The Sphere Project: Humanitarian Charter and minimum Standards in humanitarian response
Today’s agenda Session Objectives: • Provide an overview of Sphere Standards • Explore how to apply the sphere handbook as a tool for humanitarian action • Review the sphere standards and the shelter sector and why it is important to shelter practitioners • Discuss questions, opportunities and concerns regarding its application and critically analyse is appropriateness Session outline: • Overview of Sphere Standards (10mins) • Principles vs. Standards (5mins) • Why are sphere standards important to shelter practitioners? (5mins) • Overview of the shelter standard (20mins) • Are sphere standards in shelter response appropriate? (15mins) • Conclusion & wrap up (5mins)
What is the Sphere project?
The rationale of the SPHERE Project • •
•
An international collaboration for consensus involving standards for disaster response A process to create a common language leading to transparency, accountability and increased quality The drive to improve quality and accountability
What are the Sphere core beliefs? •
Those affected by disaster or conflict have a right to life with dignity and, therefore, a right to assistance
•
All possible steps should be taken to alleviate human suffering arising out of disaster or conflict
Layout of the handbook
Handbook Structure Humanitarian Charter & Protection Principles
Code of Conduct
Health
Minimum Standards Shelter & Settlement
Food & Nutrition
Water & Sanitation
Core Standards
Key Actions Key Indicators Guidance Notes
How to find: n n n n n
n
The Humanitarian Charter…p. 20 The Protection Principles.....p. 33 The Core Standards.............p. 55 The Code of Conduct……....p. 370 Acronyms ……………………p. 377 The index………………...…..p. 382
The Humanitarian Charter The humanitarian charter is in 4 parts: – Common principles, rights and duties – Our beliefs – Our commitment – Our role And is based on 3 basic rights: – The Right to Life with Dignity – The Right to Receive Humanitarian Assistance – The Right to Protection and Security
Protection Principles
Core Standards
Cross-cutting issues Children
Older people
HIV and Aids Psychological support
Environment Disaster risk reduction Persons with disabilities Gender
Principles vs Standards What is a standard? A standard is a measure you have to meet, below which you should not be. Indicators are tools for measuring if standards are met. For example building codes would be a set of standards.
What is a principle? A principle is a general good, ambitions and worthy intentions. Fundamentals that serves as the foundation for a system of belief/behaviour or for a chain of reasoning. People should be involved in decision making is a principle.
Analysis between Sphere Standards & World Bank Principles
• Humanitarian response as a whole • Range in use: Achieving a certain quality • Rights based approach
• Targeted at post-disaster, long-term solutions • Large-scale toolkit for policymakers and project managers • Economic, Social & Moral
• Qualitative and quantitative • Overarching and crosscutting
• Qualitative • Each guideline specific to an aspect or a subject
WB Post-disaster housing principles
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPREGTOPHAZRISKMGMT/Resources/40778991276113580971/Safer-Homes-Stronger-Communitites_principles.pdf
Standards in practice?
Humanitarian standards in context: http://youtu.be/xuqFG1Fm1vw
What do you have to do & bear in mind? • • •
•
Respect customs/cultural aspects Build on existing structures of assistance Provide for basic needs/minimum standards for specific groups of people Consider the vulnerable/marginalised
Minimum standards: Shelter and settlement
Critical Analysis of Sphere Standards
Whose Standards? “Standards are more crucial for people who are coming in. You don't want them to practice and get better by making mistakes on a vulnerable population.” Peter Walker 2012 “Sphere is one of the first Q&A initiatives... guiding the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation during humanitarian response.” IFRC
Whose Standards?
• • •
• •
A guide or basic planning tool for shelter practitioners A checklist for reviewing shelter programs A controlling mechanism for funders and donors Shelter outcome of “best-practice” for the affected population A tool to advocate and protect the profession
Benefits
|
Drawbacks
Transitional shelter by students from Maryland Institute College of Art in Haiti
Shelter Design in one hour?
