demonstrate that human security is not simply a concept.
It's a practical and effective approach that delivers tangible results for those who need them most.
We warmly congratulate all the awardees.
Now, together with my co chairs from Japan and Senegal, it's our honor to present the 2026 Human Security Awards.
Can you hold it for me? The first award goes to capacities for Peace, security, and violence reduction in Ecuador, implemented by UNDP, UNODC, and UN Women.
Please come here.
I In communities affected by violence and organized crime, young people and women are often seen as only as victims or even as risk.
This program is recognized for changing that story.
It is strengthen institutions while empowering youth and women as agents of peace and prevention.
By moving beyond law enforcement alone, it shows how human security can address the root causes of violence through participation, trust, and opportunities.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
OHO and UNV.
In Ghana's Okmans area, environmental degradation was not only about forests, it affected livelihoods, health, nutrition, education, and local governance.
This program is recognized for bringing these challenges together through one integrated community based model, restoring forests, creating livelihoods, improving health and nutrition, and strengthening local institutions.
It shows how human security can address root causes, not symptoms while putting communities at the center.
Miss that work.
Congratulations.
Good evening, everybody.
The next award goes to anticipatory flood response in Eastern Nepal, implemented by FAO and UNFPA.
Okay.
In the flood prone coucher river basin, waiting until floods arrive can mean losing crops, food stocks, income, health services, and protection.
This program is recognized for acting before disaster impacts intensify.
By linking early warning and flood preparedness with protection of agricultural assets, flood security, reproductive health services, and GBV prevention, it shows how anticipatory human security based action can protect lives, livelihoods, and dignity.
Congratulations.
The next award goes to the Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security Program, implemented by IOM, together with ESCAP IL and OHCHR.
For pacific communities, climate change is not only an environmental threat.
It shapes where people can stay, move, relocate, or migrate with safety and dignity.
This program is recognized for helping the region prepare for these choices before displacement becomes a crisis.
Through a Pacific led and human security based approach, it connects climate mobility, livelihoods, labor, human rights, and cultural identity while strengthening the agency of affected communities.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Picture.
There you go.
The next award goes to enhancing human security in priority municipalities in Senegal border regions with with the security climate change and migration nexus implemented by UNDP, IOM, and UNHCR.
In Senegal's border municipalities, climate shocks, insecurity, migration pressures, and fragile livelihoods overlap in people's daily lives.
This program is recognized for turning those lived realities into local action.
By combining community data, participatory planning, and local human security committees.
It demonstrated how the human security approach can help municipalities better understand interconnected risks, plan ahead and respond with the communities, not just for them.
Last but not least, the final award was to implementing area based return support as a catalytic process for resilient recovery, human security, and durable solutions in Syria, implemented by UNDP and UNHCR.
I Aleppo Syria, data is not simply about going back home.
It requires legal identity, housing and property rights, basic services, jobs, and trust within the community.
This program is recognized for addressing these conditions together by combining legal assistance, infrastructure rehabilitation, livelihoods, participatory recovery, planning, and social cohesion.
It demonstrated how an integrated area based human security approach can support dignity, resilience, and durable reintegration in the context of the crisis and recovery.
Congratulations to all Human Security Awards recipients who are now recognized as Human Security champions.
I now invite the awardees, the co chairs, the parliamentary Vice Minister, Erie to come to this side for a group photo by the banners.
Thank you.
Thank you all and congratulations once again to all the award recipients.
Now we begin round table discussion part of the program.
Believe it or not, even though we started late, we are back on track.
I'd like to thank the parliamentary Vice Minister for being with us.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You will all have received a copy, a summary of each of the Human Security awarded programs.
Please use that information when you post about today's event and don't forget to use the hashtags that I mentioned earlier, Human Security Award and UNTFHS.
I would like now to invite each program representative to briefly present their initiative and highlight its main contribution.
And if you can keep your remarks within 3 minutes, we will start as we did with the awards, alphabetically, we'll start with Ecuador, Thank you.
Good afternoon, Excellencies, honorable members of the table, distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you very much.
It is a great honor to be here today.
I would first like to express our sincere gratitude to the UN Trust Fund for Human Security and the group of Friends of Human Security for this recognition, which reaffirms the importance of people centered and preventive approaches to address today's complex challenges.
