Largest Refugee Camps

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1. Introduction

A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Camps with over a hundred thousand people are common. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, (such as the Red Cross) or NGOs. But there are also unofficial refugee camps, where refugees are largely left without support of governments or international organisations and exists as an independent state.

"Refugee camp" typically describes a settlement of people who have escaped war in their home country and have fled to a country of first asylum, but some camps also house environmental migrants and economic refugees. Refugee camps generally develop in an impromptu fashion with the aim of meeting basic human needs for only a short time. Due to crowding and lack of infrastructure, some refugee camps can become unhygienic, leading to a high incidence of infectious diseases, including epidemics. If the return of refugees is prevented, often by civil war, a humanitarian crisis can result or continue. Some refugee camps exist for decades and people can stay in refugee camps for decades, both of which have major implications for human rights. Some camps grow into permanent settlements and even merge with nearby older communities, such as Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon and Deir al-Balah, Palestine.

Refugee camps may sometimes serve as headquarters for the recruitment, support and training of guerilla organizations engaged in fighting in the refugees' area of origin; such organizations often use humanitarian aid to supply their troops. Rwandan refugee camps in Zaire and Cambodian refugee camps in Thailandsupported armed groups until their destruction by local military forces.

UNHCR was set up in 1951 to help the estimated 1 million people still uprooted after World War II to return home. Since then, it has helped find durable solutions for tens of millions of refugees and they remain its core constituency.

The latest figures available show that the number of refugees of concern to UNHCR in mid-2014 stood at 13 million refugees, up from a year earlier.

A further 5.1 million registered refugees are looked after in some 60 camps in the Middle East by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which was set up in 1949 to care for displaced Palestinians.

The refugees of concern to UNHCR are spread around the world, with half in Asia and some 28 per cent in Africa. They live in widely varying conditions, from well-established camps and collective centres to makeshift shelters or living in the open.More than half of all refugees of concern to UNHCR live in urban areas. They all face three possible solutions: repatriation; local integration or resettlement.

2. Daddab refugee camp

Dadaab is a semi-arid town in Garissa County, Kenya. It is the site of a large UNHCR base hosting 329,811 people, making it the largest refugee camp complex in the world. Dadaab is located approximately 100 kilometres (60 mi) from the Kenya-Somalia border. Refugees cause a strain on the economy and they are not protected by the Government of Kenya (GOK), contributing to the dangerous living conditions and outbreaks of violence. Because they are not protected under the law and are unable to possess a Kenyan national identification card, refugees are constantly at risk for arrest.

The majority have come as a consequence of the civil war in southern Somalia, including both Somalis and members of Somalia's various ethnic minority groups such as the Bantu. Most of the latter have migrated from the southern Jubba Valley and the Gedo region, while the remainder have arrived from Kismayo, Mogadishu and Bardera. One more reason refugees arrive at the camps is displacement caused by famine. By the end of 2011, more than 25% of refugees living in the Dadaab camps had arrived as a result of the famine in the Horn of Africa. For over a decade, Somalia has faced instability, violence and death. Find out how this African nation came to be such a volatile place. Fighting has continued in Somalia for more than a decade now: between various warlord-led groups, against Ethiopia, and most recently against the United States. While different groups such as the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) and the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) fight for control of Somalia, Ethiopia has declared war on the country to protect itself. The United States has said it is staging targeted attacks on what it believes to be terrorist cells operating out of Somalia. Since civil war broke out in the early '90s, approximately 500,000 people have died in Somalia.

A top U.N. official said up to 3,000 African Union soldiers had been killed in Somalia over the past few years fighting the Islamist insurgency. UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson gave the death toll at a news conference 09 May 2013 at UN headquarters. Eliasson said Uganda and Burundi, which supplied most of the troops for the AU force, "have paid a tremendous price."

A spokesman for the force, Ali Aden Hamoud, says he cannot confirm or deny the death toll. "That responsibility belongs to each one of those contingents, or troop-contributing countries," he said. Over the previous two years, AU troops, working with Somali and Ethiopian forces, forced militant group al-Shabab out of southern Somali towns and cities they once controlled. The al-Shabab threat receded but still existed, and that the AU force, known as AMISOM, still played a crucial role in Somalia.

