Islamic Relief Worldwide has been recertified against the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) – a rigorous global standard for humanitarian work.
In celebration of this achievement, we are breaking down just what exactly the CHS is and why it is important for organisations like Islamic Relief.
What is the CHS?
The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability provides a set of commitments that humanitarian organisations can use to improve the quality and effectiveness of their work.
As its full name suggests, the main focuses of the CHS are quality and accountability. It is made up of 9 commitments that centre around ensuring aid is appropriate and delivered in a way that does not negatively impact the communities or individuals it is intended to help.
The commitments, underpinned by the 4 core humanitarian principles, also concern the importance of organisations being accountable to those they serve.
What are the 9 commitments?
The 9 commitments that make up the CHS state:
- Assistance is appropriate and relevant to the needs of communities and people affected by crisis.
- Communities and people affected by crisis have access to the humanitarian assistance they need at the right time.
- They are not negatively affected and are more prepared, resilient and less at-risk as a result of humanitarian action.
- Communities and people affected by crisis know their rights and entitlements, have access to information and participate in decisions that affect them.
- They have access to safe and responsive mechanisms to handle complaints.
- Communities and people affected by crisis can expect coordinated, complementary assistance.
- They can expect delivery of improved assistance as organisations learn from experience and reflection.
- Communities and people affected by crisis can expect assistance from competent and well-managed staff and volunteers.
- They can expect that the organisations assisting them are managing resources effectively, efficiently and ethically.
Why was the CHS created?
An evaluation conducted following the Rwandan genocide in 1994 found a series of failings in the response to the crisis, and urged the need for regulation or an international accreditation system for non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
This report, along with a series of other investigations into the work of humanitarian responders highlighted the need for an initiative to prevent the abuse of communities and people affected by crisis.
In response, several initiatives were created in an attempt to prevent such abuses and failings from happening in the future. These initiatives included the Red Cross Code of Conduct and the NGO Code of Conduct.
The CHS was created in 2015 with the aim of harmonising the many different standards that had been created by this time.
What is the difference between the CHS and other standards for humanitarian organisations?
There is some overlap between the CHS and other standards that were created before it as they all have the same broad aim in mind: helping humanitarian organisations to improve the standard of their work.
The widely used Sphere Handbook, which lays out practical standards for implementing humanitarian projects, has included the CHS since 2018.
What makes the CHS different is that it encourages organisations to place communities and individuals affected by crisis at the centre of everything they do.
What does recertification against the CHS mean for Islamic Relief?
Islamic Relief was first certified against the CHS in 2017. Our recertification reaffirms our accountability to the communities we serve and our commitment to transparency and to ensuring our work is carried out to the highest standard.
Some aspects of the CHS values overlap with Islamic Relief’s own five values that guide everything we do: ikhlas (sincerity), ihsan (excellence), rahma (compassion), adl (social justice) and amana (custodianship).
The recertification also confirms that we are managing our resources effectively and designing programmes that create a positive impact when responding to crises and supporting communities.
How does certification work?
To get certified against the CHS, an organisation must be assessed by external auditors who will determine to what extent it meets the 9 CHS commitments.
Once the assessment is complete, auditors produce a report, then a decision on certification is made and a certificate is issued. The certification lasts 4 years.
To carry out Islamic Relief’s most recent audit, the Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative (HQAI) assessed a sample of 5 country offices – Kenya, Somalia, Bangladesh, Jordan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina – along with our international headquarters in the UK.
Auditors spoke to staff as well as members of the communities we serve. Normally, audits would be conducted in person but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the audit was done remotely.
What did the audit of Islamic Relief find?
The audit found that Islamic Relief works closely with local and national authorities to provide services quickly and effectively to those in need, including during emergencies.
We were also found to have robust complaints and feedback systems that were well understood by the communities we work for.
Islamic Relief scored highly against all 9 CHS commitments and, notably, no Corrective Action Requests (CARs) were made, meaning auditors did not find any major failings.
Which other organisations have been certified?
Islamic Relief is one of only 5 UK-based charities to have been certified against the CHS. To date, we are the only UK-based Muslim faith-inspired organisation to hold the certification.
We are part of the CHS Alliance – a global network of member organisations committed to raising the standard of aid by putting people at the centre of their humanitarian and development action.
Other certified organisations include Oxfam and Christian Aid. More than 113 agencies globally had been verified against the CHS – a less rigorous process than certification – as of May 2022.
How will Islamic Relief keep ensuring it meets the CHS commitments?
Islamic Relief will keep ensuring it meets the CHS commitments by putting the individuals and communities we serve at the heart of everything we do.
For us, this means listening to the feedback of the people we serve, involving them in decision-marking at all stages of our programmes, from inception to conclusion, and working to boost the capacity of local authorities and organisations, including NGOs.
We will also undergo an annual audit to confirm we are meeting the CHS requirements and ensuring the needs of communities and individuals affected by crisis determine how we operate.
For more than 38 years Islamic Relief has been supporting vulnerable people around the world, helping to meet their basic needs and set them on the road to self-reliance.
Help us to continue the vital work that we do. Donate now.