Benefits
• Improved coordination through shared standards • Consistent and coherent humanitarian responses • Flexible and adaptable • Context driven
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Drawbacks
• Can the standards be implemented • Who and how of monitoring and evaluation of the standards • Open to judgment and subject to experience
Alternatives
Alternatives
Suggestions and Considerations?
Suggestions and Considerations? • Should Sphere Standards be taught at university level in all development and humanitarian courses? • The nature of Sphere is that is evidence based. Are there new evidences following Philippines, developments in Syria and our observations in Haiti? • Should the Sphere Standards document review and promote the study of other best practices in shelter such as ones developed by DFID, IFRC and World Bank?
Conclusions •
•
•
• •
The Sphere Handbook affirms humanitarian principles as paramount The Sphere Handbook puts the rights of disaster‐affected populations to life with dignity, protection and assistance at the centre of humanitarian response The Sphere Project & its Handbook help equip humanitarian actors to continuously strive for more quality and accountability in humanit arian response The Sphere Project is a wide collaborative process “The principles are not ‘absolute’… nevertheless the Principles reflect universal humanitarian concerns which should guide action at all times.’ (see page 31)
Sphere Standards Presentation - Session Plan Presenters: Tricia Cassidy, Debbie Donde, Stef Helm Grovas, Qatrun Samat Yahya and Ida Ab Razak Session Objectives
Output
Provide an overview of Sphere Standards Explore how to apply the sphere handbook as a tool for humanitarian action Review the sphere standards and the shelter sector and why it is important to shelter practitioners Discuss questions, opportunities and concerns regarding its application and critically analyse is appropriateness Students have an understanding of sphere standards and its application in shelter programming
Timing 10mins
Process Overview of Sphere Standards Where did sphere standards originate from? What is it? Intro to humanitarian charter, protection principles, core standards Layout of the book – standards, actions, indictors, guidance notes, needs assessment checklists Cross-cutting issues How is it applied at each stage of the project cycle?
5mins
Principles vs. Standards What is a principle? What is a standard? How do you put standards into practice? What do you have to do & bear in mind? Analysis between difference between sphere & World Bank principles? Why are sphere standards important to shelter practitioners? What standards and principles do you think are the most appropriate in shelter programming? Intro to shelter sphere standards. Overview of the shelter standard Split into 5 groups (5 different shelter standards) and give them cards that contain the key indicators, key actions and guidance notes and they need to decide what fits under each heading Are sphere standards in shelter response appropriate? What do you think are the benefits and negatives of sphere standards? Is it applicable? Whose standards are they? Quantitative vs. qualitative – Is this appropriate? Does this impact its application? Should you enforce it? How do you enforce it? it is not mandatory How do you measure quality? Are they minimum standards and principles or guidelines and checklists? Link to other sectors like WASH Alternatives? What would you suggest for the next edition? Conclusion & wrap up Dependent on group response but our group conclusion is that it is good to have sphere standards to strive to but they need to be adapted as appropriate to the context and situation
5mins
20mins
15mins
5mins
Resources Hand-outs: Handbook layout Humanitarian charter Protection principles Core standards Shelter sector
Presenter Tricia
Ida
Plenary discussion
Qatrun
Hand-outs Shelter sector Group exercise
Stef
Plenary discussion
Debbie
All
Sphere Standards Presentation Notes What is the Sphere project? Ask the class what they think is the Sphere project? The Sphere Handbook is the most widely known and internationally recognized set of common principles and universal minimum standards for humanitarian response. The aim of Sphere is to improve the quality of assistance to people affected by disaster or conflict, and to improve the accountability of states and humanitarian agencies to their constituents, donors and affected populations. It allows humanitarian actors to provide quality humanitarian response in an accountable manner. This is because the handbook reflects the sector’s evidence based best practices, agreed upon through an unprecedented, global and open consultative process In 1997 a group of humanitarian non-governmental organisations and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement aimed to improve the quality of their actions during disaster response and to be held accountable for them. They based Sphere’s philosophy on 2 core beliefs: 1. That those affected by disaster or conflict have a right to life with dignity and therefore a right to assistance and 2.d that all possible steps should be taken to alleviate human suffering arising out of disaster or conflict Sphere is three things: 1. Handbook (http://www.sphereproject.org/handbook/) 2. Process of collaboration 3. Expression of commitment to Quality and Accountability The handbook sets clear benchmarks for what actions can be considered as humanitarian. It seeks to create a common language for disaster assistance to promote transparency, accountability and increased quality