A United Nations peacekeeping mission in Somalia would be a “high-risk undertaking,” considering the threats posed by Al-Shabaab militants and despite advances made by the African Union Mission in the country (AMISOM), a senior UN official told the Security Council 16 July 2015. “Progress would not have been possible without the continuing sacrifices of AMISOM troops and the Somali National Army. Their heroism deserves our collective tribute,” said Edmond Mulet, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, attributing the significant gains made against Al Shabaab to a surge of AMISOM military personnel and to the logistical support package for the Somali National Army. While improving AMISOM's efficiency and effectiveness, the surge in uniformed personnel should be maintained until the end of 2016, as recommended by the Secretary-General, he said, welcoming the African Union Peace and Security Council's decision to reconfigure the Mission within the authorized ceiling. Most government institutions continued in 2015 to lack basic capacities to implement their mandates, including human resources, guiding policies and infrastructure.

The Dadaab camps includes 7 camps :

-The Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo were constructed in 1992. The Ifo camp was first settled by refugees from the civil war in Somalia, and later efforts were made by UNHCR to improve the camp.

- The Ifo II and Kambioos camps were opened in 2011 after 130,000 new refugees, who fled Somalia due to severe drought, arrived. The Ifo II camp extension was originally constructed in 2007 by the Norwegian Refugee Council, in response to major flooding that destroyed over 2,000 homes in the Ifo refugee camp. However, legal problems with the Kenyan Government prevented Ifo II from fully opening for resettlement until 2011. As of August 2015, Hagadera was the largest of the camps, containing just over 100,000 individuals and 25,000 households.

- Kambioos, on the other hand, is the smallest camp with fewer than 20,000 refugees.

According to the UNHCR, 80% of residents were women and children and 95% were Somalian nationals as of mid-2015. Of the registered Somali refugee population, the number of men and women is equal, but only 4% of the total population is over the age of sixty. Each year, thousands of children are born in the Dadaab camps, and now many adults have spent their entire lives as refugees living in the camps. These individuals have been referred to as the "camp's first children."

The Dadaab refugee camp complex is so vast that it has been compared to a city, with urban features such as high population density, economic activity, and concentration of infrastructure. Like a typical urban area, Dadaab contains public service buildings such as schools and hospitals. The Ifo II camp, for example, includes religious spaces, a disability center, police stations, graveyards, a bus station, and more. In addition, it is designed in a grid-like pattern, with the market on one side and a green belt at the center of the many lines of tents. Despite these many amenities, however, the camps are crowded and have few signposts, making them confusing and difficult to navigate for new arrivals. With camps filled to capacity, NGOs have worked to improve camp conditions. Some of the factors affecting quality of life for refugees are diet and malnutrition, shelter, health care, education, environmental factors, safety, and their economic and legal status.

In November 2013, the Foreign Ministries of Somalia and Kenya and the UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement in Mogadishupaving the way for the voluntary repatriation of Somalian nationals living in Dadaab. Both governments also agreed to form a repatriation commission to coordinate the return of the refugees. This repatriation effort was in response to an attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, and belief that al-Shabaab, the militant group responsible for the attack, was using Dadaab to recruit new members. Slightly over 2,000 individuals returned to the Luuq, Baidoa and Kismayo districts in southern Somalia under the repatriation project.

Despite these government endorsed repatriation schemes, the majority of the returnees have instead repatriated independently. By February 2014, around 80,000 to 100,000 residents had voluntarily repatriated to Somalia, significantly decreasing the base's population.

3. Buduburam

Buduburam is a refugee camp located 44 kilometers (27 mi) west of Accra, Ghana. Opened by the UNHCR in 1990, the camp is home to more than 12,000 refugees from Liberia who fled their country during the First Liberian Civil War (1989-1996) and the Second Liberian Civil War (1999-2003) and accommodate the influx of Liberian refugees who fled to Ghana when Charles Taylor came to power. In addition to refugees from Sierra Leone who also escaped from the ravages of their civil war (1991-2001).