I would also like to thank the Secretary-General Peace Building Fund, whose vision and financial support made our program possible.
I am proud to accept the award on behalf of the three UN implementing agencies, UNODC, UN Women, and my own agency, UNDP, which serve as program lead.
Our collaboration for this initiative demonstrated the value of working across the UN system, leveraging our respective expertise to provide a more effective and integrated cooperation.
Our program, capacities for Peace Security and Violence Reduction in Ecuador, was born at the moment of crisis.
Ecuador, a country that was once among the safest country in Latin America, is now one of the most affected by violence.
Due to the intensification of organized crime activities, the national homicide rate increased almost eight fold in the last five years.
For young people in Guaquel, Ecuador's most populous city and main port, homicide rate reaches 30 times the global average.
The prevailing response was often reactive and focused on law enforcement.
Faced with this reality, the program was built around two simple convictions.
The first, violence cannot be addressed by focusing only on its symptoms.
Thus, we had to address its root causes and respond to the specific needs of the most vulnerable groups, youth, women, and marginalized communities in the homes affected by criminal violence, such as in the case of Waakil.
Second, prevention is a sound investment in resilience.
Our program adopted a participatory and holistic approach and promoted a collaborative framework with a wide range of actors and partners.
We combined top down institutional strengthening with bottom up community empowerment, We work with the ministries and local governments to create local security plans and a national strategy to prevent youth recruitment by criminal groups.
At the same time, we partner with women organizations for the creation of a network of women peace builders and supported youth organizations to develop an agenda for peace to promote resilience in their neighborhoods.
We achieve catalytic results.
The most important is a shift in mindset.
The program helped to position prevention as a credible and necessary alternative to reactive and security driven approaches.
Many of the methodologies, approaches, and policies developed through the program have been adopted by national and particularly by local institutions and social actors.
The program also help mobilize additional resources and complementary interventions from other international cooperation partners.
Let me conclude by saying that this award doesn't belong to any one institution.
It belongs to the women who organized in spite of violence, the young people who chose art over fear, and the public servants who took a chance on prevention.
We are honored to have worked alongside them.
Thank you very much and congratulations to our fellow RDs.
Thank you and congratulations again to you and to all the people you mentioned who deserve this award.
I now invite the representative of the awarded project and program in Ghana.
Okay.
Thank you very much for this honor.
And on behalf of the program, Foster Reorestation, Environmental Sustainability and Tourism, in the Ochiman area, I would like to say we are truly honored to be receiving this honor today.
First of all, I would like to thank the partners, UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, UNEP, and UNV for their support in moving this forward.
The program that we implemented Foster Reforestation, Environmental Sustainability and Tourism in the Osima traditional area.
Was really one that was focused on addressing multifaceted challenge, the challenge that is linked with environmental degradation and deforestation.
But then that is also then leading to situations where you have impacts on food systems, which is also impacting on nutrition and health and therefore also affecting educational systems within the area.
What the program then sought to do was to see how do you address this multifaceted challenge by making sure that you have an interconnected approach.
That was where the human security approach became quite critical in this implementation.
What we found was that while we are trying to address the root causes, which was environmental degradation, To then also set up systems that are able to empower the communities.
The communities who are at the very root of this implementation, powered by the traditional authorities within the Ochman traditional area, partnerships with the Ouchiman Environmental Foundation, which are a foundation that was set up by the traditional authorities within this particular project area to be able to help drive and also own the processes of making sure that we are able to address these challenges that were affecting this particular community.
We were able to do that by making sure that there's clear ownership through environmental setting up environmental governance systems.
And also ensuring that while we're addressing the root causes, we are also able to then put in place the immediate systems that helps you to be able to then address also not just the root causes, but also the symptoms.
In this case, we are looking at access to access to services in terms of health, in terms of also things to do with education.
What we then tend to do is then to be able to set up the kinds of systems within schools, within health systems that allows the communities and also government institutions to then realize that while we try to address root causes, there are also intermediate actions that can then be taken by them.
What we have found in implementing the human security approach was that we are then able to use this approach to address things in a more holistic manner that allows us to be able to then look at not just intense or very critical partnerships, but also looking at how we can scale these outcomes that we have found in the project.