Layout of the handbook
Overview of the structure and the different chapters Sphere tools: The minimum standards: These are qualitative in nature and specify the minimum levels to be attained in humanitarian response regarding the provision of shelter. Key actions: These are suggested activities and inputs to help meet the standards Key indicators: These are ‘signals’ that show whether a standard has been attained. They provide a way of measuring and communicating the processes and results of key actions; they relate to the minimum standard, not to the key action. Guidance notes: These include specific points to consider when applying the minimum standards, key actions and key indicators in different situations. They provide guidance on tackling practical difficulties, benchmarks or advice on priority issues. They may also include critical issues relating to the standards, actions or indicators, and describe dilemmas, controversies or gaps in current knowledge. The humanitarian charter, the protection principles and the core standards articulate sphere’s rights based and people-centred approach to humanitarian response The protection principles and core standards are grouped together at the beginning of the handbook so as to avoid repeating them in each technical chapter. They underpin all humanitarian activity and must be used in conjunction with the technical chapters. They are critical to achieving the technical standards in a spirit of quality and accountability to the affected populations. The Sphere Handbook is a voluntary code and a self-regulatory tool for quality and accountability, and the Sphere Project does not operate any compliance mechanism. There is no such thing as ‘signing up’ to Sphere, a Sphere membership or any process of accreditation. The Sphere Project has consciously opted for the Handbook not to be prescriptive or compliance-oriented, in order to encourage the broadest possible ownership of the Handbook. The Handbook does not offer practical guidance on how to provide specific sector responses but instead explains what needs to be in place in order to ensure a life with dignity for the affected population. Conforming with Sphere does not mean meeting all the standards and indicators.
Humanitarian Charter
The cornerstone of the handbook – provides the ethical and legal backdrop to the Protection Principles as well as to the core standards and minimum standards, thereby setting the stage for their interpretation and implementation. It is a statement of established legal rights and obligations and of shared beliefs and commitments of humanitarian agencies, all collected in a set of common principles, rights and duties. The humanitarian charter is in 4 parts: Common principles, rights and duties - Humanity and the humanitarian imperative Our beliefs - People affected by disasters or conflict have the right to assistance and protection to ensure the basic conditions for life with dignity.
Our commitment - The affected people are at the centre of humanitarian action Our role - recognises that it is generally the people affected by disasters themselves who are the first to assist and that they should be kept at the centre of any response. The section also emphasises the primary role of government as the duty bearer, and the role of the international community to offer support to national authorities when they are unable, or unwilling, to fulfil their responsibilities. The Humanitarian charter is based on 3 basic rights: 1. The Right to Life with Dignity 2. The Right to Receive Humanitarian Assistance 3. The Right to Protection and Security
Protection principles
Protection is concerned with the safety, dignity and rights of people affected by disaster or armed conflict. (page 29) The humanitarian charter summarises some of the most fundamental rights involved in humanitarian response and the Protection principles translates several of the legal principles and rights outlined in the Charter into strategies and actions that should inform humanitarian practice from a protection perspective. The protection principles are concerned with the way these rights should inform humanitarian practice from a protection perspective and specifically the way agencies can avoid exposing the affected population to further harm and how they can help people to achieve greater safety and security Four basic Protection Principles that inform all humanitarian action 1. Avoid exposing people to further harm as a result of your actions 2. Ensure people’s access to impartial assistance – in proportion to need and without discrimination 3. Protect people from physical and psychological harm arising from violence and coercion 4. Assist people to claim their rights, access available remedies and recover from the effects of abuse.