The UNHCR began pulling out of the camp in April 2007, slowly withdrawing all UNHCR-administered services; June 2010 was the official cessation of refugee status for the refugees in the settlement. Initially, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provided the settlement's residents with individual aid and relief. Moreover, the camp is served by Liberian and international NGO groups and volunteer organizations. UNHCR and its local and overseas partners have helped to create the conditions that have allowed people to recreate their former lives, but it is above all the spirit of entrepreneurship and community -and the expertise of its inhabitants - that drives Buduburam. The Carolyn A. Miller Elementary School provides free education to nearly 500 children in the camp. Nowadays, Buduburam, with 38,000 largely Liberian refugees, is the biggest camp in Ghana. With its brightly coloured houses, busy market, well-stocked supermarkets, corner shops, jewellery stores, hair salons, video clubs, cinema, churches, temples and mosques, it feels more like a small town than a refugee camp. Painters, musicians and cafйs help enrich life in buzzing Buduburam, which also has a well-equipped health centre and schools that also take in non-refugee children from the local community. Buduburam even has two Western Union branches where people can transfer money. It all helps make life more normal for the refugees, many of whom have been in the settlement since it opened in 1990 to cope with an influx of Liberians fleeing the civil war in their country.

In 1997, however, Liberia held elections that the UN judged to be fair enough to allow for safe repatriation conditions. As a result, the UNHCR discontinued refugee assistance to Liberians in Ghana, and the settlement lost much of its funding.During this time, an estimated 3,000 refugees returned to Liberia. Most chose to remain in Ghana, however, and the Buduburam settlement served as the center of their community.

Soon after the 1997 election sof a new president last November, the political situation in Liberia worsened. But despite the relative comfort of life in Buduburam, many of the fresh arrivals are choosing to return to Liberia following the end of the civil war and the restoration of democracy.

"I like being here because I can easily visit my friends in Accra, or go to the stadium to watch soccer games," said Jos Wesley, a Liberian refugee who arrived at Buduburam with his family in the early 1990s. "However, I hope to be able to return soon to Liberia, where my parents have already gone back."

Since October 2004, some 3,500 refugees have returned home from the camp, by land and air. UNHCR is involved in preparations to take back others from Ghana by boat. Although the UNHCR limits its personal aid efforts in the settlement to unaccompanied minors, the elderly, and the disabled, the organization does sponsor infrastructure work within the community, funding projects such as construction and education. Now host to over 42,000 refugees, most of whom are Liberian, the settlement still receives new refugees on a regular basis. The repatriation operation is scheduled to end in June 2007. Thanks to Liberia's steady progression towards stability, UNHCR in February began actively promoting voluntary repatriation. Some 38,000 of the 60,000 refugees in Ghana are from Liberia. A high-level Liberian delegation visited Ghana earlier this month in a bid to encourage more people to return. They met refugees in Buduburam and Krisan and told them about conditions back home.

4.Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp

Ain al-Hilweh (Arabic: Ънд ЗбНбжЙэ, lit. meaning "sweet natural spring"), also spelled as Ayn al-Hilweh and Ein al-Hilweh, is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. The direct translation of Ain al-Hilweh is "eye of the beautiful". People believe that the camp was named after a natural water spring that existed in the present-day Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp. But the truth is, the Ain al-Hilweh spring was located at the corner of the valley between MiyeouMiye village and Darbes Seem. The water flowed from the spring westward 500 meters towards a man made dam. The dam was erected at the crossroad between MiehMieh and present day Seyroub neighborhood in Darbes Seem. The Palestinian camp is located between 1000m to 1500m to the west, away from the natural spring. It was established near the city of Sidon in 1948 by the International Committee of the RedCrosstoaccommodaterefugeesfrom Amqa, Saffuriya, Sha'ab, Taitaba, Manshieh, al-Simireh, al-Nahr, Safsaf, Hittin, al-Ras al-Ahmar, al-Tira and Tarshiha in northern Palestine. Ain Al-Hilweh is located on land that is owned by landowners from MiehMieh, DarbEsSim and Sidon.

It had a population of over 70,000 Palestinian refugees but swelled to nearly 120,000, as a result of influx of refugees from Syria since 2011. Because Lebanese Armed Forces are not allowed to enter the camp Ain al-Hilweh has been called a "zone of unlaw" by the Lebanese media. Many people wanted by the Lebanese government are believed to have taken refuge in the camp as a result of the lack of Lebanese authority. As of 2014, the camp suspected of being a popular destination for jihadist rebels fleeing neighbouring Syria, particularly after the Syrian Army, backed by the Shia Lebanese militia Hezbollah, regained control of Yabroud from the rebels in March 2014.

Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, Lebanon - Every time the popping sounds of successive gunshots ring out, Abu Yousef and his wife gather their five children and hide in their kitchen in Lebanon's Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp. Here, they take refuge for hours, sometimes an entire day, until the fighting stops.

"They have guns and missiles," said Abu Yousef, 48, of the warring Palestinian and hardline factions jostling for leadership within the camp. "The rockets could destroy everything. I can say life is not good in this camp," he told Al Jazeera.

The family came to Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp from Yarmouk, Syria's main Palestinian refugee camp. Besides their notable size, the two camps are worlds apart. Before the start of Syria's ongoing civil war, Yarmouk was not so much a camp as a small city complete with hospitals and schools. Residents were employed as doctors, engineers, civil servants and street vendors; they had a sense of safety.

But in December 2012, a Syrian air force jet bombed the centre of the camp, located near key government institutions, to weed out rebel forces suspected of hiding there. At least eight people died and thousands fled to Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps. Subsequent shelling destroyed most of the camp's infrastructure and a government-imposed blockade made it impossible to return.

By March 2014, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), over 52,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria were seeking shelter in Lebanon.

As the war in Syria escalated and spilled across Lebanon's borders, hardline groups penetrated Ain al-Hilweh to train and recruit camp residents to fight alongside the rebels in Syria, said Mahmoud Issa, a former security official for the PLO in Lebanon, who lives in the camp.Issa has accused the Palestinian movement's leadership within the camp of not caring enough about the safety of residents, thereby enabling armed Sunni groups such as Jund al-Sham, Fatah al-Islam and Jabhat al-Nusra to exert their influence. These groups are opposed to the Fatah movement, the strongest of about 19 PLO factions, said Issa, who himself survived an assassination attempt late last year while attending the funeral of a PLO official who was shot outside the camp.

MonirMakdah, head of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a military wing of Fatah, and one of the main groups responsible for providing security within Ain al-Hilweh, said officials are determined to keep residents safe. But he acknowledged financial challenges, noting members of the camp's security forces earn just $200 per month from the PLO, forcing many to seek work outside the camp.

"Security is getting weaker because of the economic situation of the PLO," Makdah told Al Jazeera.

Continued fighting between hardline groups and PLO factions has forced some Ain al-Hilweh residents, including Mahmoud Sahman, to live a solitary life with minimal social interaction. Sahman, 20, a part-time construction worker and high-school student, also relocated here from Yarmouk. He describes Ain al-Hilweh as a jungle where only the strongest survive, and believes he is less likely to be in danger if he keeps to himself.

Despite the lack of security, Palestinians say they feel more at home inside Ain al-Hilweh than in the broader society, with discriminatory policies and racial tensions stemming from Lebanon's 15-year civil war still in effect. The war, lasting from 1975 to 1990, resulted in Syria's military presence in Lebanon for 29 years until 2005.

The Lebanese government's reluctance to authorise the establishment of new refugee camps for the influx of displaced Syrians has led to skyrocketing rents, according to UNRWA. Syrians also earn almost 40 percent less than Lebanon's monthly minimum wage of $450, and women are particularly vulnerable to unemployment, according to a report published by the International LabourOrganisation this month. Gainful employment is harder for Palestinians to come by as Lebanon prohibits them from working in the public sector and in regulated professions such as medicine, law and engineering.

"They treat us as if we are not human," said Abu Yousef. In the face of this, however, Ain al-Hilweh residents say they have built a sense of solidarity with each other.

5. Sahrawi refugee camps

The Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, are a collection of refugee camps, set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in 1975-76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces, who advanced through Western Sahara during the Western Sahara War. The main groups of people of concern for UNHCR in Algeria in 2015 are 90,000 vulnerable Saharawi refugees, as well as a growing population of individual refugees and asylum-seekers from sub-Saharan countries, and people who fled the crises in Mali and Syria, living mainly in urban areas.One more reason refugees arrive at the camps is displacement caused by natural disasters. Heavy flash rains and floods destroyed much of the camps in February 2006, prompting a crisis response from the UNHCR and the World Food Program (WFP), to replace destroyed housing with tents and provide food to cover for lost storages. In October 2015, heavy rainfalls flooded the refugee camps again, destroying houses (made of sand-bricks), tents and food provisions. More than 11.000 families were affected.

