NRC PROGRAMMES - Norwegian Refugee Council

Camp managementCamp managementauthorities, camp leaders and members ofthe host community, amongst others, NRCas a Camp Management Agency collectsdata and disseminates information, whichensures provision in key sectors. One of thekey responsibilities in camp management isto monitor assistance such as shelter, distributionof food and non-food items, waterand sanitation facilities, health services andeducation.Central to best practice in camp managementis promoting the active participationof the camp residents in the daily activitiesof the camp, with a view to developingself-management and effective governance.To this end NRC as a Camp ManagementAgency mobilises communities to formcamp committees to participate in theplanning, implementation and evaluationof camp management projects. This reducesdependency, develops self-esteem, harnessesskills and capacities and generatesa vision of a future beyond displacement.Community participation in Sri Lanka IDP campActivities for children is an important part of camp life.ApproachTarget GroupNRC’s primary target groups are displacedpopulations living in camp settings – includingrefugees, IDPs and returnees.Secondary target groups are humanitarianactors, such as the various UN agencies,NGOs, international organisations anddonors, as well as governments and authorities.PhasesNRC camp management programmes canbe implemented in all phases of displacementin order to ensure protection andassistance for displaced communities.Depending on the context, NRC will designits camp management programme accordingto developments in the camp’s lifecycle, e.g. activities during camp set-up willdiffer from activities during camp closureand phase-out.Durable SolutionsNRC recognises that camps do not providedurable solutions for displaced communities.Working with the displaced population toadvocate for, identify and ensure sustainablesolutions are reached, is a key objective forcamp management. Durable solutions mayentail return to the place of origin, integrationinto the host or surrounded communityor resettlement in a third location.The type of settlements that are defined ascamp settings can vary depending on theemergency and the coping strategies inplace. NRC works in the following typesof settlements:1. Camps (planned camps, self-settledcamps, reception centres, transitcamps)2. Mass shelter in collective centres3. Dispersed settlements4. (Early) return areasNRC defines camp management as “on-sitecoordination of all activities and serviceswithin one camp”. Coordinating withhumanitarian actors, governments andA key responsibility of the Camp ManagementAgency is to take account of a varietyof issues which cut across both the technicaland the social elements of camp life. Theseissues include the impact that a camp hason the environment, the need for representationof women and men, boys and girls,and the specific protection needs of vulnerablegroups, e.g. the elderly and peopleliving with HIV/AIDS.Working Principles and MethodsEquality of Participation through Age,Diversity and Gender MainstreamingNRC works to promote gender equalityand respect for human rights, particularlywomen’s and children’s rights, regardlessof their ethnic, social and religious background.Mainstreaming age, gender anddiversity entails the meaningful participationof girls and boys, women and menof all ages and backgrounds.EnvironmentMass population upheaval, and associatedhumanitarian relief operations have environmentalconsequences, not least in termsof the natural resources used by camppopulations for a variety of purposes intheir daily lives. The environmental impactof these activities is influenced by manydecisions throughout the camp’s life cycle,from the time a site is selected to the time acamp is closed. Best practice in campmanagement aims to generate awarenessof environment-related issues and the longerterm management of natural resources.Understanding environmental managementas central to effective protection, and takingthe needs of both the camp and the hostpopulations into account are of key importance.Do No HarmOften operating in circumstances of violentconflict and political complexity, campmanagement adopts a reflective approachwhich acknowledges that humanitarianrelief can produce unintended and evencounter-productive consequences. Bringingresources into situations of conflict and/ordisaster may exacerbate the very conflictsand violence that we seek to relieve. Whilstworking to maintain the humanitarianimperative, the right to receive humanitarianassistance and to offer it, NRC is awarethat best practice in camp managementis underpinned by an awareness of thecontext of activities, and the principleof ‘firstly, do no harm.’Coordination and PartnershipsAs the focal point for the inter-agencyCamp Management Project, and a partnerin the global Camp Coordination andCamp Management (CCCM) Cluster,NRC’s activities aim to create and contributeto different fora for advocacy andbest practice in camp management.In the field, NRC participates in nationalCCCM clusters. NRC’s camp managementinvolves partnerships with a wide range ofhumanitarian actors and includes workingclosely with national governments and6 NRC CORE ACTIVITIES NRC CORE ACTIVITIES 7