Core Standards
“The core standards describe the processes that are essential to achieving all the Sphere minimum standards.” (see page 53) The Core Standards are the first set of minimum standards and inform all others. They are essential process standards shared by all sectors that are essential to achieving all the sphere minimum standards. They provide a single reference point for approaches that underpin all the standards in the Handbook. Each chapter, therefore, requires the companion use of the Core Standards to help attain its own standards. There are six Core Standards: 1. People-centred humanitarian response 2. Coordination and collaboration 3. Assessment 4. Design and response 5. Performance, transparency and learning 6. Aid worker performance The sphere standards should be using across the whole project cycle and is designed for planning, implementation, M&E during humanitarian response and is an effective advocacy tool
Cross cutting themes Ask the class what they think are the cross-cutting themes? The cross cutting themes in Sphere focus on particular areas of concern in disaster response and address individual, group or general vulnerability issues. Cross cutting issues are: Children HIV and AIDS DRR Older people Environment Persons with disabilities Gender Psychosocial support
Principles vs. Standards Ask the class what are principles and standards? What are the differences? The main differences are: A standard is something you have to meet, below which you should not be. It is a measure of desired quality of a situation A principle is set of beliefs, may be fundamental, but it is a system that tends to be absolute, as a code of conduct
Therefore a principle is more guiding and persuasive compared to standards which are a set of values to be measured against Ian Davis principles: Level 1 - Ethics: The equitable distribution of shelters and shelter materials and resources needs to be based on the needs of the beneficiaries rather than their status. There is an ethical need to establish the rights, and secure tenure of property for those affected in recovery actions. Level 2 - Strategy: The primary resource in post-disaster shelter is the grass-roots motivations of the survivors, their friends and families. Assisting groups can help, but they must avoid duplicating anything best undertaken by survivors themselves. Level 3 - Tactical: All forms of sheltering requires the participation of local groups. Therefore, management structures must empower local people by using local institutions but ensure harmonisation from higher levels of governance. Level 4 - Implementation: Devise ways to ensure that lessons concerning the delivery of shelter programmes have been: learnt, documented, stored and widely disseminated
Difference between Sphere Standards and World Bank Principles [Safer Homes, Stronger Communities] SS: Meant to be universal, able to be used for all humanitarian response. In that sense, the guides need to have a certain degree of predictability and flexibility. Putting rights of the people affected into practice, considering aspirations of the local population
How to put the Sphere Standards into practice?
What are the major tools? When to use them? Diagram: Reminder that the 3 overarching guides are: Humanitarian Chapter, Protection Principles and Core Standards that should always be addressed when dealing within the technical chapters - WASH, Nutrition/Food Security, Health/ & Shelter/NFI. Case Study: Where/when: South Pakistan, High-risk flood area, Disaster/affected: nationwide flooding, natural barrier been breached, people displaced dependent on farming livestock NGO approach: Hygiene promotion - consultation with community Core Standard 1: People-centred approach Minimum Standard: Communicable diseases prevention Key Indicator: Incidences of major communicable diseases relevant to the context are stable and not increasing Guidance Notes: General prevention measures: good site planning, access to hygiene facilities, vaccination against specific diseases, community health and education, social mobilisation, personal protection and vector control.
What do you have to do and bear in mind?
