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The CHS Alliance and its members are calling on world leaders and humanitarian decision-makers at the World Humanitarian Summit to improve humanitarian action by committing to adopt, use and monitor the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS).

The CHS Alliance is participating in a number of panels and events at the summit in Istanbul, 23- 24 May 2016, which takes place under the theme of “One Humanity: Shared Responsibility”. The CHS, which is central to the work of the CHS Alliance, speaks directly to the theme of the summit by putting people and communities affected by crisis at the centre of humanitarian action. The CHS sets out Nine Commitments that humanitarian and development actors can use to improve the quality and effectiveness of the assistance they provide.

“Like you, I want to be prepared for the World Humanitarian Summit and make the most of this unique opportunity that we all have to make a positive difference to the lives and dignity of people affected by crisis,” said CHS Alliance Executive Director, Judith F. Greenwood.

“That’s why the CHS Alliance is calling on all humanitarian stakeholders at the summit to commit to adopting, using and monitoring the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS).”

The Core Humanitarian Standard and the World Humanitarian Summit

A strong demand to put affected people at the heart of humanitarian action emerged during the summit consultations. The CHS facilitates greater accountability to communities and people affected by crisis: knowing what humanitarian organisations have committed to will enable them to hold those organisations to account.

The CHS Alliance has made the following commitment on behalf of its members: “The members of the CHS Alliance – over 240 national and international organisations working in more than 160 countries – commit to adopting, using and monitoring the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), with the objective of making humanitarian action more appropriate, effective, and responsive to the needs of people and communities affected by crises.”

Find us at the summit

The CHS Alliance is taking part in number of High-Level Leaders Roundtables and sessions including the Special Session on People at the Centre. We will be calling on participants at this session to make the following commitment as listed in the official session programme: “All stakeholders should adopt the Core Humanitarian Standard and International Aid Transparency Initiative Standard, with clear benchmarks for achieving these”.

The CHS Alliance, together with Groupe URD and the Sphere Project, will hold a side-event hosted by the Swiss and Danish governments entitled, “Quality and Accountability: It is not enough to do the things right, the right things have to be done” (Monday 23 May, 13:00-14:30 Rumeli Hall 3, Lüfti Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center). The event will explore how strengthening the coherence of standards across different sectors of humanitarian work ensures greater ownership and enables increased effectiveness and efficiency.

Opening remarks will be given by Stephan Schønemann, Director for Humanitarian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. A panel discussion will feature:

• Amina Labarakwe, community member, Baringo county Kenya;
• Lise Grande, Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, Iraq;
• Alejandro Maldonado, Executive Secretary, CONRED, Guatemala;
• François Grünewald, Executive Director, Groupe URD, France, and,
• Chair: Arno Wicki, Deputy Head of Swiss Humanitarian Aid and SHA, Head of Multilateral Division.

The CHS Alliance will have an exhibition stand at the summit where participants can access copies of the 2015 Humanitarian Accountability Report, the CHS booklet and CHS Guidance Notes & Indicators in key languages. We will also be previewing a CHS animation and e-learning platform.

More information

The CHS Alliance improves the effectiveness and impact of assistance to crisis-affected and vulnerable people, by working with humanitarian and development actors on quality, accountability and people management initiatives. Formed in 2015 by the merger of HAP International and People In Aid, the Alliance brings together more than two decades of experience supporting the sector in applying standards and good practices.

The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS), launched in December 2014, sets out Nine Commitments that organisations and individuals involved in humanitarian response can use to improve the quality and effectiveness of the assistance they provide. It replaces the People In Aid Code of Good Practice in the Management and Support of Aid Personnel, the 2010 HAP Standard, and the Sphere Core Standards. The CHS is available in 14 languages including Arabic, French and Spanish on the CHS website.