We are able to then use this particular approach, for example, to be able to do a particular scoping where we are able to then identify how do we take this to the next step? By doing a scoping that allows you to be able to see eco tourism, for example, to be a key driver for livelihoods and jobs.
And we know that partnerships with the communities through the Ocean Environmental Foundation will then be able to take these actions forward.
And through this approach, we know that this can be something that help sustainable to the future.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Congratulations again.
And our next presenter is from Nepal, please.
The program in Nepal.
Thank you so much, Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a deep honor for me to stand before you today on behalf of Afo Nepal and all partners and the communities.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security and the group of friends of the Human Securities for these recognitions and for the continued leadership in advancing people centric solutions.
This recognition is not just about the program, it is about the fundamental shift.
And in how we understand and how we deliver security.
In Nepal, when we call about security, it is not about only the absence of conflict.
It defined by something far more immediate, where a family can protect their livelihoods, where the reverse rides.
Because of the smallholder farmers in the flood prone areas, a flood is not just a natural hazard, It is loss of crops, loss of income, and the loss of uncertainty about future, about tomorrow.
For decades, our response follow a familiar patterns.
We wait the disaster strikes, and then we respond.
But we choose to ask a different question.
What if we act before the crisis unfolds? Through our program, anticipatory flawed response in the Eastern Nepal, we drawn that questions into the actions.
Using the early warning system and the pre agreed triggers, we provided support before peak flooding.
Through this approach, we were able to raise thousands of the vulnerable households with a timely support before floods occur.
Farmers protected their serious household safeguards for the food stocks.
Women and the gulls continued to access essential services.
And something fundamental changed.
Weeks didn't disappear, but it become manageable.
But the most important lesion is that timing alone is not enough.
Because the s the reeks people face are not in isolation, flirts do not affect just agriculture.
They affects food security, health, livelihoods, protections, and ultimately dignity.
And that means our response cannot be fragmented.
It must be integrated.
What makes this approach especially powerful in Nepal is its ability to connect early warning direct to the early actions and the community labels.
Through the close partnership between the government, UN agencies, and communities, we brought together agriculture, health, and the protection into the one coordinated response, not as a separate interventions, but as one of the system focused on people.
This is what human security looks like in practice.
Excellencies, we often say that today's challenges are interconnected, but unless we act differently, the understanding remains theoretical.
The ation from the Nepal is clear.
When the wreaks are interconnected, solutions must be integrated.
When the wreaks are predictable, actions must be anticipatory.
Because acting early is not only more effective, it is also the more human and it is more dignified.
Let me conclude with a simple reflection.
Human security is not defined in the global framework alone.
It is defined at the household level.
It is a farmer who protects seed before the flood, a mother who continued to access the care in a crisis, a community that faces uncertainty, not with fear, but with preparedness.
Human segrity begins with people.
But when we get it right, it strengthens resilience, it protects the development, and it saves the stability of the nation.
This is not only Nepal's experience.
It is a shared opportunity, an opportunity to rethink how we respond to the wreaks before it becomes crisis.
Nepal is honored to contribute to this vision and we look forward to advancing it together.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And now we hear from the Pacific Island Program.
Representative.
Excellency', distinguished guests, partners and colleagues, all protocols observed.
It is a great honor to accept this inaugural 2026 Human Security Award on behalf of the Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security Program, led by the International Organization for Migration, IOM, In partnership with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for AsIia and the Pacific, UNSCO, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, International Labor Organization, ILO, platform on Disaster Displacement, PDD, and the Pacific Island Forigum Secretariat.
I extend our sincere gratitude to our donors, the UN Trust Fund on Human Security and the government of New Zealand.
Our partners, member states, and communities that we serve across 15 Pacific Island countries.
Climate change is already reshaping the geography, economies, and human mobility of Pacific Island countries and is impacting the everyday lives of Pacific peoples.
In 2024 alone, more than 50,000 Pacific people were displaced due to climate related hazards.
In several Pacific Island countries, climate change has also prompted the temporary or permanent relocation of communities to other locations.
Our program works with governments in the region, regional organizations, civil society organizations, human rights institutes, workers and worker unions and communities across the Pacific to strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity of Pacific Islanders in the context of climate change and disasters, ensuring that migration and relocation remain a choice and displacement is averted, minimized, and addressed.
This includes enabling people to stay safely in place, to support migration, managing displacement, to planning relocation as a last resort and protection of stranded migrants.
