GovWire

On 23 July 2023 the Government announced the introduction of a Humanitarian Medal. The Humanitarian Medal will be awarded to those in public service and members of organisations that contribute on behalf of HM Government, such as charities, which respond in support of human welfare during or in the aftermath of a crisis - for example, in combating a life-threatening crisis; providing disaster relief or aid provision; whether in hazardous circumstances such as conflict zones or otherwise; both in the UK and internationally.

The Humanitarian Medal will only be awarded to serious (level 2) or catastrophic (level 3) emergencies:

• Serious Emergency (Level 2) - One which has, or threatens, a wide and/or prolonged impact requiring sustained central government coordination 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 coordinated from the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR), under the leadership of the lead government department.
• Catastrophic Emergency (Level 3) - 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.

Organisations eligible for the Medal will have been deployed on behalf of, formally funded by or formally endorsed by HM Government. Organisations such as charities that attend an incident uninvited by HM Government will not be eligible.

Individual eligibility is set out in detail in the command paper linked above.

There is no public nomination process for the Humanitarian Medal.

Government departments will be responsible for developing a case for the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (the policy committee for the honours system), following which a recommendation may be made to His Majesty The King for the Medal to be awarded. A clasp will be used to designate each use of the Medal.