tents and blankets and water and sanitation and other forms of assistance. UNICEF, for example, is delivering water for the camp by truck. At the conclusion of the mission, the Government had not yet allowed UNICEF to open the existing well on the site under the pretext that the camp is only temporary, and that people would soon be moved to other sites or rural areas. The camp continued to be run by a police unit, rather than humanitarian actors. The assistance and protection provided at Caledonia Farm did not comply with SPHERE standards, particularly in the areas of shelter, sanitation, protection of vulnerable groups and education. Furthermore, the organized transport of people to and from the camp was reported to be involuntary in many cases, which would not be in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement as well as other international instruments.97 Although the authorities insist that the camp at Caledonia Farm is temporary, many of the displaced people have previously experienced long stays in “temporary holding centers” lasting for years and even decades. A top priority is to clarify the status of the camp and the people staying there, and to identify long-term solutions involving secure tenure. In this regard, UNHABITAT has provided a settlements expert to support the UNCT to offer sustainable relief and reconstruction. The objective of humanitarianism is to preserve and maintain human life, and the cycle of support is often never-ending. It creates dependency, and by virtue of its unconditionality, often disempowers its beneficiaries. While sometimes suitable for refugees who remain outside of their home countries for many years, it could be detrimental for IDPs in non-war situations like those in Zimbabwe. UN-HABITAT’s expert will help the UNCT’s humanitarian effort to create opportunity to “develop out” of the crisis that has befallen the IDPs. Emergency shelter in the form of tents will be linked to allocation of land to the beneficiaries by the Government as its contribution to remedy a crisis of its own creation. 5.4 Limited Opportunity for Humanitarian Access The Government has, on several occasions, prevented humanitarian actors from providing shelter and basic services to the displaced population, particularly near the demolition sites, even though many of the affected persons remain without any form of shelter or ready means of sustenance. It has also impeded data collection.98 . Lack of access is therefore a serious obstacle to humanitarian action, with significant, adverse consequences for the affected populations. Almost two months into the crisis, it has not been possible for the United Nations to conduct any comprehensive assessment of humanitarian needs in coordination with the authorities. Lack of information on the number of people affected, their profile, and their whereabouts makes programming, coordination and resource mobilization extremely difficult and onerous.100 97 International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: Sphere Handbook, 2004. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement”, 1997. 98 Confidential sources. 100 The Government provided figures on the affected population on the last day of the Special Envoy’s mission. 53