The Minimum Standards in Shelter, Settlement and Non-Food Items are a practical expression of the principles and rights embodied in the Humanitarian Charter. The Humanitarian Charter is concerned with the most basic requirements for sustaining the lives and dignity of those affected by calamity or conflict, as reflected in the body of international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law. In humanitarian response, shelter and settlement are familiar terms that fall within the scope of the right to housing, which is enshrined in human rights law.

Everyone has the right to adequate housing. This right is recognised in international legal instruments and includes the right to live in security, peace and dignity, and with security of tenure. Key aspects of the right to housing include the availability of services, facilities, materials and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location; and cultural appropriateness. The right to housing also extends to goods and services, such as sustainable access to natural and common resources; safe drinking water; energy for cooking, heating and lighting; sanitation and washing facilities; means of food storage; refuse disposal; site drainage; and emergency services. People should have adequate space and protection from cold, damp, heat, rain, wind or other threats to health, structural hazards and disease vectors. The appropriate siting of settlements and housing should provide access to health-care services, schools, child-care centres and other social facilities and to livelihood opportunities. The way housing is constructed, the building materials used and the policies supporting these must appropriately enable the expression of cultural identity and diversity of housing.

The right to housing is inextricably related to other human rights, including that of protection against forced eviction, harassment and other threats to physical safety and well-being, the right of everyone to be protected against arbitrary displacement from their home or place of habitual residence, and the prohibition of indiscriminate armed attacks on civilian objects.

The Minimum Standards in this chapter are not a full expression of the Right to Housing. However, the Sphere standards reflect the core content of the Right to Housing and contribute to the progressive realisation of this right globally.

Shelter is a critical determinant for survival in the initial stages of a disaster. Beyond survival, shelter is necessary to provide security and personal safety, protection from the climate and enhanced resistance to ill health and disease. It is also important for human dignity and to sustain family and community life as far as possible in difficult circumstances.

Shelter and associated settlement and non-food item responses should support communal coping strategies, incorporating as much self-sufficiency and self-management into the process as possible. Any such responses should also minimise the long-term adverse impact on the environment, whilst maximising opportunities for the affected communities to maintain or establish livelihood support activities.

The most individual level of response to the need for shelter and the maintenance of health, privacy and dignity is the provision of clothing, blankets and bedding. People also require basic goods and supplies to meet their personal hygiene needs, to prepare and eat food, and to provide necessary levels of thermal comfort. Disaster-affected households and those displaced from their dwellings often possess only what they can salvage or carry, and the provision of appropriate non-food items may be required to meet essential needs.

The type of response required to meet the needs of people and households affected by a disaster is determined by key factors including the nature and scale of the disaster and the resulting loss of shelter, the climatic conditions and the local environment, the political and security situation, the context (rural or urban) and the ability of the community to cope. Consideration must also be given to the rights and needs of those who are secondarily affected by the disaster, such as any host community. Any response should be informed by the steps taken by the affected households in the initial aftermath of the disaster, using their own skills and material resources to provide temporary shelter or to begin the construction of new, longer-term dwellings. Shelter responses should enable affected households to incrementally upgrade from emergency to durable shelter solutions within a reasonably short time and with regard to the constraints on acquiring the additional resources required.

Involving women in shelter and settlement programmes can help ensure that they and all members of the population affected by the disaster have equitable and safe access to shelter, clothing, construction materials, food production equipment and other essential supplies. Women should be consulted about a range of issues such as security and privacy, sources and means of collecting fuel for cooking and heating, and how to ensure that there is equitable access to housing and supplies. Particular attention will be needed to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and sexual exploitation. It is therefore important to encourage women's participation in the design and implementation of shelter and settlement programmes wherever possible.

Many of the standards in the other sector chapters are relevant to this chapter. Progress in achieving standards in one area often influences and sometimes even determines progress in other areas. For a response to be effective, close coordination and collaboration are required with other sectors. Coordination with local authorities and other responding agencies is also necessary to ensure that needs are met, that efforts are not duplicated, and that the quality of shelter, settlement and non-food item interventions is optimised.

For example, the complementary provision of adequate water supply and sanitation facilities in areas in which shelter assistance is being provided is necessary to ensure the health and dignity of the affected households. Similarly, the provision of adequate shelter contributes to the health and well-being of displaced households, while essential cooking and eating utensils are required to enable food assistance to be utilised and nutritional needs met. Reference to specific standards or guidance notes in other technical chapters is made where relevant.

The process by which an intervention is developed and implemented is critical to its effectiveness. This chapter should be utilised in conjunction with the standards common to all sectors, which cover participation, initial assessment, response, targeting, monitoring, evaluation, aid worker competencies and responsibilities, and the supervision, management and support of personnel (see chapter 1). In particular, in any response the participation of disaster-affected people - including the vulnerable groups outlined below - should be maximised to ensure its appropriateness and quality.

The groups most frequently at risk in disasters are women, children, older people, disabled people and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A). In certain contexts, people may also become vulnerable by reason of ethnic origin, religious or political affiliation, or displacement. This is not an exhaustive list, but it includes those most frequently identified. Specific vulnerabilities influence people's ability to cope and survive in a disaster, and those most at risk should be identified in each context.

Throughout the handbook, the term 'vulnerable groups' refers to all these groups. When any one group is at risk, it is likely that others will also be threatened. Therefore, whenever vulnerable groups are mentioned, users are strongly urged to consider all those listed here. Special care must be taken to protect and provide for all affected groups in a non-discriminatory manner and according to their specific needs. However, it should also be remembered that disaster-affected populations possess, and acquire, skills and capacities of their own to cope, and that these should be recognised and supported.