Human Safety as a New Principle of International Cooperation

Human safety (HS) is a relatively new doctrine that emerged at the end of the 20th century. It arose from the need to address global threats and to better understand worldwide problems. Human safety is a human right; it refers to the safety of people and communities, as opposed to that of states. The concept of human security recognizes several dimensions of safety, including freedom from fear, freedom from want, and freedom from indignity. Our study concerns the concepts of individual entitlements and individual safety, which are strongly supported in the discourse of international law. The safety of individuals has long been a central concern of the global community, first through the League of Nations and later under the United Nations. The concept of universal individual entitlements has opened the way for new rules in international law. Safeguarding these basic entitlements is no longer solely the responsibility of an individual’s state; it has become a shared interest of the entire international community. From this perspective, we call for recognizing the concept of individual safety as a customary rule capable of stopping the continuous attacks on humanity.