ECONOMIC SECURITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL AS A COMPONENT OF THE FIFTH GENERATION HUMAN RIGHTS CONCEPT

Abstract

The contemporary world is characterised by an escalation in military conflicts and political and economic instability, which have a substantial impact on the economic security of the individual. The ongoing war in Ukraine and the escalation in Israel, in conjunction with the crises in Venezuela, Africa and Southeast Asia, illustrate how military actions, political upheavals and economic sanctions can compromise the stability of a nation's economy, impacting the employment prospects of its population and, consequently, access to fundamental services. In such conditions, economic security becomes an issue not only on a national scale, but also acquires a global and human rights dimension. Within the conceptual framework of fifth-generation human rights, economic security emerges as a pivotal element that integrates material living conditions with emergent collective and digital rights. Consequently, its provision becomes a prerequisite for the realisation of dignity, opportunities and the sustainable development of the individual, particularly in contexts characterised by military threats, conflicts and technological transformations. It is evident that human economic security is not merely a component of national security; rather, it constitutes the foundation of the modern human rights system. Consequently, the study of economic security as a component of the fifth-generation human rights concept has increased in relevance. The purpose of the present study is twofold: firstly, to provide a robust theoretical foundation for the notion of economic security as a fundamental component of the fifth-generation human rights concept; and secondly, to offer a comprehensive analysis of its current status within the contemporary human rights and security paradigms. The research methodology under scrutiny comprises a range of approaches, including the dialectical method, the system-structural method, the comparative law method, and the analysis and synthesis method. The study concluded that economic security constitutes an integral component of the fifth-generation human rights concept. The transformation of the legal and socio-economic dimensions of human security in conditions of modern conflicts and crises was analysed on the theoretical basis of definitions and mechanisms for ensuring economic security. By combining the five generations of human rights with the concepts of human and economic security, it can be concluded that economic security encompasses more than just income and employment protection. It also includes access to resources and the sustainability of life systems, as well as the digital and collective dimensions of rights that are characteristic of the fifth generation. The mechanisms of destruction of individual economic security, as exemplified by wars and conflicts (e.g., loss of livelihoods, high inflation, disruption of supply chains, destruction of infrastructure and digital threats), are analysed. General directions for integrating economic security guarantees into international legal and national mechanisms for the protection of fifth generation rights are then proposed.