Rachel Gisselquist speaks at panel on ‘Human insecurity as a threat to human development’ at the UNDP Virtual Human Development Symposium

The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Office of the Human Development Report will host a virtual symposium over four days from 8-11 June on ‘A New Generation of Human Security’. Through a series of keynote addresses and panel discussions, participants can learn about the most pressing security issues facing humanity and the international policy efforts to address them.

Event registration and more information can be found on the UNDP website.

Senior Research Fellow at UNU-WIDER, Rachel Gisselquist joins the panel on Thursday morning, 10 June, to discuss ‘Human insecurity as a threat to human development’.

About the session:

Keynote speakers:

• Prof. Frances Stewart, Professor Emeritus of Development Economics, University of Oxford
• Prof. James Foster, Oliver T. Carr, Jr. Professor of International Affairs, Professor of Economics, and Co-Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University

Panelists:

• Prof. Staffan Lindberg, Founder and Director, Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem)
• Dr. Rachel Gisselquist, Senior Research Fellow, UNU-WIDER
• Prof. Racha Ramadan, Associate Professor at the Economics Department, Faculty of Economics and Political Science (FEPS), Cairo University.
• Prof. Siri Rustadt, Research Director, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)
• Prof. Oscar A. Gómez, Assistant Professor, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, College of Asia Pacific Studies, and Visiting Fellow at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development. TBC

Session description:

Most forms of human insecurities threaten progress in human development. This session will take a deep dive into how some of these threats are interlinked and reinforcing. Topics include economic security, health, domestic violence, and inequalities, especially horizontal inequalities that affect women, ethnic groups, LGBTI people, and people with disabilities, among others. Established historical analysis as well as recent protests around the world have shown that horizontal inequalities, which often go hand-in-hand with discrimination and/or political polarization, can trigger physical violence and even armed conflict. Some of these insecurities have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic as general tension has built up throughout societies and inequalities have been revealed or even increased. This also can take a toll on mental health, an effect that is especially long-lasting among children. Particular attention will be devoted to threats to human dignity that can further increase human insecurities while diminishing human development.

Time and date:

Thursday, 10 June, 08:30-11:30 EDT / 14:30-17:30 CET