Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response

In a remarkable international initiative aimed at improving the effectiveness and accountability of disaster response, the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response sets out for the first time what people affected by disasters have a right to expect from humanitarian assistance. The aim of the Project is to improve the quality of assistance provided to people affected by disasters, and to enhance the accountability of the humanitarian system in disaster response.

This new edition of the handbook (2004) has been thoroughly revised and updated, taking into account recent developments in humanitarian practice in wat/san, food, shelter and health, together with feedback from practitioners in the field, research institutes and cross-cutting experts in protection, gender, children, older people, disabled people, HIV/AIDS and the environment. The revised handbook is the product of an extensive collaborative effort that reflects the collective will and shared experience of the humanitarian community, and its determination to improve on current knowledge in humanitarian assistance programmes.
 
The cornerstone of this book is the Humanitarian Charter, which is based on the principles and provisions of International humanitarian, human rights and refugee law, and on the principles of the Red Cross and NGO Code of Conduct. It describes the core principles that govern humanitarian action and asserts the right of populations to protection and assistance. The Minimum standards are organised into an initial chapter that details process standards for the planning and implementation of programmes, together with four technical chapters covering water, sanitation and hygiene promotion; food security, nutrition and food aid; shelter, settlement and non-food items; and health services.
 
As a practical tool, the Humanitarian Charter can be used to define overaching project goals while the Minimum Standards, together with their supporting indicators and guidance notes, enable an analytical assessment of programme requirements and a framework for monitoring progress and evaluating outcomes. Taken as a whole, Sphere also provides a powerful tool for coordination and advocacy, particularly in its multisectoral scope and its linkage of principle to practice.

Contents:

What is Sphere
The Humanitarian Charter
Chapter 1: Minimum Standards Common to All Sectors
Chapter 2: Minimum Standards in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion
Chapter 3: Minimum Standards in Food Security, Nutrition and Food Aid
Chapter 4: Minimum Standards in Shelter, Settlement and Non-Food Items
Chapter 5: Minimum Standards in Health Services

Annexes
1. Legal Instruments Underpinning the Sphere Handbook
2. The Code of Conduct for the International Red Croos and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief
3. Acknowledgments
4. Acronyms

Index
Sphere project information
Feedback form
 

Post Date : 25 Juni 2008