NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL - Flyktninghjelpen

NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL
SHELTER
POLICY

NOR WE G IA N R E FUG E E COUNCIL
G LOB A L M A ND A TE A ND P OLICY
“The NRC shall promote and protect the rights of all
people who have been forced to flee their countries,
or their homes within their countries, regardless of
their race, religion, nationality or political
convictions. This will be achieved by acting as an
independent and courageous spokesman for refugee
rights nationally and internationally, by providing
humanitarian assistance in emergency situations, and
by strengthening the capacity of the UN organizations
to offer and coordinate international aid and
protection. The NRC shall in all ways seek to provide
viable, durable solutions with regard to both its
spokesman activities and its emergency relief
efforts.” (NRC Statutes, Article 1)
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of NRC under the terms of this policy
are to:
provide emergency shelter in time to meet both
immediate and temporary needs, in order to protect
and save lives.
facilitate durable solutions by supporting the
(re)construction of permanent shelter.
promote education through the provision of temporary
and permanent school construction and rehabilitation.
TARGET GROUPS
Primary Shelter target groups are refugees, IDPs and
returnees.
Within the main target groups, priority will be given to
vulnerable families or individuals selected according to
internationally and locally recognised vulnerability
criteria.
NRC will strive support self-settled IDPs and refugees
in both rural and urban settings.
A secondary target group, the local host population,
may be included when they live mixed with the primary
target group and have similar shelter needs. However,
the majority of the beneficiaries will be within the
main target group
PHASES
In an emergency, shelter is often a key life-saving
intervention. NRC will respond rapidly and
appropriately with predefined capacity and inputs. It
may also provide temporary structures to serve as
schools.
NRC will be prepared for long term assignments to
facilitate durable solutions. As soon as conditions will
allow, NRC will provide durable shelter, and school
construction and rehabilitation, in the return and
resettlement processes.
Programmes will be planned and phased out in
accordance with NRC Exit Strategies.
APPROACH
NRC will provide shelter that is of an appropriate
standard, and is culturally and environmentally
sensitive. More specifically, NRC will:
provide solutions adapted to the specific context in
both short and longer term emergency situations.
in emergency interventions, strive to meet the Sphere
Project ‘Minimum Standards in Humanitarian
Response’ and the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Handbook for
Emergencies – as regards shelter solutions.
support permanent housing in return or resettlement
situations. Shelter for durable settlement will be
moderate within the local context and cover the basic
functions and standards needed to provide healthy,
secure and dignified dwellings.
ensure that the shelter components integrate into a
sustainable living situation including basic
infrastructure, especially through cooperation with
other partners and service providers.
ensure that shelter solutions consider and reflect the
wider aspects of settlement conditions such as cultural
and social aspects, climatic and environmental risks
and security factors.
integrate environmentally friendly materials and
appropriate technology in solutions.
NRC will strengthen local competence, capacity and
self-reliance, by planning and implementing
programmes so as to support the coping strategies and
solutions of target groups, by:
maximising the use of local labour, goods, materials
and services.
whenever applicable, designing programmes as selfhelp
with mainly material and organisational or
training support from NRC.
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where necessary including training for production of
local building materials and helping initiate
contracting enterprises.
NRC shelter programmes will promote conflict
resolution and prepare for long-term solutions, by:
including long term perspectives even in emergency
interventions and transitional settlement solutions.
applying the Do No Harm approach.
supporting community mobilization and community
organisations in shelter provision.
actively advocating for access to suitable buildings or
land as a means of securing lasting solutions.
securing that legal entitlements in ownership or
tenure are formalised within the local legal
framework.
Beneficiary selection will be made in a transparent and
participatory manner.
NRC will support shelter activities globally by providing
qualified shelter experts to the UN and other
organisations.
NRC will facilitate education by assisting with the
construction/rehabilitation of schools as follows:
Any such intervention will be planned in cooperation
with any NRC education programmes in the area (see
Education Policy).
School construction may be included in both
emergency and long-term operations, ranging from
tents or temporary structures in camps to permanent
schools in return or resettlement situations.
Basic infrastructure such as access, and water and
sanitation, will be secured by NRC, partners or local
contributions.
Schools for durable settlement will be of a moderate
standard adapted to the general level of the country
and cover primary needs for education activities, if
possible complying with national standards.
COORDINATION AND
COOPERATION
Coordination and cooperation with other NRC
programmes will:
be ensured at both HQ and field level, to share
resources and mutually strengthen activities.
in particular aim to integrate inputs from
Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance
(ICLA) programmes in shelter programmes (see
ICLA Policy).
coordinate emergency shelter under camp
management (see Camp Management Policy).
ensure that school construction is fully integrated with
education projects (see Education Policy).
NRC shelter capacity and implementation will be
coordinated with the Emergency Shelter Cluster
structure nationally and be in line with the guidelines
applied by the Global Emergency Shelter Cluster.
Other main stakeholders and cooperation partners for
shelter projects will be:
local and national authorities
community groups, target group representatives,
traditional structures
UNHCR and other UN agencies
international and local NGOs.
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LEGAL FRAMEWORK, POLICIES
AND GUIDELINES
Shelter activities will be based on and carried out
within the framework of the following instruments and
policies:
Global
The right to adequate shelter is stated in the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (Article 11)
United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Guiding
Principles on Internal Displacement
Sphere Project Humanitarian Charter and
Minimum Standards in Disaster Response
NRC
Policy Paper
Protection Policy
Evaluation Policy
Code of Conduct
Shelter Handbook
Core Activity Policies
Logistics Handbook
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