UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- The President of the U.N. General Assembly urged states to use a human-centered approach to security issues during in a speech on international relations.

U.N. General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim argued for a security approach that extends beyond the state and focuses on the protection and empowerment of people. Kerim gave the speech at a meeting of the Friends of Human Security, the United Nations reported.

Kerim says some states have already responded to calls for greater human security in their national security agendas. He argued that a human-centered approach to security has implications for the role of the state.

“States should place greater emphasis on their individual and collective responsibilities to care for the well-being of their citizens, as well as for the well-being of individuals that may be threatened wherever they may be,” Kerim said in a statement.

“In our interdependent world more and more of the threats to peace and stability are challenges that states cannot deal with on their own. … We should try to make human security a principle that is better reflected in a wider range of U.N. activities."