The limited opportunities for self-reliance in the harsh desert environment have forced the refugees to rely on international humanitarian assistance for their survival. However, the Tindouf camps differ from the majority of refugee camps in the level of self-organization. Most affairs and camp life organization is run by the refugees themselves, with little outside interference.

The camps are divided into 5 wilayas (districts) named after towns in Western Sahara:

-Laayoune,

- Awserd,

-Smara

- Dakhla

- "February 27" - the smaller satellite camp , surrounding the boarding school for women, and the administrative camp Rabouni. The encampments are spread out over a quite large area. While Laayoune, Smara, Awserd, February 27 and Rabouni all lie within an hour's drive of the Algerian city of Tindouf, the Dakhla camp lies 170 km to the southeast.

The refugee camps are governed by Polisario, being administratively part of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). SADR's government in exile and administration are located in the Rabouni camp. The Tindouf camps are divided into administrative sub-units electing their own officials to represent the neighbourhoods in political decision-making. Each of the four wilayas (districts) are divided into six or seven daпras (villages), which are in turn divided into hays or barrios(neighborhoods). According to Polisario, Algeria does not intervene in their organization, treating the area as effectively under Sahrawi self-rule, though statements by former Polisarioresponsibles contradict that. While the Algerian military has a significant presence in the nearby city of Tindouf, Algeria insists that responsibility for human rights in the camps lies with the Polisario. Camp residents are subject to the constitution and laws of SADR. A local justice system, with courts and prisons, is administered by Polisario. Local qadis (sharia judges) have jurisdiction over personal status and family law issues. Local committees distribute basic goods, water and food, while "daпra" authorities made up by the representatives of the "hays" organize schools, cultural activities and medical services. Some argue that this results in a form of basic democracy on the level of camp administration, and that this has improved the efficiency of aid distribution. Women are active on several levels of administration, and UNHCR has appraised their importance in camp administration and social structures.

Food, drinking water, building materials and clothing are brought in by car by international aid agencies. Basic food is brought in from the port of Oran to Rabouni by the World Food Programme (WFP) in collaboration with Algerian Red Crescent (ARC) and the Algerian government, while food distribution from Rabouni is organized by Polisario in collaboration with Western Sahara Red Crescent (WSRC). With the rise of a basic market economy, some refugees have been able to acquire television sets, use cars, and several hundreds of satellite dishes have popped up in recent years.

The refugee population is plagued by the lack of vegetables, nutritious food and medicines. According to the United Nations and the World Food Program, 40% of the children suffer from lack of iron, and 10% of the children below five years of age suffer from acute lack of nutrition. 32% are suffering from chronic lack of nutrition. 47% of the women suffer from lack of iron.

Polisario has prioritised education from the beginning, and the local authorities have established 29 preschools, 31 primaryand seven secondary schools, the academic institutions of `27 February' and `12 October' as well as various technical training centres ( without forgetting that Tindoufcampements count 90.000 refugees) . While teaching materials are still scarce, the literacy rate has increased from about 5% at the formation of the camps to 90% in 1995.Children's education is obligatory, and several thousands have received university educations in Algeria, Cuba and Spain as part of aid packages. The camps have 27 clinics, a central hospital and four regional hospitals.

Algerian authorities have estimated the number of Sahrawi refugees in Algeria to be 165,000. This has been supported by Polisario, although the movement recognizes that some refugees have rebased to Mauritania, a country that houses about 26,000 Sahrawis refugees. UNCHR referred to Algeria's figure for many years, but in 2005 concern about it being inflated led the organization to reduce its working figure to 90,000 based on satellite imagery analysis. UNHCR is in dialogue with the Algerian Government and the Sahrawi refugee leadership, seeking to conduct a census to determine the exact number of refugees in the camps. In 1998, UN's Minurso mission identified 42,378 voting-age adults in the camps, counting only those who had contacted the mission's registration offices and subsequently been able to prove their descent from pre-1975 Western Sahara. No attempt was made to estimate the total population number in the camps.

