Participants

Who is involved in HAP certification?

The applicant agency

Any agency that meets HAP's four Qualifying Norms can apply for certification:

a commitment to providing humanitarian assistance on an impartial basis
formal declaration as a not-for-profit organization in the country or countries where it is legally registered and where it conducts its humanitarian work
compliance with the requirements for financial accountability under the law in the country or countries where it is legally registered and where it conducts it humanitarian work
a publicly available statement of the agency’s humanitarian accountability framework

More information on the four Qualifying Norms will be available in the Guide to the HAP Standard 2007, which can be ordered now from Oxfam Publishing.

The certifying agency - HAP

HAP International is the certifying agency. This means that HAP is the sole body with the right to determine whether an agency can be publicly declared as meeting the HAP Standard. In the future, HAP may accredit other agencies (such as national or regional NGO networks) to certify according to the HAP Standard as well.

The General Assembly and the Secretariat

Within HAP, the General Assembly has final authority over the HAP standard and the process for certification. It delegates responsibility for awarding certificates to the “Certification and Accreditation Review Board”, which comprising the Chair of the HAP Board, two independent Board members and two HAP Board members representing HAP members.

The CARB in turn delegates oversight of actual certifications to the Certification Manager, an employee of the HAP Secretariat who administers applications for certification and supervises baseline analysis and audits.

The HAP registered auditor

The audits themselves are carried out by registered HAP Standard auditors. Employed as independent contractors, these auditors have a minimum of 5 to 10 years experience in the humanitarian sector and, after training, are registered with HAP as competent to carry out audits against the HAP Standard. HAP administers a pool of auditors to minimize the possibility of conflicting interests.

Access the list of registered HAP auditors.