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The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response (Fourth Edition)

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The Sphere Handbook Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response WHAT IS SPHERE? THE HUMANITARIAN CHARTER PROTECTION PRINCIPLES CORE HUMANITARIAN STANDARD WATER SUPPLY, SANITATION AND HYGIENE PROMOTION FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION SHELTER AND SETTLEMENT HEALTH Sphere Association 3 Rue de Varembé 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Email: [email protected] Website: www.spherestandards.org First edition 2000 Second edition 2004 Third edition 2011 Fourth edition 2018 Copyright © Sphere Association, 2018 Copyright for the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability © CHS Alliance, Sphere Association and Groupe URD, 2018 All rights reserved. This material is copyrighted but may be reproduced without fee for educational purposes, including for training, research and programme activities, provided that the copyright holder is acknowledged. It is not intended for resale. For copying in other circumstances, posting online, reuse in other publications or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained by emailing [email protected]. A catalogue record for this publication is available from The British Library and the US Library of Congress. ISBN 978-1-908176-400 PBK ISBN 978-1-908176-608 EPUB ISBN 978-1-908176-707 PDF Citation: Sphere Association. The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response, fourth edition, Geneva, Switzerland, 2018. www.spherestandards.org/handbook The Sphere Project was initiated in 1997 by a group of NGOs and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to develop a set of universal minimum standards in core areas of humanitarian response: The Sphere Handbook. The aim of the Handbook is to improve the quality of humanitarian response in situations of disaster and conflict, and to enhance the accountability of humanitarian action to crisis-affected people. The Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response are the product of the collective experience of many people and agencies. They should therefore not be seen as represent- ing the views of any one agency. In 2016, the Sphere Project was registered as the Sphere Association. Distributed for the Sphere Association by Practical Action Publishing and its agents and representatives throughout the world. Practical Action Publishing (UK Company Reg. No. 1159018) is the wholly owned publishing company of Practical Action and trades only in support of its parent charity objectives. Practical Action Publishing, 27a, Albert Street, Rugby, CV21 2SG, United Kingdom Tel +44 (0) 1926 634501; Fax +44 (0)1926 634502 Website: www.practicalactionpublishing.org/sphere Designed by: Non-linear Design Studio, Milan, Italy Printed by: Shortrun Press, United Kingdom. Typeset by vPrompt eServices, India Contents Foreword ...........................................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... vii What is Sphere? ..............................................................................................................................1 The Humanitarian Charter ....................................................................................................... 27 Protection Principles ................................................................................................................. 33 Core Humanitarian Standard .................................................................................................. 49 Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion ..........................................................89 Food Security and Nutrition .................................................................................................. 157 Shelter and Settlement .......................................................................................................... 237 Health ........................................................................................................................................... 289 Annexes ........................................................................................................................................ 371 Annex 1: Legal Foundation to Sphere ........................................................................... 374 Annex 2: Code of Conduct ................................................................................................. 385 Annex 3: Abbreviations and Acronyms ........................................................................ 393 Index .............................................................................................................................................. 395 iii Foreword The Sphere Handbook is marking its 20th anniversary with the publication of this fourth edition. It is the result of an intense year-long mobilisation of human- itarian actors around the globe and reflects two decades of experience using the standards in front-line operations, policy development and advocacy to uphold principled quality and accountability. With a clear, rights-based framework, the Handbook builds on the legal and ethical foundations of humanitarianism with pragmatic guidance, global good practice and compiled evidence to support humanitarian staff wherever they work. Sphere holds a unique place in the sector and in the constantly evolving human- itarian landscape. This edition was clearly informed by the international commit- ments made at the first World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other global initiatives. However, even as the policy landscape continues to evolve, we know that the immediate survival needs of people in conflict and disasters remain largely the same wherever crisis strikes. Sphere supports and contributes to global and local policy processes by recalling the fundamental necessity to provide accountable assistance to help people survive, recover and rebuild their lives with dignity. Sphere’s strength and global reach lie in the fact that it belongs to all. This sense of ownership is renewed every few years, when the standards are reviewed and revised by the users themselves. It is a moment when we collec- tively restate our commitments and agree on improved action to make sure that practitioners have the best information available to them wherever they may work. This makes Sphere a core reference and a reminder of the funda- mental importance of human dignity and the right of people to participate fully in decisions that affect them. Sphere is one of the foundations of humanitarian work. It is the starting point for new humanitarian actors and a standing reference for experienced staff, providing guidance on priority actions and where to find more detailed technical information. Our standards partners provide even more support in specific sectors beyond Sphere to help people recover and thrive. This edition benefits from the input of thousands of people working with more than 450 organisations in at least 65 countries around the world. The global reach reflects experience from diverse contexts, extraordinary challenges and different v FOREWORD types of actors. These standards would not exist without the unwavering commit- ment of so many of you. You have the thanks of our sector for your contributions during the revision and, indeed, over the past two decades. We look forward to continuing this important work and learning together with you as you use this Handbook. Martin McCann Christine Knudsen Sphere Board Chair Executive Director vi Acknowledgements This edition of The Sphere Handbook is the result of the The Shelter and Settlement chapter most diverse and far-reaching is dedicated to the memory of Graham consultation process in the Saunders, author of this chapter history of Sphere. Nearly 4,500 in the 2004 and 2011 editions and online comments were received advisor in the early development of from 190 organisations, and more the 2018 edition. than 1,400 people participated in Graham was a true humanitarian and 60 in-person events hosted by a champion of the Shelter sector. His partners in 40 countries. Sphere vision, leadership and endless energy gratefully acknowledges the have been instrumental in putting scale and breadth of the contri- humanitarian shelter issues on the butions made, including from map and shaping the field for future national, local and international generations of shelter practitioners. NGOs, national authorities and He continuously strived to improve ministries, Red Cross and Red our practice and professionalise the Crescent societies, universities, sector. He will be greatly missed as a UN organisations and individual pioneer, professional and friend. practitioners. The revision process was coordinated by the Sphere office. Individual chapters were developed by lead authors with cross-sectoral support from desig- nated thematic experts and resource persons from the humanitarian sector. The majority of the authors and thematic experts were put forward by their home organisations, dedicating their time and effort as an in-kind contribution to the sector. Writing groups and reference groups were established to support the authors and thematic experts in their work. Sphere acknowledges the valuable contribu- tion of all these individuals throughout 2017 and 2018. A full list of all working group and reference group members can be found on the Sphere website,
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