The first workshop was held in The Netherlands, Wednesday to Friday (ISYP) and Friday to Sunday (Pugwash), May/June 2006

Fifty years ago, Pugwash was created in response to the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, written because the destructive power of nuclear weapons had grown to such proportions that the very survival of mankind was deemed to be at stake once those weapons were used in war.

Today, Human Security is in addition threatened by other developments, such as intrastate conflicts, conflicts involving non-state actors, environmental change, and poverty exacerbated by the international political and economic relations. These all constitute ‘new’ challenges to human security.

During the “Cold War” era of bipolar mutual deterrence, other conflicts were usually contained at ‘manageable’ levels, particularly to avoid ‘spill-over’ and escalation that could lead to a nuclear confrontation. The end of the Cold war led to a multiplication of local and regional conflicts in the early nineties, even though many of them had older roots. The catastrophic humanitarian consequences of those wars added urgency to the need to manage and resolve these conflicts. Some of the “new challenges” now appearing will give rise to yet other conflicts, but others can endanger Human Security in other ways, such as disease, famine or inhuman treatment.

Corresponding to these developments, the focus of peace and conflict studies, which in the Cold War period lay on the contradictions and (military) power balances between the two superpowers and on the proxy wars they fought, has now evolved towards more comprehensive and interdisciplinary approaches.

This changed perception of Human Security is of direct relevance to organisations such as Pugwash that are engaged in ‘science and world affairs’. What responsibilities do scientists bear in addressing these broader challenges? How can such non-governmental organisations help in analyzing and understanding the issues, and in establishing the policy instruments that are needed? And as all these “new challenges” are interrelated, how can we develop an integrated approach?

We propose therefore, that Pugwash start a process of reflection on how to best deal in an integrated way with these ‘new’ challenges. Initially this process should define the contours of the problems and determine on what criteria these issues should become part of the agenda of Pugwash and related NGOs. Then the Pugwash Study Group could progressively take on some of those issues in the usual Pugwash way: focussing on contributing to solutions and effective policy approaches to deal with them. Such a process would constitute a strategic enhancement of the Pugwash agenda, and add to its continued relevance in contemporary efforts to achieve peace and human security.

On invitation of the Secretary General of Pugwash, Pugwash Netherlands has taken on the task of initiating a Pugwash Study Group on New Challenges to Human Security, to address these questions through a series of workshops. Individual Pugwashites and national Pugwash groups are invited to join this initiative. International Student/Young Pugwash (ISYP) and Pugwash Netherlands are organising a pre-workshop for students and young professionals immediately before the first of the Pugwash Workshops. This ISYP Workshop is considered an integral part of the project.

The end result of this process will be a book and possibly a Pugwash Issue Brief. Furthermore, the results of the workshops will feed into the Annual Conferences and the strategic diccussions of the Pugwash Council.