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The first draft of the updated CHS is shared with participants at the MENA regional event in Amman, May 2023.

Proposed updates to strengthen the commitments aid actors make to people facing crises have been published for feedback, as part of the drive to embed accountability at the heart of the aid system.

This is an important milestone for the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), which is being revised based on learnings from the past eight years and feedback from a year of consultations with more than 3,000 people and organisations across the aid ecosystem.

The first draft of the updated CHS has been published on the www.corehumanitarianstandard.org website. People in crisis-affected communities, aid workers, policy makers, national and international organisations, and governments, are invited to share their views on the future of this important framework.

A more accessible and user-friendly tool

“We are excited to be sharing the proposed updates to the CHS, which are designed to improve how the Standard guides organisations to work in a way that firmly puts the dignity and safety of people first” says Tanya Wood, Executive Director of the CHS Alliance.

“The CHS is an established framework, which evidence shows drives higher quality and more accountable assistance for people facing crisis. It has already been used by hundreds of organisations to improve their impact. But if we are to truly transform the way people experience and influence the assistance they receive, we need a Standard that is accessible to all – including local actors who are the first to respond when disaster strikes.

“By simplifying the language of the CHS and reducing its complexity, we believe this updated version will be more accessible to a diverse range of aid actors while maintaining the quality and accountability standard that people in crisis deserve.”

Three ways to share your views

We want to hear your views on the proposed updates to the CHS and whether you can stand behind these strengthened commitments to people affected by crisis. There are different ways to be involved:

– Attend a series of regional consultation workshops, including Panama, Dakar, Nairobi and Bangkok. Please find all relevant information here.

– Participate in a series of online webinars (in English, Arabic, French and Spanish) that will walk participants through the key changes and invite discussion and feedback.

– Complete an online survey (EN, AR, FR, ES) to share your individual feedback on the proposed changes. Note this will be available from 14 June.

Visit https://corehumanitarianstandard.org/revision-events-and-news for full event listings.

About the CHS

The CHS sets out Nine Commitments that organisations can – and should – make to people affected by crises or situations of vulnerability to deliver quality, effective and accountable support and assistance.

Together, the Nine Commitments provide a coherent and integrated accountability framework to help organisations assess and measure and continuously improve their performance and accountability towards the people and communities they support.

The CHS was developed through an extensive consultation process. Since its launch in 2014, it has become a key reference in the aid sector. Hundreds of organisations use the CHS to guide and orient their work with growing evidence that it has driven improvements for those organisations that consistently apply it as part of their work. The CHS has also shaped and influenced global efforts to strengthen and improve quality and accountability in the sector.