It worked at three interconnected levels.
The program supported the development of the region's and Global's first regional framework on climate mobility and its implementation plan.
That is human security centered, human rights focused, and culturally grounded.
This award is not only a recognition of the progress, but a reminder of what remains to be done.
As climate impacts intensify, the need for proactive human security approaches to mobility has never been greater.
We remain committed to working alongside Pacific nations, and I'm pleased to recognize the presence of some of the representatives from Pacific Islands in the room as well to ensure that mobility becomes a pathway to resilience and not a source of vulnerability.
I thank you.
Thank you.
And now the representative of the Senegal program, please.
Thank you.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
I would like to start by thanking the group of friends for Human Security for this award, which also recognizes the amazing efforts that our partners, local governments, but also communities are making in the field.
I would also like to recognize the presence of our Deputy Regional Director for Africa.
This is our Saturday.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's really a profound honor for us to receive these Human Security awards on behalf of a joint initiative that was implemented by UNDP, UNHCR, and IOM.
In close partnership with local authorities and communities.
This initiative was developed in two border municipalities of Senegal, and it set out to address a set of deeply interconnected challenges, economic vulnerability, climate change, migration pressures, and local security risks.
Our response was guided by a clear conviction that human security must be approached in a comprehensive and people centered way.
One that addresses not only immediate needs, but also the structural drivers of vulnerability.
In practice, this translated into tangible and transformative actions.
With UNHCR, we strengthened livelihoods and promoted inclusion.
Women's groups were supported in producing mosquito repellent gel and processing local products.
Persons living with disabilities received training in soap making and essential equipment, raw materials, and transportation means were provided to enable sustainable income generating activities.
With UNDP, reinforced local governance and public services.
Local leaders were trained in the human security approach, which was quite new to them.
Municipalities were supported in integrating this framework into the development plans and key investments such as solar powered infrastructures help reduce production costs and improve resilience of women's groups.
With IOM, we introduced an innovative evidence based approach through the solutions and mobility Index, which enabled a comprehensive analysis of vulnerabilities across more than 480 households and strengthening data driven local decision making.
Yet beyond these activities that I mentioned, it is the impact that truly defines this program.
Over 1,200 people benefited directly, most of them were women.
This reinforced their central role in strengthening local economies and social cohesion.
More than 165 individuals gained access to universal health coverage.
Solar investments are now allowing women's groups to save approximately up to $700 a year.
It is quite a lot for the communities that we are talking about.
Importantly, multi stakeholder human security committees have been established, providing sustainable platforms for dialogue, conflict prevention, and collective action.
One of the program's most significant achievements lies in the integration of the seven dimensions of human security, economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political into local development planning, ensuring a truly holistic and sustainable approach.
This award, therefore, recognizes more than a successful project.
It recognizes the value of integrated action, the power of partnership, and the importance of placing people at the very heart of development and peace building efforts.
Above all, it recognizes the commitment and resilience of the communities themselves whose leadership and engagement made these results possible.
As we celebrate this achievement, we also reaffirm our commitment to build on these gains, to scale up this approach, and to continue working towards more inclusive, resilient, and secure societies.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Now we hear from the representative of the awarded program in Syria.
Thank you very much, Excellency, and my apologies for running late.
I was given a different time and I was in fact at another panel discussion on mental health, and I think my own mental health suffered being late and rushing to this event.
But thanks so much for the award, and I'm sorry I wasn't here.
When we talk about human security, particularly at UNHCR, and of course, this is very much a UNDP UNHCR partnership.
But at UNHCR, when we talk about human security, we think of misses Ogata and she was certainly when I joined as a young man, UNHCR, she was our high commissioner and she used to say, there is no peace and security without human security.
It was with her advocacy of this concept that I think the Security Council also uh, made forced displacement a regular feature at the Security Council itself.
And I think we owe a debt of gratitude towards her.
Now, I think in the Syria context, when we talk about area based return support, the reason for this wonderful award, what it means, I think, for the Syrian people uh, who have been returning.
We have over 1.5 million persons who have returned since the 8th of December 2024, since the transition.
Human security means stability.
It means the sustainability of return.
Whether that is as returning refugees from host countries in the region or returning internally displaced persons to their homes.