The Moroccan government contends that the total number of refugees is around 45,000 to 50,000, and also that these people are kept in the camps by Polisario against their will. While Polisario complains of repression of Sahrawi human rights activists in the Moroccan-held parts of Western Sahara; the government of Morocco, dissident groups inside Polisario, as well as former members of Polisario, have claimed that the refugee camps occasionally are the scene of human rights abuse against the refugee population by the Polisario. The Polisario Front has acknowledged reports of mistreatment in the seventies and eighties, but deny the accusations of on-going abuse. Reports of beatings and torture, in many cases leading to death, of Moroccan prisoners of war who were formerly held in the camps were backed by some human rights organizations, which seems to have contributed to the release of the last of these prisoners by the summer of 2005. There are complaints of limitations on movement between the camps, with Morocco describing them as completely shut off from the outside world, but camp authorities maintain that this is untrue, and that they are simply engaged in registering movements for aid allocation purposes. Visiting human rights organizations have concluded that the conditions are troublesome with regard to basic subsistence, but that the human rights situation is satisfactory. An OHCHR (United Nations' human rights monitors) visit to both Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps in 2006 documented no complaints of human rights abuse in the camps, but stressed the need for more information. However, the report, which severely criticized Moroccan conduct in Western Sahara, was slammed as biased and partisan by the Moroccan government. In April 2010, the Sahrawi government had called the UN to supervise human rights in the liberated territories and refugee camps, stating that "We are ready to fully cooperate with UN human rights observers in the territory under our control. The United Nations should take this proposal seriously, and ask Morocco to do likewise".

Over the past five years, the budget has steadily increased to cater for the growth in mixed migration flows using Algeria as a transit and destination country. More than 4,500 asylum-seekers approached the Office between 2009 and 2013 seeking protection, in the absence of a national asylum system. With regard to the protracted situation of Sahrawi refugees, humanitarian aid continues to be necessary as there are few economic opportunities for self-reliance measures.

In 2015, the comprehensive needs of refugees and asylum-seekers in Algeria are estimated at USD 33.2 million.

6. Yemen

Yemen is an Arab country in Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula.

Yemen has been in a state of political crisis since 2011. In January 2011, a series of street protests began against poverty, unemployment, corruption and president Saleh's plan to amend Yemen's constitution and eliminate presidential term limit, in effect making him president for life. He was also grooming his eldest son Ahmed Saleh, the commander of the Republican Guard, to succeed him.The United States considers Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to be the "most dangerous of all the franchises of Al-Qaeda". The U.S sought a controlled transition that would enable their counter-terrorism operations to continue, while Saudi Arabia's main concern was to maintain its influence in Yemen through some old regime figures and other tribal leaders who were part of the so-called "GCC initiative". President Saleh stepped down, the transition quickly proceeded per the "GCC Initiative"; the powers of the presidency were transferred to Vice President AbdRabbu Mansour Hadi, who was formally elected president on 21 February 2012 in a one-man election. The interim parliament conferred immunity on president Saleh and 500 of his associates that same month. A National Dialogue Conference was launched on 18 March 2012 to reach consensus on major issues facing the country's future. In January 2014, the National Dialogue Conference extended Hadi's term for another year.The transitional process was disrupted by conflicts between the Houthis and Islah, as well as the al-Qaeda insurgency. In September 2014, the Houthis took over Sana'a, forcing Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar to flee the country, and prompted the formation of a new "unity government" including a variety of Yemeni factions. A draft constitution was discussed that would split Yemen into six federal regions, but the Houthis rejected the proposal. Hadi, his prime minister and cabinet resigned on 22 January 2015 amid a political impasse against the Houthis and ongoing violence in the capital. Three weeks later, the Houthis declared themselves in control of the government in what Abdul-Malik al-Houthi called a "glorious revolution", although opposition politicians, neighbouring states, and the United Nations decried the takeover as a coup d'йtat. Most of Yemen's political factions and the international community have refused to recognise the Houthis' authority, and UN-brokered talks on a power-sharing deal are ongoing. However, on 21 February, Hadi rescinded his resignation and declared he was still the legitimate president in Aden. Hadi called on government institutions to gather in Aden, which he proclaimed on 21 March 2015 was Yemen's "economic and temporary capital" while Sana'a remains under Houthi control.

