Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR)

SCHR, the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response, created in 1972, is an alliance for voluntary action of currently nine major international humanitarian organisations and networks including Care International », Caritas Internationalis », the International Committee of the Red Cross », the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies », International Save the Children Alliance », Lutheran World Federation », Médecins sans Frontières », Oxfam » and World Council of Churches ». 

Vision

SCHR's  vision is a more just and humane world, where the poorest and most vulnerable are placed at the centre of their concerns.

Mission

SCHRs mission is to bring together the major international humanitarian networks with common values to make this vision reality. SCHR members pool experience and use their collective weight to carry out effective humanitarian action by:-

• Sharing relevant information among member agencies and fostering cooperation at all levels · 

• Highlighting issues of humanitarian concern and, where possible, adopting common positions · 

• Establishing working groups to study in depth relevant humanitarian issues and policies, especially on standards, accountability, security and protection · 

• Engaging, where possible, in joint advocacy on humanitarian issues and situations · 

• Engaging with the UN humanitarian system, and actively participating in the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) · 

• Playing a leading role in ongoing debates about humanitarian standards · 

• Conducting peer reviews to learn from one another and improve our humanitarian response · 

• Regularly bringing the principals of our members together to build trust leading to further synergies at all levels of our work.

Developing Humanitarian Policy

Sponsor of the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief and a founding member of the Sphere project, SCHR supports humanitarian policy development and aims at closing the policy - practice gap. It learns from experience by following up on studies arising out of SCHR member work as practitioners in humanitarian action and disaster management, forms positions around humanitarian issues of concern, shares information and knowledge and fosters cooperation at all levels.

Peer Review

The Peer Review Process is a recent example of collaboration on learning and accountability. Based on the West Africa scandal of sexual exploitation in humanitarian operations in 2002 and the following IASC process to prevent sexual abuse and exploitation, SCHR decided to embark on a peer review process on this particular issue, using OECD-DAC peer review methodology. The first round of reviews will be finished in 2006, and SCHR is currently looking for a new theme in this process of supporting increased quality, accountability and learning within the humanitarian sector. Experiences will be shared as Lessons Learnt and through the Humanitarian Practice Network. 

Work Focus

SCHR focuses its work on three segments, a field program-led agenda, a proactive quality and accountability agenda and an agenda focused on interaction with the UN, mainly through IASC. 

The field program-led agenda looks at "current action" and neglected humantarian contexts and comprises sharing program information and fostering co-operation, and proposing and taking joint SCHR (or "some of SCHR") action on issues of common humanitarian concern.

The standards and accountability agenda focuses on the peer review process as well as promotion of the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards, the Code of Conduct in Disaster Relief and other quality and accountability initiatives. This year includes the finalisation and launching of a Commentary on the Code of Conduct in Disaster Relief together with ICVA to give field workers and humanitarian staff at headquarters examples of best practice in relation to the principles of the Code as well as opportunities to reflect on humanitarian issues and dilemmas in a changing humanitarian environment.

The third segment focuses on strategic UN humanitarian issues, currently largely encapsulated in the humanitarian reform vehicle and relating to humanitarian coordination and NGO-UN relationships and responsibilities, capacity issues and clusters, benchmarking, standards and indicators and humanitarian financing, including the new CERF.

Fora

Drawing strength from its diversity, SCHR will continue to debate issues in its bi-annual CEO meetings, inviting other actors to be part of the discussion as appropriate, looking at neutral and independent humanitarian action, civil-military relations, the future of different standards and accountability initiatives, a changing hazardscape or other issues on the frontline of humanitarian action, and supported by its main "mini-think tank", the Policy Working Group, consisting of emergency directors and policy heads.

SCHR has a small office, based in Geneva, led by Eva von Oelreich, who is its executive secretary.