Oxfam Armenia presents Armenian language edition of sphere project

YEREVAN, February 20. /ARKA/. The Armenian office of the British Oxfam presented today the Armenian language handbook of ‘Sphere project – ‘Humanitarian Charter: minimum standards in disaster response.’ Oxfam Armenia director, Margarita Hakobyan, said the Armenian edition is the outcome of a broad inter-agency cooperation.

The cornerstone of the handbook is the Humanitarian Charter, which is based on the principles and provisions of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, refugee law and the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief. The Charter describes the core principles that govern humanitarian action and reasserts the right of populations affected by disaster, whether natural or man-made (including armed conflict), to protection and assistance. It also reasserts the right of disaster-affected populations to life with dignity. The Charter points out the legal responsibilities of states and warring parties to guarantee the right to protection and assistance. When the relevant authorities are unable and/or unwilling to fulfil their responsibilities, they are obliged to allow humanitarian organizations to provide humanitarian assistance and protection.

Hakobyan emphasized that this publication will help harmonize the principles effective in Armenia with international Humanitarian Charter: minimum standards in disaster response.

Ashot Sargsyan, disaster risk reduction consultant with UNDP in Armenia, said that the Armenian edition of the handbook fill the gap in this area. Deputy chief of rescue service of Armenian Emergency Ministry Nikolay Grigoryan added that this gap was felts strongly in 1988 in the first days of the Spitak earthquake when Armenia was receiving huge humanitarian aid from across the world but there was a real chaos on the ground due to lack of guidelines for organization of humanitarian aid. 

Oxfam consultant Nega Bazezew said the Sphere Project is a program of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR) and InterAction with VOICE and ICVA. It was launched in 1997 to develop a set of universal minimum standards in core areas of humanitarian assistance. The aim of the project is to improve the quality of assistance provided to people affected by disasters, and to enhance the accountability of the humanitarian system in disaster response.

The first trial edition of the Sphere project was published in 1998, the first finalized publication in 2000, the third edition in 2011. It is translated into 40 languages. -0-