Attachments
Background
The protracted Syrian crisis has affected people’s safety, assets and livelihoods and has also had a major impact on the ability of people to cope and adjust to the adverse circumstances of an increasingly weak and dismantled economy. First and foremost, the crisis has caused massive displacement of people across and within the borders of the country whereby a large number of persons experienced multiple displacement patterns. With the continuance of the crisis in Syria, the displacement of large parts of Syria’s population has not only affected the situation of those displaced but also of those living in the host communities.
Since the onset of the crisis, it is estimated that more than 1.2 million houses in Syria are partially or severely damaged with 400,000 completely destroyed. In addition, the number of IDPs in Syria is estimated at 6.5 million with only 5% of the displaced living in collective shelters and the ma-jority seeking shelter in rented houses, apartments or with family members. With over a quarter of the Syrian population being displaced since the beginning of the crisis, shelter as a basic form of physical protection is one of the main needs. Through five years of the crisis, shelter response in Syria has been developed collectively within the sector, and has evolved from distribution of shelter material as part of CRI package, to improvements of collective shelters, into upgrading of unfinished private buildings in various stages of completion (private shelter upgrade).
For 2016, the sector has increasingly focused on more durable solutions, without compromising on contingency planning and emergency response through tents and kits. More sustainability is foreseen through the support of owners and tenants to rehabilitate their premises to minimal liveable conditions. This approach targets houses with minor damage, in the places of beneficiar-ies’ origin. Besides responding to families’ shelter needs, this approach is also intended to address neighbourhoods/communities through assisting in the restoration of main services and utilities making neighbourhoods function again. As per the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan, the shelter sector this year is targeting to reach 320,213 beneficiaries.
Response
The shelter sector response is to enhance existing and potential shelter with the aim to decrease displacement and to ensure that IDPs are able to return to their homes and enjoy their rights ac-cording to international standards of HLP law. The response focuses on six core areas of responses:
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Responding to emergencies, providing life-saving, life-sustaining support.
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Rehabilitation of public structures as collective shelters.
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Upgrade of unfinished private buildings.
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Owner- / tenant oriented shelter assistance to repair their premises.
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Strengthening awareness of IDP’s and host community on Housing Land Propriety Rights through awareness session by legal aid partners.
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Enforce ongoing capacity building efforts to enhance the governmental response to the IDP crisis.