The National Human Security Forum (NHS) Board of Advisors convened its first roundtable meeting to “Human Security agenda and priorities for Lebanon in 2021”.
This meeting aimed to launch a series of consultative roundtable discussions that were initiated in November 2020 with the participation of a range of relevant stakeholders with focus on civil military cooperation in response to human security threats confronting Lebanon, and mainly the COVID-19 among other threats to human security.
The Board of Advisor included representatives from the military, and the security sectors as well as civil society organizations, health groups, media, international organizations, the private and public sectors who hold stakes in Lebanon’s human security and wellbeing.
The “National Human Security Forum” aims to strengthen stakeholder’s partnership in Lebanon through engagements and discussions to reinforce mutuality and cooperations, build capacities, exchange information, and maintain open communications on ways to maintain coordination efforts for rapid response to disasters and threats to human security.
The NHS Forum is directed by Dr. Imad Salamey, senior Middle East policy advisor and associate professor of political science and coordinated by Dr. Maria Noujaim, a prominent researcher and academic lecturer. The NHS Forum is a partnership with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation.
The forum aims to hold monthly roundtable discussions on ways to develop a national human security strategy for Lebanon with focus on vital sectors such as health, economy, environment, and food securities.
Dr. Malte Gaier, Director of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Foundation in Lebanon stated: “This forum is an essential step towards improving civil-military coordination in crisis response. It is a crucial platform to ensure effective communication, to create synergies between the security and NGO sectors and to prevent the duplication of resources.
The continuous and strong interest expressed by key stakeholders participating the Forums’ roundtable discussions is an encouraging sign for Lebanon. We are confident that this project can grow into an institutionalized dialogue where representatives from key sectors coordinate their efforts. For KAS, fostering human security is a priority in its projects worldwide. It aims to tackle the issue beyond the traditional security policies, including approaches such as human security and disaster prevention.”
Dr. Imad Salamey added: “The “National Human Security Forum” brings together many stakeholders during this critical situation in our country to respond to eminent dangers, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic and political crises. These challenges that Lebanon is facing are driving us, as individuals, as well as various institutions of the civil society, military, security, international organizations, and the Lebanese state to join efforts to confront these challenges. The ultimate aim of the forum is to contribute to the protection and empowerment of Lebanon and to response to disasters. Our role is to gather recommendations from the different parties and to develop a comprehensive national human security agenda”.
The Board of Advisors decided to convene future discussions around economic security and ways to strengthen the societal resistance, including civil military cooperation in confronting challenges. Discussions will host prominent economic experts to highlight the threats and the prospects to reinforce local resiliencies and response efforts.