CHS Alliance
Core Humanitarian Standard Alliance
Formation2015
Legal statusNon-profit organisation
HeadquartersGeneva, Switzerland
Executive Director
Tanya Wood
Websitewww.chsalliance.org

The Core Humanitarian Standard Alliance, known as the CHS Alliance, is a network of non-governmental organizations working in humanitarian aid.[1]

The focus of the CHS Alliance is the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability.[2]

History and mandate

The CHS Alliance was founded in June 2015 by the merger of HAP International and People In Aid.[3][4][2]

It is a coalition of humanitarian and international development organizations that works to strengthen accountability in the sector.[5][6]

Activities

One of its core mandates of the CHS Alliance is to apply and promote the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS), which was developed HAP International, People In Aid, and (later) Groupe URD.[7][8]

The CHS now forms part of the Sphere Handbook on minimum standards in humanitarian response.[9][10]

The Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative was created in 2015 to audit compliance with the CHS.[11]

The CHS Alliance published the Protection from Sexual Exploitation Index and handbook and works with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to create whistleblowing guidance.[12][13]

In 2021 the CHS Alliance was critical of the use of non disclosure agreements in the aid sector.[6]

Criticisms

Sandrine Tiller of Médecins Sans Frontières described the standards that the CHS Alliance promote as too simplistic and generic.[2] That criticism was rejected by Simon Eccleshall of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies who said that the simplicity was intentional, considering the wide range of potential users of the standard.[2]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Perry, Jenny (2021-09-08). "Accountability to Communities". Medical Teams International. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  2. ^ a b c d Purvis, Katherine (2015-06-11). "Core Humanitarian Standard: do NGOs need another set of standards?". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  3. ^ "Hap and People in Aid Merge to Become CHS Alliance". elrha. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  4. ^ Tatham, Peter; Christopher, Martin (2018). Humanitarian Logistics: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing For and Responding To Disasters. Kogan Page Publishers. p. 29. ISBN 9780749481452.
  5. ^ Davies, Madeleine (3 September 2021). "The Church and NDAs: when silence is enforced". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  6. ^ a b Smith, Emma (21 September 2020). "NGOs accused of hiding misconduct behind gag orders". Devex.
  7. ^ Sphere Association. The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response. Practical Action Publishing. p. 52.
  8. ^ Reis, Chen; Bernath, Tania (2016). Becoming an International Humanitarian Aid Worker. Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 7. ISBN 9780128043851.
  9. ^ "CHS Alliance". Devex. Archived from the original on 2018-05-15.
  10. ^ "CHS". www.svenskakyrkan.se. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  11. ^ Alexander, Jessica (2021-04-27). "25 years of aid accountability". The New Humanitarian. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  12. ^ Bolton, Laura (2021-09-21). "Policies and Practices that Link Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) and Protection from Sexual Exploitation (PSEA)". doi:10.19088/K4D.2021.138. S2CID 245063228. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Progress Report on Safeguarding Against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) in the International Aid Sector 2020 to 2021". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-01-07.


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