Why security for Kenya is not all about military ware

The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), (2014-2018), for Kenya is an expression of the UN community to provide support to the Kenyan people in their endeavour to achieve sustainable development and peace.

It was developed through a participatory process involving all stakeholders and the UN agencies in Kenya. It aims at supporting the Government of Kenya in realising its long-term and short-term development goals as stipulated in the Vision 2030 and the MTP II, respectively.

Unlike the previous practices, the current UNDAF was developed according to the UN's Delivering as One (DaO) principle so as to avoid duplication and waste of resources. UNDAF is anchored on four key Strategic Result Areas: (1) Transformational Governance; (2) Human Capital Development; (3) Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth; and (4) Environmental Sustainability, Land Management and Human Security.

There is a rationale for including the concept of human security in strategic area four. Human security is a powerful new concept that complements the human development concept. It addresses the protection of people from critical and pervasive threats to their lives, livelihoods, and dignity, including the downside risks of development.

In September 2012, the UN General Assembly at its 66 Session agreed that Human Security is an approach that assists Member States in identifying and addressing widespread and cross-cutting challenges to the survival, livelihood and dignity of their people. The notion of Human Security includes:

• The right of people to live in freedom and dignity, free from poverty and despair.

• People-centred, comprehensive, context-specific and prevention-oriented responses that strengthen the protection and empowerment of all people and all communities;

• Recognition of the inter-linkages between peace, development and human rights.

The UNDP Human Development Report of 1994 was the first to propel the concept of human security into the mainstream development discourse with a clarion call for a shift from a "territorial-centred" concept of security, to a "human-centred" concept of security. This report identified seven interrelated and complementary dimensions of human security: economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political.

There are at least three developments that have played a part in reshaping the notion of security; the first being a shift in analysis from a narrow focus on military security in the defense of national sovereignty, to consideration of internal sources of instability such as communal strife, ethnic unrest, poverty, unemployment, crime and terrorism.

The second notable development is the recognition of the inevitable link between the welfare of citizens and that of state security. Non-military barriers to stability can be economic, social, environmental or civil. Drug trafficking, terrorism, illegal immigration, corruption, human rights violations, disease and poverty can threaten a government no less than an armed invasion.

Lastly, there is increasing awareness that national and sub-national problems are amenable to, and sometimes require, international assistance or intervention; giving regional humanitarian issues a geopolitical dimension.

While human security concerns are critical, initiatives to incorporate a human security orientation in Africa in general and Kenya in particular are still rare.  A human security orientation demands that the needs of the vulnerable be addressed and integrated into development strategies.

In June 2008, Kenya launched its long-term development strategy called Vision 2030. Its main objective is to transform Kenya into a "middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by the year 2030."

Developed through an all-inclusive and participatory stakeholder consultative process, Vision 2030 is based on three pillars: (i) the economic pillar (which seeks to maintain a sustained economic growth of over 10 per cent per annum by 2030); (ii) the social pillar (which seeks to achieve a just and cohesive society, enjoying equitable social development in a clean and secure environment); and (iii) the political pillar (which seeks to develop an issue-based, people-centred, results-oriented and accountable democratic political system).

In 2010, Kenya came up with a new constitution that introduced a devolved administrative government structure with 47 counties. Devolution was designed and implemented as a mechanism through which effective local governance could be achieved. It also envisioned the empowerment of local communities and enabling them to achieve equity and social cohesion Despite these commendable achievements, Kenya still faces a myriad of human insecurity challenges, some of which are caused by internal problems while others are linked to the dynamics of the global political economy.

The UNCT, Kenya, will work closely with the national and local governments, and other relevant institutions, so as to build the resilience of communities and reduce the risks and impacts of human insecurity threats in Kenya.