Participation, risks and exit

1Governance and residents' participation

Residents are not passive beneficiaries: they are the ones who know the site's problems. Governance is organised through representative structures: central committee, block leaders, sector committees (water, health, security, complaints), groups of women, young people and persons with disabilities.

• Equitable representation of women (the aim is parity on committees) and of minority groups.
• Selection by election or consensus, limited terms, written terms of reference, signed code of conduct.
• Vigilance against committee capture by self-appointed leaders or armed groups.

The site manager trains committees, checks that information flows both ways and also consults less visible groups directly, for example in separate focus group discussions.

2Complaints, feedback and communication

A complaints and feedback mechanism (CFM) must be accessible to everyone: suggestion boxes, help desks at the site office, a toll-free hotline, mobile staff, committees. It must be known, confidential, safe and suited to people who cannot read.

Each piece of feedback is recorded, referred to the right service provider and followed up until a response is given to the person: this is the feedback loop. Sensitive complaints (sexual exploitation and abuse, fraud, abuse of power) follow a separate confidential channel to PSEA focal points and specialised services, never public posting. Trends are analysed and shared back with residents.

3Reducing risks: fire, flood, eviction

A site concentrates risks. The site manager maps them with residents and prepares a preparedness and response plan:

• Fire: clear firebreaks, distance between shelters, fuel-efficient stoves, water or sand points, trained fire watch committees, evacuation plan.
• Flood: drainage maintained before the rainy season, relocation of shelters in low-lying areas, raised latrines, stocks of materials.
• Eviction: written land agreements, dialogue with landowners and authorities, monitoring of threats, advocacy. A forced eviction without consultation, notice or alternative is contrary to international law.

Other risks are monitored continuously: epidemics, tensions with the host community, gender-based violence, presence of weapons.

4Out of camps, closure and durable solutions

When displaced people are dispersed, out-of-camp approaches are adopted: mobile site management (a team covers several small sites with regular visits and local committees) and area-based approaches, which organise coordination across a neighbourhood or locality, for displaced people and the host population alike.

The closure of a site is prepared with residents: intentions survey, information on return areas, transport support, handover or dismantling of infrastructure, rehabilitation of the land. The IASC framework recognises three durable solutions: return, local integration and settlement elsewhere in the country. A solution is durable when the person no longer has specific needs linked to their displacement and enjoys their rights without discrimination. The choice must be free, informed and voluntary.