[For new developments on this subject, see HAP, People In Aid and the Sphere Project on the harmonisation of humanitarian standards]
Some of the participants at the meeting of the Boards of HAP, People In Aid and the Sphere Project, Geneva, 17 May 2013.
In a meeting in Geneva on 16 May 2013, the three Boards jointly committed to the following:
1. The three initiatives will deliver a verifiable Common Core Standard by the end of 2013. This Common Core Standard will be based on humanitarian principles, will promote coherence and improved usability and access for aid workers and agencies, and will put the voices of affected populations at the heart of humanitarian action.
2. HAP, People In Aid and the Sphere Project will, through their global reach, provide joint awareness-raising and support activities around the Standard, aimed at aid workers and humanitarian agencies.
3. The three initiatives will collaborate with other humanitarian actors to develop a new standards architecture. This architecture will enable aid workers and agencies around the world to easily navigate and put humanitarian principles, the Common Core Standard and technical standards into practice.
The three boards are confident that these commitments, which are the result of a broad consultative process coordinated by the Joint Standards Initiative, will improve the quality and accountability of humanitarian action.
HAP, People In Aid, and the Sphere Project will launch these activities together with a road map for their implementation at the Humanitarian Standards Forum, a gathering of the international humanitarian community to be held in Geneva on 27 June 2013.