What is required, of course, is safety, and I think we're seeing much more elements of safety now since the transition has taken place, but more has to be done.
We have people who need or aspiring towards ensuring that they have legal identity that might have been lost over years of conflict, and that means documentation, and we are working towards the restoration of documentation.
It means access to basic services, whether it's education, whether it is health, whether it is access to livelihood opportunities which help returnees put food on the table.
None of this, of course, can be acquired without engaging in partnerships.
First, of course, working UNHCR and UNDP together, working with government, working with local authorities, but also working very much in partnership with communities, Excellency.
Um, and these are partnerships that importantly span not just the humanitarian but the development realm, and dare I say, also the peace realm.
And so there is that wonderful intersection there.
This award is particularly gratifying for me personally because I was UNHCR representative in Syria from January 2021 to January 2024.
Um, setting really the basic tenets of the concept together with my UNDP counterparts.
And now we are really seeing an acceleration of return, as I mentioned, since 8th of December 2024, with so many people coming back and with now the areas of return that have been identified reaching as many as 13 across the country.
Now, I think what we are seeing if we are to succeed in this returns that are taking place, I think it is important that we have human security, it is important that we have stability and to ensure that these are people who will be able to sustain their return and not either move onward or move back to their places of displacement.
So thank you very much for this support and encouragement to both UNHCR and UNDP, our partners.
Thank you.
Thank you to all speakers for their remarks.
And one couldn't but notice that we have listened to a remarkable range of experiences, but they all have some common themes.
I think maybe it's human security.
To the representatives from Syria and Ghana program awardees, looking at your specific program, how did the human security approach achieve the change that other traditional interventions might not have? And if you mind being very brief because we want to cover and all these representatives.
So You can go ahead, please.
Thank you very much.
In the case of Ghana, I think what really was quite different was in terms of how we approach from the very onset, even the design.
From the very onset in design the project, you realize that if you're looking at it from the human security point of view, then you're not going to look at it from just one perspective.
For example, if UNDP was implementing, probably will look at maybe development and livelihoods or environment for UNP.
But then we're looking at it from the very onset, in terms of how do you make sure that all of these insecurities are interconnected in the very design.
That meant was that when it came to implementation, therefore, you could not do one without the other.
You had to always look at how are these solutions connected to each other.
The other thing that I think was also very key was the fact that the human security approach required strong partnerships on the ground.
For us, I think very key to this was the traditional authorities.
The chiefs and the community leaders within the project area were quite instrumental as partners in this.
Of course, also the existing community structures like the environmental foundation or Chairman Environmental F were quite key.
These things, we believe are going to ensure all the outcomes that we've achieved so far through the human security approach can then be sustained and may be replicated down the line.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Representative Aseria, do you have anything to more to add? So we would say that one of our main outcomes that we are identifying as a key change was basically that this approach was never conceived as standalone project or program.
It was from the outset designed and also with Savana and UNEP principles as a pilot to translate the human security approach into a practical and scalable operational framework.
For recovery and durable solutions.
I think that rather than creating a program, we create a platform for collective action, bringing together humanitarian, recovery development peace building actors and government institutions and the affected communities to work together and identify, share priorities in areas of return, and guide us and involve the communities in guiding us on what we had to do, what we had to prioritize, and how we needed to do it.
So it helps us to move beyond fragmented interventions, to align investments around locally identify needs and opportunities, and communities themselves were part of as agent of change, were part of defining these priorities in what we call community recovery plans that help us to give us a roadmap to continue aligning our interventions within this program, but also beyond in future interventions.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next question maybe to Pacific Islands and Nepal, the representatives of the awardees.
If we were asked to identify one decision, one partnership, or innovation that most contributed to the program's success, and what was it and why was it successful.
Let me start.
Bula and warm Pacific greetings, acknowledging the Pacific colleagues in the room and also those joining in online from this morning in the Pacific.
Just one, great question.
Very hard to define when you're covering 15 countries, five time zones going across a dateline, millions of square kilometers of ocean for each country and eight years of programming with six agencies.
But that said, I think what was innovative and what is meaningful and was already referenced by my colleague in Chief of Mission Solomon is the development of a regional framework on climate mobility for the Pacific.
The program supported the co chairs of Tuvalu and Fiji to design this document that brings together Pacific leadership once again on the climate crisis.
