ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: The UN refugee agency on Thursday closed its field offices in Pakistan’s earthquake-affected areas after local authorities gradually assumed full responsibility for the management of relief camps.

The offices were located in Mansehra in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and in Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir. The United Nation’s resident coordinator’s (UNRC) office, supported by staff from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and UNHCR experts, will provide advice and support to the camp management institutions of the government.

“This was part of an overall framework for the transition of camp management responsibilities to the authorities, in line with the ERRA/UN Early Recovery Plan that was adopted earlier this year,” Kilian Kleinschmidt, UNHCR’s Senior Emergency Coordinator said. “From the outset, we had made it clear that our involvement would be until the end of the winter and that we would phase out by Sept 1 in a responsible, transparent and professional manner.”

With a mandate to help refugees fleeing war and persecution, the UN refugee agency does not normally get involved in natural disasters. The agency’s mandate also covers internally displaced persons (IDPs) in conflict situations. Over the years, however, UNHCR has been called upon to assist IDPs in natural disasters. These interventions were primarily on a small scale until the sheer scale of 2004’s tsunami and last October’s earthquake, coupled with the agency’s existing operational capacity in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, resulted in it offering its services in both of these relief efforts.

Immediately after the Oct 8 earthquake, UNHCR opened its warehouses in Pakistan and distributed relief items to the quake survivors. It also mobilised thousands of tons of emergency supplies from its stockpiles in Afghanistan, Denmark, Dubai, India, Iran, Jordan and Turkey. To date, the agency has distributed more than 21,000 tents, over 115,000 plastic sheets, about 850,000 blankets, over 38,000 mattresses, and some 25,000 stoves/heaters in the quake zone.

Under the joint UN relief effort, UNHCR was asked to be lead agency for camp management. In the last 11 months, the refugee agency has supported the government in running temporary relief camps for earthquake survivors. UNHCR provided material and technical support to the authorities and coordinated with different UN agencies and NGOs to ensure basic services in the camps. At the peak of the emergency operation, UNHCR was supporting the authorities and NGOs in some 170 relief camps in NWFP and AJK.

Since the start of spring in March, more than 140,088 quake survivors have left the camps for home and over 130 camps in the quake zone are now closed. Some 36,000 people remain in 44 relief camps in AJK and NWFP.

In the months leading up to the handover, UNHCR upgraded and maintained services in the remaining camps. At the same time, it identified partners in the UN and non-government community to ensure continuation of basic services in the camps.

From August until the end of this year, UNHCR and its partner, NRC, will support advisers to the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRC), District Coordination Office (DCO), and Camp Management Organisation (CMO) to cooperate with the government by providing expertise on camp management for the residual caseload. One additional adviser has already been serving as a protection focal point for AJK under the UN Resident Coordinator structure since 1 August.

“We’ve developed a comprehensive fundable capacity-building project for local administration in AJK and NWFP that would assist these institutions to responsibly and sustainably manage and monitor relief camp operations, returns, reintegration and population movements. UNHCR will contribute financially to this structure until the end of 2006. Donors, NGOs and other UN agencies have joined us in this effort”, explains Kleinschmidt.