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Establishment
In
recognition of the serious humanitarian nature of the problem
posed by remaining landmines and unexploded ordnance in southern
Lebanon following the Israeli occupation and previous periods
of conflict, the Lebanese authorities asked the United Nations
(UN) for support. In November 1998, following consultations with
other UN agencies and the Government of Lebanon (GoL), UNMAS offered
to field a multidisciplinary inter-agency mission to assess the
requirement for UN assistance. This mission assessment was conducted
by UNMAS from 26 May 2000 to 1 June 2000, and at the request of
the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a regional
Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC) was established within
UNIFIL in July 2000. UNMAS established the project in July 2000
and requested the support of UNOPS in executing the project. A
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed on 28 June 2000. This
MOA has been amended several times since in order to accommodate
the expanding activities of the MACC.
The UNIFIL-MACC formed the core
of the now established Mine Action Coordination Centre, Southern
Lebanon (MACC SL). Following the announcement of the grant by
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for assistance to mine clearing
in the formerly occupied south, the MACC began to expand its infrastructure
in support of the UAE initiative. The final plan for the UAE support
was concluded in October in 2001 with the signing of a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) between the UAE and the Government of Lebanon
(GoL).
One of the key elements of the agreement was the establishment
of a Coordination Centre for Mine Action in Tyr to be responsible
for the task planning, prioritization, monitoring and coordination
of clearance activities under the umbrella of the UAE project.
Significantly both the UAE and the GoL sought the assistance of
the United Nations in providing the core technical support to
the project, and to this end the MACC became a partner in the
Mine Action Coordination Centre for Southern Lebanon.
In response to the UAE request,
the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) through the UN Office for Project
Services (UNOPS) established a capacity of international technical
staff and national support staff to set-up the MACC SL, provide
the services requested and to oversee and monitor the OES
project on the ground. In January 2002, the UNIFIL-MACC relocated
from its office in Tyr to the former UNIFIL Logistics Base in
Tyr and started its operational activities. UNOPS recruited additional
international technical staff in the areas of Quality Assurance
and Operational Planning and they commenced their duties over
the period April-May 2002. Additional national staff personnel
were recruited in the Operations, Quality Assurance, and Information
Sections.
In April 2002 members of the
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) from the National Demining Office
(NDO) assigned to work within the OES
project commenced their duties with the MACC Southern Lebanon.
The LAF NDO component consists of a Colonel as Project Manager,
four officers to work in QA monitoring and MACC Operations roles,
one Officer to work with the Information Section on IMSMA, and
eight soldiers as assistants. The UN team set-up the entire MACC
SL premises procuring all office and communications equipment,
furniture, and expendables required for the functioning of the
Centre. The premises have been maintained by the MACC UN component
since.
The recruitment of national
support project personnel has also been undertaken by the MACC
to fill positions in Operations, Plans, QA, Information, Administration
and Logistics, and Public Information.
UNIFIL continues to support the functioning of the MACC SL United
Nations component through the provision of building maintenance,
establishment and maintenance of voice and data communications,
including a VHF radio net, provision of vehicles, fuel, stationery,
computer support, office furniture and miscellaneous expendable
items. This support is financed through the UNIFIL assessed budget.
The MACC SL in its current location,
near the port in Tyr, was inaugurated on 9 January 2002. It is
mandated to coordinate mine action within the UNIFIL mission area,
defined as the area south of the Litani River, and which covers
an estimated 700 square kilometres.
The current structure
of the MACC SL and its UN, UAE and LAF/NDO component are shown
below.
Role
The role of MACC SL is to provide
a planning, coordination and quality assurance capability that
ensures landmine and unexploded ordnance clearance undertaken
within the mandated area is done in the most effective, safe and
time efficient manner, and in accordance with National Technical
Standards and Guidlines, developed from International Mine Action
Standards.
Support to UNIFIL
The MACC SL provides the following
support to UNIFIL in accordance with the original mandate and
the guidance given in SC/Res 1337, para 10:
- Landmine Safety training to all United
Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) Observer Group
Lebanon (OGL) teams during their in-country orientation. This
involves a brief on a monthly basis with the team members
who have arrived that month.
- Technical advice and coordination with
the UNIFIL Demining Coordination Cell (DCC).
- IMSMA and information support to the UNIFIL
DCC.
- IMSMA mapping of mined areas to UNIFIL
HQ Operations, Battalions, and UNTSO OGL
MACC SL And UN Component Structure
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