Exploring the approaches to conflict management in humanitarian settings: case of Nyabiheke Refugees Camp in Rwanda

Abstract

Conflict has always been an inseparable part of all humanitarian settings due to the fact that there are differences in the behaviour of the various refugees within the camp. This study therefore explores the approaches to conflict management in humanitarian settings with a case study of Nyabiheke Refugees’ Camp in Rwanda. The main objectives of the study is to explore approaches to conflict management in refugees’ community structures and examine the scope and capacity of the existing protection system; identifying potential gaps in conflict management and opportunities to improve the existing management approaches; and seek a deeper level of understanding of the history and geography of the conflict in the camp, including the identification of mediators/interlocutors involved in resolving all areas of conflicts in this refugee camp. Due to the current on going global pandemic of the Covid-19, phone calls for interviews and the desk review, both are the methods and approaches to collect data and responses from respondents non-probability sampling as it involves non-random selection based on convenience or other criteria that allowing the researcher to easily collect initial data. Using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), the software used in analysing the data collected, the researcher is concluding that the challenges encountered in managing conflicts are low levels of literacy, inadequate monitoring of third party intervention, limited skilled of the mediation personnel, poor income generation and assets are considered to be the most striking challenges. Furthermore, it was also discovered that conflict management approaches played a major role in strengthening the bond between refugees and host community. This study recommends that the camp committee members should be extended in numbers and their capacity building is needed as key principle factors in conflict management specifically in humanitarian setting to address the minor daily conflicts that tend to grow and later escalate; gender, age factor and literacy level, community categories based on the provinces from their country of origin, should be considered in the establishment of conflict resolution committee to enable them accommodate and deal effectively with the issue of individual differences in the humanitarian setting