Ⅰ.IntroductionThe need for govments and intational organisations to gain a better understanding of security is ever more urgent.For example in the conflict in Libya in early 2011,many security dilemmas were visible:the protection of Libyan civilians,the security of the regime,whether and how the UN or NATO should intervene,whether Europe would be threatened with a massive refugee flow,how to protect or evacuate foreign citizens (including Chinese),how to secure food and medical supplies in the midst of armed conflict.Such events may be termed complex emergencies which often raise legal, military and humanitarian issues simultaneously.Intational law and practice do not provide clear guidelines on such situations,and responses can be random,contingent on a variety of factors.Traditional concepts of security,for example protection of national borders,are certainly still relevant and legally enforceable,but more sophisticated concepts are needed to respond to security dilemmas in todays globalised world.Human security as a concept was first developed within the UN system in the 1990s,and set out,for example,in Human Security Now [1] The first section of this paper tracks the development of Human Security discourse,and also examines the broadening of the securityconcept in recent years.The second section reports on institutions with a specific interest in Human Security,for example within the UN system and in universities.The third section acknowledges some critiques of the Human Security paradigm.The last section reports on new directions that may enrich the Human Security agenda.