London, July 23: The UK Government on Sunday announced a new Humanitarian Medal that will honour those who provide humanitarian relief under tough conditions in the wake of disasters such as earthquakes and conflicts overseas.
The UK Cabinet Office said the new medal will only be awarded to those involved in what are classed as “Serious Emergency (Level 2)” or “Catastrophic Emergency (Level 3)” situations.
It will be awarded to those in public service and members of organisations that contribute on behalf of the UK government, such as charities which respond in support of human welfare during or in the aftermath of a crisis, in combating a life-threatening crisis, providing disaster relief or aid provision in Britain and abroad.
“Organisations eligible for the Medal will have been deployed on behalf of, formally funded by or formally endorsed by HM (His Majesty’s) Government. Organisations such as charities that attend an incident uninvited by HM Government will not be eligible,” reads the Cabinet Office statement.
A Level 2 Serious Emergency will cover one which has, or threatens, a wide and/or prolonged impact requiring sustained central government co¬ordination and support from a number of departments and agencies, usually including the regional tier in England and where appropriate, the devolved administrations.
The central government response to such an emergency would be co-ordinated from the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR), under the leadership of the lead government department.
A Level 3 Catastrophic Emergency will cover one which has an exceptionally high and potentially widespread impact and requires immediate central government direction and support. Characteristics might include a top¬-down response in circumstances where the local response had been overwhelmed, or the use of emergency powers were required.
According to the Cabinet Office Command Paper for the new Medal, there will be no public nomination process for the Humanitarian Medal.
The process will involve government departments developing a case for the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals, which is the UK’s official policy committee for the honours system. This could then lead to a recommendation being made to King Charles III for the medal to be awarded.
A different clasp will be used to designate each use of the medal.
All qualifying service must be either in the form of frontline service, people-facing, or in direct support of an affected population.
Qualifying service for a recommendation for the medal would include at least one of the following: hazardous service; sustained service; and/or significant service, shorter in duration but characterised by a particularly serious immediate threat to life. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