The main groups of concern to UNHCR in Yemen are refugees and asylum-seekers from Ethiopia, Somalia and the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria), as well as IDPs. Somalis, who have fled the civil war which started in 1992, are granted prima facie status by the Government of Yemen. Ethiopians accounted for 52 per cent of registered asylum-seekers by mid-2014. The majority of Ethiopians continue to use Yemen as a transit route to other countries in the region and remain unregistered. Syrians started to arrive in Yemen in 2012 and, since August 2014, the Government has granted them temporary protection. IDPs are mostly located in the northern governorates, where clashes continue.This, however, was not about what is happening on the shores of Mediterranean countries, but to do with the thousands of people fleeing in another direction from the fighting in Yemen, and landing on the Horn of Africa.

The United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, estimates that since Yemen's conflict began in March, some 70,000 people have fled to Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Most have been making the perilous journey by boat across the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea.

But the UN's forecasts suggest that in a year's time there could be 200,000 refugees in the Horn of Africa - a part of the world not used to seeing an immigration influx.

"We have bombings every single day via airstrikes. We have ground fighting of very heavy levels. The country is facing famine which could start in a couple of weeks or months if things continue the way they are. We have more than a million people displaced across the country."

UNHCR's core strategy in 2015 aims to protect refugees and asylum-seekers, in particular by strengthening refugee status determination (RSD) activities and legal counselling. Detention monitoring and advocacy will be prioritized. The Office will also capitalize on the positive protection space, undertaking joint registration and training activities, as well as promotion of refugee law with the Government.

The Office will continue to seek durable solutions for refugees. Solutions will include resettlement for individuals who face no alternative, and the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees, on an individual basis and within the regional framework. Social and economic integration will be pursued through the mainstreaming of health and education activities, as well as the promotion of self-reliance and livelihood opportunities.

Technical support will be extended to the Government for its regional coordination and the follow-up and implementation of the Sana'a Declaration, which was adopted in November 2013. The declaration aims to address challenges related to regional mixed migration and refugee flows.

In promoting durable solutions for IDPs, UNHCR, in the context of the UN Country Team, will support Yemen in assuming its responsibility for implementing the national IDP policy. Advocacy and training remain important needs and will be supported by strengthening the community-based protection-monitoring networks. This will enable the internally displaced to better understand their rights and how to obtain available support.

In 2015, the financial requirements are set at USD 59.5 million for the operation. This represents an increase of USD 3 million when compared with the revised 2014 budget, and is comparable to the level of the 2011 requirements. In case of funding shortfalls, self-reliance and livelihoods activities will be one of the areas which will have to be restricted. This will only widen the gap in meeting identified needs, despite self-reliance being recognized as a top priority during the 2013 age, gender and diversity mainstreaming assessment. The scale-up of voluntary repatriation would also limit UNHCR's ability to respond to emerging needs.

7. Helping organizations

refugee camp global poverty

a) CARE

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, who place special focus on working alongside poor women. Because equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve basic education, end gender-based violence, provide healthcare and nutrition, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources.

CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives. CARE is also working to create more inclusive markets that refugees are able to participate in to profit off of their newly acquired skills and business ventures.

Mission :

- to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world.

Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources and decades of experience, it promotes innovative solutions and advocates for global responsibility.

Its facilitate lasting change by:

Strengtheningcapacityforself-help

Providingeconomicopportunity

Deliveringreliefinemergencies

Influencing policy decisions at all levels

Addressing discrimination in all its forms

Vision:

- to seek a world of hope, tolerance and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and people live in dignity and security. CARE will be a global force and a partner of choice within a worldwide movement dedicated to ending poverty. We will be known everywhere for our unshakable commitment to the dignity of people.

