Advocating global security

The concept of security must evolve from defending national territory to advancing human well-being. It must be broadened from the traditional focus on the security of states to include the security of people and the security of the planet. The following six concepts should be embedded in international agreements and used as norms for security policies in the future: (a) all people, no less than states, have a right to a secure existence, and all states have an obligation to protect those rights; (b) the primary goals of global security policy should be to prevent conflict and war and to maintain the integrity of the environment and life-support system of the planet by eliminating economic, social, environmental, political, and military conditions that generate threats to the security of people and the plant, and by anticipating and managing crises before they escalate into armed conflicts; (c) military force is not a legitimate political instrument, except in self-defence or under United nations auspices; (d) the development of military capabilities beyond that required by national defence and support of United Nations action is a potential threat to the security of people; (e) weapons of mass destruction are not legitimate instruments of national defence; (f) the production and trade in arms should be controlled by the international community.