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United Nations at LSE


Through both direct collaboration between LSE IDEAS and UN agencies and sharing the best of the LSE's work on and with the UN.

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The first major collaboration between IDEAS and the UN is the UN Business and Human Security Initiative.

As part of this initiative take a look at our YouTubechannel where our series focuses on people in fragile communities talking about the challenges of living alongside and working with large global companies.

UN Business and Human Security Initiative

How can business protect and empower individuals and communities in areas affected by conflict and crisis? This initiative aims to develop a model framework of Human Security Business Partnership to encourage collaboration between the private sector, the public sector, and civil society to address a wide range of security needs on the ground - working towards the UN’s Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

LSE IDEAS will bring together academics and practitioners from international companies and NGOs to develop this innovative framework, and partner with UN agencies to initially implement it in different development schemes in Colombia. UN partners include:

Countries

In Colombia, LSE IDEAS and the UN will work with global companies, communities, government, and civil society in applying the partnership framework to analyse private sector contributions to the peace process and support business engagement with conflict-affected communities. After its testing phase, the framework implementation will be replicated in different development schemes in Colombia.

Structure

Implementation of Human Security Business Partnerships will be supported by an Expert Working Group of academics and practitioners. They will analyse evidence from the trials of the Framework, develop additional applications in post-conflict regions, and generate recommendations for policy and practice changes for the UN, national policymakers, and business leaders.

LSE IDEAS will also host the global secretariat of the Human Security Business Initiative to support the development of the HSBP Framework and encourage business and government engagement with human security.

For more on the role of the private sector in post-conflict reconstruction, read this journal article by Mary Martin and Vesna Bojicic-Dzelilovic of the UN Business and Human Security Initiative (subscription may be required).

What is Human Security?

Human Security is an alternative approach to traditional security which is people-centred, prevention orientated and context specific. The idea combines security, development, and human rights.

Human security seeks to protect people against multiple and interconnected threats which affect the vital elements of everyday life. It is based on the fundamental principle that people are entitled to freedom from fear, freedom from want, dignity, and an equal opportunity to enjoy all their rights and fully develop their human potential.

For more information, read the IDEAS background paper on Human Security (pdf).

Supporters

The UN Business and Human Security Initiative is supported by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS), established in 1999 to finance projects that translate the human security approach into practical actions and provide concrete and sustainable benefits to vulnerable people and communities threatened in their survival, livelihood and dignity.

The Human Security Business Initiative is also supported by LSE's Knowledge Exchange and Impact(KEI) fund, The Rockefeller Foundation, SwissPeace, International Alert, ESSEC-Irene, Business and Human Rights, and BuildUp.