A/HRC/19/54 aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. By virtue of the concentration of populations, resources, assets and services in cities, the impact of damages to cities due to conflict or natural disasters can be especially debilitating, including to humanitarian and recovery efforts. In such situations, an approach which addresses IDP-specific needs, as well as wider community needs (e.g. infrastructure and basic services needs) through a neighbourhood- or community-based approach, as has been advocated by this mandate, will likely be the most beneficial.27 2. IDPs and host communities Current “solutions” within host communities: both illusion and reality 37. While IDPs living in both camp and non-camp settings are greatly affected by relations with host communities, non-camp IDPs are particularly entwined with their hosts, as in many cases, they may not be able to rely on other actors such as international organizations or aid groups. In one analysis of IDP trends, it was found that in the majority of countries reviewed, most IDPs in non-camp settings had no assistance beyond that provided by the host community or host family. 28 Better understanding of the role and specific assistance provided by host communities may therefore suggest ways of supporting them in their effort to assist the displaced living among them. 38. The term “host community” has been used to depict a community hosting a camp, or a non-camp population. However it has also become a “catch-all” term, which often obscures the complexity and variety of communities in which IDPs live. The kinds of host communities vary widely across contexts. In many cases, „host communities‟ simply refers to communities in which relatives or friends take in a family member. At other times, they refer to communities in locations to which IDPs have fled and remain during their period of displacement. Often host communities and host families may be poor or living in precarious conditions themselves. They may lack physical security, adequate access to basic services, and may have been impacted by conflict or a natural disaster as well. In some cases host communities are receiving new arrivals while in others they may be reintegrating returnees. In other contexts, such as those subject to repeated or cyclical displacements, host communities may be made up of IDPs who have simply been displaced longer. 39. Despite these challenges, host communities are often the key to ensuring essential assistance services to IDPs, to the work of humanitarian organizations, and to finding durable solutions. They are most often the “first responders” to a crisis, and may welcome, support and assist IDPs upon their arrival. But as displacement becomes protracted, tensions can often result due to competition over scarce resources, employment opportunities, or from underlying religious, ethnic, cultural or other differences – frequently related to or exacerbated by the conflict causing the displacement in the first place. Without IDP frameworks and institutions in place to respond to the particular context and needs of IDPs living within these communities, these tensions and competition over resources and services will usually have a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable IDP groups, such as female-headed households, children and older persons, and leave them exposed to human rights violations, exploitation and poverty. 40. Tensions may also arise due to perceptions by host communities that their own needs are being neglected or that IDPs are receiving preferential treatment. A recent study 29 27 28 29 United Nations, press release by mandate, “Haiti still in crisis, says U.N. Expert on Displaced Persons”, 18 October 2010. IDMC, Internal Displacement, p. 13. Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement and the International Committee of the Red Cross, The effects of internal displacement on host communities: A case study of Suba and Ciudad Bolivar Localities in Bogota, Colombia, 2011. 13