Reflecting back on the approach of the Sphere Standards being rights-based, evidence-based open to improvements and a method of delivery that is flexible. Some aspects to be taken into consideration: Respect customs/cultural aspects -as with the NGO in the case study respects what livestock does for the survival of the community Build on existing structures of assistance Provide for basic needs/minimum standards for specific groups of people Consider the vulnerable/marginalised groups
Introducing the shelter standard
Human Rights Law – right to adequate housing Everyone has the right to adequate house – including the right to live in security, peace and dignity with security of tenure as well as protection from forced eviction. Adequate housing is defined as sufficient space and protection from cold, damp, heat, rain, wind or other threats to health, including structural hazards and disease vectors the availability of services, facilities, materials and infrastructure affordability, habitability, accessibility, location and cultural
appropriateness sustainable access to natural and common resources; safe drinking water; energy for cooking, heating and lighting; sanitation and washing facilities; means of food storage; refuse disposal; site drainage; and emergency services the appropriate siting of settlements and housing to provide safe access to healthcare services, schools, childcare centres and other social facilities and to livelihood opportunities that building materials and policies relating to housing construction appropriately enable appropriately enable the expression of cultural identity and diversity of housing. Ask the class what the importance of shelter and settlement is? Prompt: shelter is critical for survival in the initial stages of a disaster provides security, personal safety and protection from the climate and promote resistance to ill health & disease human dignity – sustain family life supports existing coping strategies
Overview of Shelter Standards
Introduce and elaborate on the 4 Sphere Tools. Standard Specify minimum levels to be attained in humanitarian response. Qualitative. “Universal and applicable to any disaster situation” Really? (class discuss?) Key Actions Practical steps to be taken to achieve the standards. Some may not be applicable in all situations – up to the practitioner to select relevant actions and/or devise alternative to ensure minimum standard is met. Key Indicators Serve as signals as to whether the standards are being met. A way to measure processes and results of key actions. Relate to minimum standards not to key actions. Guidance Notes Context specific points to consider. Practical difficulties and benchmarks. Advice on priority themes and cross cutting themes. Critical issues, dilemmas, controversies and gaps in knowledge. Not specific implementation guidance. Group exercise Put the class into 3 or 4 groups. Hand out notes cards. Groups spend 10 minutes grouping actions and indicators with their corresponding standard. Groups report back. Discuss the vague, qualitative nature of the standards, actions and indicators.
Are sphere standards in shelter response appropriate?
What do you think are the benefits and negatives of sphere standards? Is it applicable? Whose standards are they? Quantitative vs. qualitative – Is this appropriate? Does this impact its application? Should you enforce it? How do you enforce it? it is not mandatory How do you measure quality? Are they minimum standards and principles or guidelines and checklists? Link to other sectors like WASH Alternatives? What would you suggest for the next edition?
During the critical assessment of the Shelter Standard we presented three discussions: Whose standards are they What are the benefits and drawbacks What are our suggestions and considerations On getting the group to think how the Sphere Standard can be used and by whom we presented two quotes:
“Standards are more crucial for people who are coming in. You don't want them to practice and get better by making mistakes on a vulnerable population.” Peter Walker 2012 “Sphere is one of the first Q&A initiatives... guiding the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation during humanitarian response.” IFRC
The Shelter Standard could be used by different actors for various purposes such as but not limited to: A guide or basic planning tool for shelter practitioners A checklist for reviewing shelter programs A controlling mechanism for funders and donors Shelter outcome of “best-practice” for the affected population A tool to advocate and protect the profession While looking at the benefits and drawbacks of the Shelter Standard we put forward two images one of a competition held to design a shelter in one hour and one of a prototype shelter in Haiti designed by architecture students at an American university. Benefits for the Shelter Standard were presented as: Improved coordination through shared standards Consistent and coherent humanitarian responses Flexible and adaptable Context driven Drawbacks for the Shelter Standard were presented as: Can the standards be implemented Who and how of monitoring and evaluation of the standards Open to judgment and subject to experience As a summary of the feedback: It was raised that Sphere should be localised to promote more quantitative data sets in the Shelter Standard. There was a general agreement that the shelter chapter is a useful document as a basis of discussion on humanitarian response for shelter however the standards themselves are not clear/hard hitting and some questioned if indeed they are standards and not principles.
Annex 1: Photos from Group work