Development

From problem to principle to practice

The problem of power

Non-government organizations exercise significant power in humanitarian crisis through their control over essential goods and services, such as food, medical aid and shelter. However, until recently, the "helping power" of emergency relief agencies has been fairly unregulated as few organizations formalized procedures to allow disaster survivors to participate in decisions about services or complain about poor practices.

Agencies take note

UN and NGO agencies became acutely aware of their lack of accountability after the Rwanda genocide of 1994. Over the next 10 years, they worked together on various initiatives directed at remedying the so-called 'accountability deficit' in humanitarian action. One of those initiatives eventually became HAP.

Principles of Accountability

Immediately following its launch in 2003, HAP set about developing a set of Principles of Accountability.These summarized - for the first time - core elements of good practice in accountability in humanitarian situations.

Read HAP's Principles of Accountability.

The creation of the Standard

However, looking at the Principles, it was not possible to tell if an agency was actually accountable. Therefore, HAP members asked the Secretariat in 2005 to develop a set of benchmarks and indicators for accountability and quality management in humanitarian work. HAP did so, consulting over two years with some 216 people from many difference backgrounds and organizations. The HAP Standard in Humanitarian Accountability and Quality Management is now being used by agencies to assess accountability and quality management in their operations, including through certification.

Read the Standard.

The HAP Standard – where to from here

To help agencies use the benchmarks in their work, HAP has developed a Guide to the Standard. Published by Oxfam Publishing, it will be launched in beginning of 2008. You can order the Guide in advance by contacting Oxfam Publishing.

The HAP Secretariat will continue to review the Standard throughout 2008 and 2009. During this consultation there will be the opportunity to revise and strengthen the HAP Standard 2007, with a new Standard being released by the beginning of 2010.