Linking Rights and Standards: The Process of Developing ‘Rights‐based’ Minimum Standards on Food Security, Nutrition and Food Aid

Abstract

This article examines the recent revision of the Sphere Minimum Standards in disaster response relating to food security, nutrition and food aid. It describes how the revision attempted to incorporate the principles of the Humanitarian Charter, as well as relevant human rights principles and values into the Sphere Minimum Standards. The initial aim of the revision was to ensure that the Sphere Minimum Standards better reflected the principles embodied in the Humanitarian Charter. This was later broadened to ensure that key legal standards and principles from human rights and humanitarian law were considered and also incorporated, in part to fill the "protection gap" within the existing standards. In relation to the food security, nutrition and food aid standards, it was agreed by participants in the process that the human right to adequate food and freedom from hunger should be incorporated. In relation to more general principles underlying the Humanitarian Charter, itself drawn largely from human rights and humanitarian law, it was agreed that there was a need to strengthen "protection" elements within the standards and a need to incorporate the basic principles of the right to life with dignity, non-discrimination, impartiality and participation, as well as to explore the relevance of the concept of the progressive realisation of the right to food. The questions raised in linking rights to operational standards required thought, on the one hand, about whether the technical standards reflected a deep understanding of the values expressed within the legal instruments, and whether the existing standards were adequate in relation to those legal rights. On the other hand, it also required reflection on how operational standards like Sphere could give concrete content to human rights, such as the right to food and the right to be free from hunger. However, there remain challenges in examining what a rights-based approach will mean in terms of the role of humanitarian agencies as duty-bearers of rights, given that the primary responsibility rests with state governments. It will also require reflection on the modes and mechanisms of accountability that are brought to bear in ensuring the implementation of the Minimum Standards.

Revisiting the Sphere standards: comparing the revised Sphere standards to living standards in three urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya

“…Similarly, protracted crises with a mix of acute relief and recovery operations may find them unfit to guide service delivery (McDougal and Beard 2011). Others have focused less on the applicability of metrics and evidence base behind them, moving directly to a rights-based approach using the humanitarian charter as a basis to address these complex scenarios (Young et al 2004;Ouyang et al 2009;Ali and Kabau 2014). A human rights-based approach may in fact lead to appropriate qualitative standards as others have argued.…”

Participation, political economy and protection: food aid governance in Darfur, Sudan

“…The Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response describes this well: 'targeting mechanisms and criteria should not undermine the dignity and security of individuals, or increase their vulnerability to exploitation' (The Sphere Project, 2004, p. 36). The document is the first collective approach towards operationalising human rights by integrating rights-based minimum standards into key indicators based on operational good practice (Young et al, 2004). According to WFP's mission statement, 'food aid is essential for social and humanitarian protection '.…”

“…The Sphere Project has a minimum standard for participation in disaster response, with related 'key indicators' and 'guidance notes' (The Sphere Project, 2004). However, specific guidance on how participation might be achieved is lacking (Young et al, 2004). The World Food Programme (WFP)'s policy commitments to promote participation are intended to empower poor, marginalised communities and overcome gender inequalities (WFP, 2005).…”

Famine in North Korea: markets, aid, and reform

“…5. The most prominent of these exercises is the Inter-agency Code of Conduct arising out the Sphere Project (2004), and later, in recognition of the absence of a formal accountability mechanism, the establishment of the Humanitarian Accountability Project International (Young et al 2004).…”