Pacific leaders have agreed upon this document through the support of the program and also an implementation plan for the next five years.
What this does is it sets a clear path.
It charts the way forward for us in the program and other partners working in this space on how to approach this issue in the Pacific.
Creates a multi level Pacific led architecture that links regional policy, national actions, and community level desires into one space.
It is flexible to meet countries where they're at with the needs that they have, with the primary focus remaining on staying in place, remaining committed to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and bringing traditional knowledge and cultural identity to the forefront to be as equally as important as traditional or Western science as financing as this is the core value of the work we're doing in the Pacific.
So I really think that one thing is that we were able to come together around this as a region, and at the same time, have national actions happening across the Pacific in PNG and Palau, in Tonga, and Tuvalu, and Nue working on new policy areas such as plan relocation as a last resort.
So we're very excited also that we can continue to work together as partners, bring in new partners, and have a roadmap or a navigation tool for where we're headed next.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm amazed you did find one thing with all that geographic and diverse.
New Paul.
Great.
So talking about the partnership and innovation, when I mentioned before, is the flood new to that region, Eastern Nepal, absolutely not.
It was a recurrent.
The thing that would change, you know, before we just waited to respond when a flood happened, and there was a fragmented, you know, response.
All agencies, all the stakeholders responded as for their competitive advantage, but in a different time horizon, not so coordinated.
So through this human security approach, what we are doing currently and what we did is the first one, we anticipated the wreaks.
So before making before being the wreaks hazard into the crisis, we anticipate, we empower community to make a better preparedness.
And then all the stakeholders come together, including communities to also get the insight from the traditional knowledge, how the flood used to happen, what were the coping strategies? These all kinds of things, you know, come together in the common platforms and we developed the common understanding and this strategy.
More importantly, after that, you know, before we used to see these things, it's just the mechanical rehabilitation of the response, not putting people in the centers and, you know, not also considering how in a in a dignified way the the community will be rehabilitated or back to their normal business as soon as possible.
So with this approach, we also, you know, understand and empower communities, not only in the physical manner, but also, you know, psychologically, also considering, you know, the trauma of the communities, people with disabilities, all the intersectionalities and providing all the resilience.
I would say these are, you know, all the development partners coming together with their competitive advantages in a coordinated way.
And bringing the people in the centers, and that is the unique thing, I would say.
Thank you.
Well, thank you.
To my colleague from Ecuador, UNDP, Ecuador, you mentioned you said that this award doesn't just belong to you, but also belongs to the communities who have worked with you.
Can you maybe tell us how the contribution of the community has changed the way the program was designed or implemented? Yes.
Thank you.
It's a very interesting question.
I mentioned the young people that chose art over fear.
What we learned from listening to the community is that in the neighbors most affected by violence in the city of Guaqil and other cities in that province, is that the young people highlighted that the physical violence was not the main threat that they were facing.
They were facing other threats related to discrimination, exclusion, lack of opportunities.
And they highlighted the transformative power that art, music, and artistic activities have as means to counter the presence and the influence of criminal groups in their communities.
They saw art as a shield.
And they asked support for that kind of initiatives.
We didn't have that included in the phase of the design of the project.
So we included, and we prioritized the support to these young youth led groups in Guayaqil and provided with resources supporting their activities to restore dignity, that was the idea, the main idea through art and through music.
So That was one of the things that we learned and you saw the images of these young people singing, dancing, and making music to overcome the challenges that they are facing.
I wanted to highlight that as a main what we learned from them.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The same question to the colleague from Senegal.
So there's one lesson from the communities that really reshaped our approach in this initiative.
So women from the two municipalities, Bakijaw and Molobiran told us that their biggest challenge was not, you know, simply generating income because usually that's how we understand it, you know, when it comes to supporting these groups, helping them generate income.
But they told us that, you know, their main challenge was the the high cost of fuel, which was making it very difficult for them to run their agricultural activities.
What they needed was not necessarily support, but rather a solution to a specific constraint that they were facing.
We adapted to their needs.
Instead of focusing only on income generating activities, we invested in solar powered system.
This was very powerful because today this allows them, as I mentioned earlier, to save around $800 while still making their work more sustainable and resilient.
As I mentioned earlier, $800 seems to be no money, but it's actually big money for the communities that we are talking about.
