Follow-up Mission Report of the HAP 2010 Deployment to Dadaab Refugee Operations

During July – October 2010 the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) International undertook a deployment to Dadaab Refugee Camps (northern Kenya) with the objective of increasing awareness and strengthening practice of humanitarian accountability. This deployment was jointly hosted by CARE and UNHCR with contributions from HAP, CARE, Danish Refugee Council (DRC), Save the Children, UNHCR and in-kind contributions from Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Film Aid International (FAI). The HAP Roving Team was composed of Maria Kiani, HAP Roving Representative and Rita Mami, Gender Equity and Human Rights Officer Kakuma who was seconded by LWF as a contribution to towards the deployment. The overall aim1 for the deployment was to strengthen understanding and practice of humanitarian accountability and quality management with a particular emphasis on facilitating improved information sharing, participation and complaints handling (both at agency-specific and inter-agency level) for refugees and host-community in Dadaab. The three-month deployment to Dadaab ended with the establishment of the Dadaab Accountability & Quality Working Group committing to undertake collective efforts to strengthen accountability in the ongoing response, with some agencies drafted agency-specific action plans for improving internal accountability processes and procedures. Senior management and accountability focal points at Nairobi and head offices were debriefed on the key findings and recommendations (2010) to ensure wider interest and ownership for the outcomes and follow up actions of the of the deployment. This is a report of a follow-up mission of the three month deployment to Dadaab which was undertaken to review the progress made by the agencies and the ongoing efforts. It also makes recommendations for the overall response.