An Agenda for a Dignified and Sustainable Rohingya Refugee Response in Bangladesh 4.1.3.3 NGO coordination Camp level sector focal points drawn from operational agencies participate in the camp coordination meetings chaired by CiCs and help to coordinate service delivery within the camp. CiCs and SMSD sector team work together with sector focal points to ensure issues are identified and addressed in a timely manner at the camp level.212 4.1.3.4 Refugee community structures The Bangladeshi army set up the 'majhi system’213 in the 1990s to organise humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees. The majhi (directly translated in English as ‘boat steersman’) is a Rohingya community representative, usually a man, informally selected by camp authorities to support officials in maintaining law and order and act as a focal point for camp management activities. The majhi system was abolished in 2007 in the two UNHCR registered camps due to allegations of corruption and abuse of authority but continued to be operational in the unregistered settlements near the UNHCR camps where humanitarian presence was limited. Following the influx of August 2017, the majhi system was re-introduced to manage large-scale humanitarian assistance. The majhi oversees one block representing 50-200 households divided into sub-blocks. Above the majhi is a head majhi who directly reports to the CiC. The selection process for majhis is not formalised and they are accountable to camp authorities and not to the refugee community.214 The majhis help manage the large refugee influx by estimating the population, identifying immediate needs, organising aid distribution and referring them to relevant service providers. Over time, the CiCs and army have used majhis as informal camp focal points therefore vesting them with a certain level of power and influence over their community.215 In spite of undertaking such a wide range of duties requiring a lot of time and effort, majhis do not receive any remuneration for performing these tasks. The lack of accountability and disproportionate power relations have resulted in information gaps, corruption, exclusion of persons from accessing aid, manipulation of distribution lists and sexual exploitation and abuse.216 The majhis act as a buffer between refugees and humanitarian agencies, thereby hindering identification of protection risks, understanding the root causes and responding to them in a timely manner.217 In the two registered camps managed by UNHCR, elected camp/ block committees have replaced the majhi system since 2015-16.218 The committees are represented by elected refugee representatives, including women, through a transparent and consultative process conducted jointly by UNHCR and RRRC.219 In July 2018, the SMSD sector convened a task force to develop guidelines for community212 Ibid, p. 39 ACAPS-NPM, supra n. 206. 214 IRC, supra n. 118. 215 ACAPS-NPM, supra n. 206. 216 IRC, supra n. 118. 217 Protection Sector Working Group Cox’s Bazar, Protection Considerations on the ‘Majhi System’, 30 Jun 2018, available at https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/protection_conside rations_on_the_mahji_system_pswg_fv_june_2018.pdf 218 Ibid. 219 ACAPS-NPM, supra n. 206. 213 48 Act for Peace / May 2021