Attachments
Governance and participation in the Camps
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The current so called ‘majhi system’ was established by the Bangladesh authorities as an emergency response arrangement upon the sudden influx of a large number of refugees in August 2017, primarily for: estimating the population; identifying immediate survival needs; and linking the Rohingya refugees with emergency assistance from various providers. The ‘majhi system’ was not established with the participation of the Rohingya communities and consequently lacks any representation and accountability to the refugees. In the majority of cases, majhis were in fact appointed by the Bangladesh army. Majhis are not traditional leaders or elders nor necessarily respected members of the community. The ‘majhi system’ does not reflect the age, gender and diversity composition of the Rohingya refugee population with majhis being almost exclusively middle-aged men. Moreover, local experiences confirm that it is an unreliable system for distributions of humanitarian aid, as it does not reflect the needs and respect the minimum humanitarian standards, in terms of representation, impartiality, transparency and accountability. As such, it cannot be considered as representative of all refugee’s views and interests nor justified beyond the immediate aftermath of the emergency influx.
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The system creates and/or widens an unnecessary gap between the refugee communities and the humanitarian community by placing the majhis in a buffer position hindering the direct and meaningful participation of all women, girls, men and boys in decisions affecting their lives. This sometimes leads to several serious consequences such as: 1) Communication gaps in sending and receiving information between refugees and humanitarian organizations, as messages are being unnecessarily controlled in particular in terms of content; 2) Access to assistance hindrances and impact on the process of humanitarian distributions (i.e. control over quantities, inflation of distribution lists or exclusion and extortion); 3) Indirect engagement with refugees also hinders the identification of the community's real and most serious protection risks, understanding their causes and effects and jointly deciding how to prevent and respond to them. Additionally, abuses of power done by mahjis have overtime eroded the trust in the system and the humanitarian actors by the refugee population, as the regular utilization and consolidation of the ‘majhi system’ created the false impression of their legitimacy and acknowledgement of their empowerment. This has a considerable impact on individual decision-making ability, including important issues affecting refugee’s lives.
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Alongside other diversity determinants, the ‘majhi system’ does not respect or promote gender equality. Women are not represented and therefore are not participating in decision making. If some women and girls may want to attempt to act outside their cultural norms and empower themselves to equality, with the majhis reinforcing the existing strict cultural practices and judgements, the safe space to do that and develop their creativity and innovation is extremely limited.
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The urgent formation of representative committees at camp level through a transparent and consultative process with camp residents, would enable refugees to exercise their right to participate and influence the design and delivery of programs at all stages of the humanitarian response. In the Kutupalong and Nayapara registered camps where elections took place, in 2015 and 2016 respectively, refugees reported that elected refugee representatives have been more responsive and helpful than the previous system of appointed camp majhis. The formation of representative camp committees to replace the ‘majhi system’ in all camps, would strengthen the delivery of unhindered and impartial humanitarian assistance, enhance accountability and encourage ownership as well as a sense of responsibility amongst refugees, while promoting sustainability of interventions by capitalizing on refugees’ inherent capacities.