BogdanDumitru, Country Director at CARE International in Kenya reported, that There are many aspects that contribute to the smooth running of a refugee camp, and most of them can be easily overlooked by outsiders. In CARE's compound there is a place that seem much less important than the schools or the food distribution centres in the camps. Yet, it is an essential part of the big organism that is Dadaab: a huge mechanic workshop that maintains and repairs about 313 vehicles, belonging to UNHCR and other NGOs. Without them, offering relief to the refugees would be impossible. Alongside this, CARE's operation in Dadaab also involves storage and distribution of fuel, warehousing and distribution of core relief items (jerry cans, tarpaulins, blankets, cooking ware etc.), generator maintenance and provision of office support services.While all refugees at the camp are at risk of violence, the UNHCR and CARE have identified women and children as being particularly vulnerable. They have created a department called 'Vulnerable Women and Children' (VWC) to tackle the issues surrounding violence against these populations. As of August 2015, 60% of Dadaab's total population is under the age of 18, and there are equal numbers of men and women, so women and children make up a significant portion of the camps' demographics. Specifically, the VWC department has identified rape victims, divorcees, widows, orphans, and the disabled as the most vulnerable among all women and children. They offer counseling, additional food rations and supplies, and advice on how to earn an income and be financially self-sufficient. However, the effectiveness of these efforts has been questioned, and following an analysis by Dr. Aubone at St. Mary's University, more research and data is required to identify the best way to prevent sexual violence in the Dadaab camps

b)Red Cross society

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest humanitarian network that reaches 150 million people in 190 National Societies through the work of over 17 million volunteers.The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 in Paris in the aftermath of World War I.

Together, it acts before, during and after disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people and do so without discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. Guided by Strategy 2020 - the collective plan of IFRC is to tackle the major humanitarian and development challenges of this decade - in this fast-changing world, to `saving lives and changing minds'. By improving humanitarian standards, working as partners in development, responding to disasters, supporting healthier and safer communities, it helps reduce vulnerabilities, strengthen resilience and foster a culture of peace around the world.

The IFRC vision:

To inspire, encourage, facilitate and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies, with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering, and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.

c) National Commission on Human Rights http://www.knchr.org

The National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) is an autonomous national human rights institution. It is a successor to the body of the same name established by an earlier Act of Parliament in 2002.

Mission:

- to investigate and provide redress for human rights violations in

-to research and monitor the compliance of human rights norms and standards,

- human rights education and training and campaigns, advocate, and collaborate with other stakeholders.

The National Commission on Human Rights welcomes members of the public to be partakers of the journey of promoting and protecting human rights for all. A public institution, NCHR operates on an open door and non discrimination policy that allows to freely report any cases of rights violations as well as celebrate gains in the human rights sector. It continuously educates members of the public, state officers and other non state actors on their rights and how these should be respected and also to respect the rights of others.

4. World food program

WFP is the food aid arm of the United Nations system. Food aid is one of the many instruments that can help to promote food security, which is defined as access of all people at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. The policies governing the use of World Food Programme food aid must be oriented towards the objective of eradicating hunger and poverty.

Refugees receive food rations containing cereal, legumes, oil, and sugar from the WFP. Markets at each of the camps have fresh food for sale, but due to limited income opportunities, most refugees are unable to afford them. Some have used innovations such as multi-storey gardens to help overcome food scarcity, which require only basic supplies to construct and less water to maintain than normal gardens.

In December 1994, the World Food Programme's (WFP) governing body adopted the WFP Mission Statement, the first for an United Nations organization. The Mission Statement was based on a fundamental review of WFP's policies, objectives and strategies that involved member states of WFP, non-governmental organizations, United Nations and other agencies, academics and staff members. The WFP Mission Statement is to be considered as a living document that will be reviewed periodically.

Mission:

to use food aid to support economic and social development;

to meet refugee and other emergency food needs, and the associated logistics support; and

to promote world food security in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations and FAO.

to save lives in refugee and other emergency situations;

to improve the nutrition and quality of life of the most vulnerable people at critical times in their lives; and

to help build assets and promote the self-reliance of poor people and communities, particularly through labour-intensive works programmes.

In the first case, food aid is essential for social and humanitarian protection. It will be used in a way that is as developmental as possible, consistent with saving lives. To the extent possible, the provision of relief food aid will be coordinated with the relief assistance provided by other humanitarian organizations. In the second case, food aid is a pre-investment in human resources. In the third, it uses poor people's most abundant resource, their own labour, to create employment and income and to build the infrastructure necessary for sustained development.

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