This experience for me really delivered a very powerful message and that is that real impact comes not necessarily from doing more, but maybe from listening better and also solving the problems that communities themselves identify as being their main constraints.
So, this fundamentally shifted our approach from delivering solutions to actually co creating these solutions with communities.
And I think that is the future of developmental work.
Thank you.
Thank you.
All of the awarded programs benefited from strong partnerships.
I understand we have partners from Ghana and the Pacific Island programs.
So I'd like if they are available and want to answer maybe how did the human security approach change the way that you work? Can you.
It.
In the beginning, we perceive the project to be a project that will solve degradation to planting of trees.
We had approached the UN system with a need to plant 25 million trees in five years.
Now, when we start with them, the UNDP and other partners helped in breaking out the project to other layers.
Well, for instance, the need for training nurses who would diagnose health issues differently.
People in the communities will report at clinics with common headache, but the education of these nurses made them aware of certain, liabilities to, for instance, being exposed to mercury and all that, and that helped the community very well.
Again, the community where had some, you know, issues with tree planting.
For instance, they were fixed on the type of species, for instance, that they needed to plant in their community.
Another aspect is that they were not too concerned about just trees, but if it will be of food security benefits to them.
All those were put on the table and that sort of brought about a very, very comprehensive approach to dealing with the degradation that was there and thanks to the partners, we were able to get that out there.
Thanks.
Thank you.
Is there a partner from the Pacific Island? Or not.
There we go.
I'm sorry.
There's another partner was able to join, unfortunately.
I think just on the partnerships, that is one of the key benefits of this program.
You have different partners with their different technical expertise areas, as well as their networks that we draw off of.
This is program partners as in the UN agencies, the Pacific Island Foreign Secretariat is a regional body playing a key role.
Also the commitments of the governments of the different countries to co chair the design of the framework I mentioned, but also ongoing and the further implementation is co chairing of priority action committees to ensure that the work continues to move forward.
This partnerships approach has really been, I think the key to success of it and that also includes partnerships with communities.
They're at the table, CSOs are at the table, academia.
The way that the implementation now that we've moved from the policy design into action, really a whole of society approach and that's only possible through having the right partners at the table at the right time and being meaningfully engaged along the way.
Thank you.
With that, we have time for maybe one brief intervention from a member states or other representative here.
If there are none, I guess nobody wants to stand between you and the sushi.
The program recognized today reminds us that while today's challenges may be increasingly interconnected, so too can our responses.
I think we saw that from the answers and briefings.
The audit programs demonstrate that integrated, human centered, and preventative approaches are not simply desirable.
They're essential for addressing the complex realities faced by communities and for safeguarding development gains in an uncertain world.
Thank you again to all speakers and participants, those with us and those who have left.
I now invite Mr.
Mohammed the Den, Firtor Permanent Mission of Senegal to the United Nations co chair of the Group of Friends of Human Security to deliver closing remarks.
Thank you very much.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, dear participants.
As co chair of the Group of Friends of Human Security, Senegal is honored to participate to this important and very interesting meeting, where I have the pleasure to represent His Excellcy Mr.
Kulick Ambassador, permanent representative of Senegal to the United Nations who sends you all his best regards.
Me once again extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the award winning programs and express our deep respect for the dedication of all those working on the ground.
What we have seen today is that human security is not an abstract concept.
It is reflected in concrete efforts to address interconnected challenges, strengthen resilience, and place affected communities at the center of solutions.
Today's discussions have also highlighted the importance of coordinated action across the United Nations system and across sectors in bringing this approach to life on the ground.
Going forward, we hope that the lessons from these good practices will inform similar efforts in other regions and thematic areas.
We encourage all partners to carry this momentum forward and further expand efforts to advance human security in practice.
We are also deeply grateful to the Human Security Unit, all United Nations entities that submitted nominations and all partners who made this ceremony possible.
I would also like to thank our fellow co chairs of the group of Friends of Human Security, Costa Rica, and Japan for their continued collaboration.
We look forward to seeing the Human Security Award continue to serve as a platform to recognize good practices and inspire further action to advance human security.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you, First Councilor Lijen and all of you are invited with thanks to the permanent Mission of Japan to sushi on the General Assembly lobby, first floor under the Spotnik.
Thank you.