| Partners
The Operation Emirates Solidarity (OES) project consists of three
partners; the United Nations, the government of the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) government, and the government of Lebanon (GoL).
This partnership is then represented in the Mine Action Coordination
Centre Southerm Lebanon (MACC SL) by the United Nations (UN),
the UAE Armed Forces (UAE), and the Lebanese Army/National Demining
Office (LAF/NDO).
This structure is unique and unprecedented in any other Mine
Action Coordination Centre involving the UN as it brings together
the donor, technical expertise, and the national institution for
mine action as joint participants in coordination of the project.
The coordination of the OES project is the principle role of
the MACC SL since the project started in November 2001.
The United Nations
The UN component of the MACC SL is a United Nations Mine Action
Services (UNMAS) supported project executed with the assistance
of The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) who
undertake the recruitment of the UN component staff. View UN
Component Structure
For more details on UNMAS and UNOPS and their involvement in
other mine action programmes visit www.mineaction.org
As outlined under Establishment
of the Mine Action Coordination Centre commenced as a regional
office in support to the UNIFIL mission.
With the announcement of the donation from the UAE to fund mine
clearance, came a request from both the UAE and the GoL for UN
assistance. At this point it became apparent that the MACC would
need to expand its resources.
On behalf of the United Nations, ArmorGroup
International Limited and Swedish Rescue Services
Agency were subcontracted to undertake the role of Quality
Assurance within the MACC SL.
ArmorGroup International Limited
ArmorGroup International Limited is a British based global risk
management service business with over 7,500 employees worldwide
based in more than 38 countries.
The organisation provides quality risk management services to
corporate, government and humanitarian organisations, particularly
those that need to operate in hazardous or chaotic environments
where their people and other assets are put at risk.
Mine Action is one of the three main risk capabilities of ArmorGroup
International Limited.
For more on ArmorGroup visit www.armorgroup.com
Swedish Rescue Services Agency
Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA) is the central supervisory
government authority in Sweden for rescue services. SRSA promotes
practice that improves accident prevention and response, and in
the event of an accident limits injury and damage. This is achieved
by imparting information, by running training courses and through
supervision etc.
SRSA has provided to the United Nations, on a sub contractual
basis, one MDD specialist who is responsible for Quality Assurance
of the MDD teams contracted to the OES project.
For more on Swedish Rescue Services Agency visit www.srv.se
The Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates
Colonel Jumaa Murabak Al Junaibi is the OES Project Director
representing the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He took over from the first Project Director Colonel Fahad Saeed
Al Ketbi in 2003. The Colonel is based in Abu Dhabi and makes
regular visits to Lebanon.
The UAE component based in the MACC SL comprises three persons;
a Project Leader and two administration assistants. View UAE
Component Structure
The UAE have also used the project and the environment of south
Lebanon as an opportunity to train members of their engineer regiment
in humanitarian mine action.
Every three months the UAE Land Forces send a team of up to 26
persons to south Lebanon. They are trained by BACTEC, and following
accreditation by the MACC SL, are then deployed to clear minefields
within the project area under the supervision of BACTEC.
Since the project began a total of six teams have been trained
and accredited to international mine action standards, and subsequently
conducted humanitarian demining in a live minefield environment.
For more detail on the UAE involvement in this project visit www.uaeinteract.com
The Lebanese Armed Forces/National Demining Office
While the Lebanese army had been conducting successful mine clearance
and UXO clearance operations throughout Lebanon (excluding the
liberated area) since the cessation of civil hostilities in 1990,
it was not until 1998 that a structured mine action body was formed.
The national programme on mine action is the responsibility of
the National Demining Office (NDO), a Lebanese authority that
was created through a decision by the Council of Ministers on
15 April 1998. The NDO began to operate and its current structure
was approved in September 1999. The NDO is the main authority
responsible for mine action in Lebanon and it works under the
supervision of the Lebanese Armed Forces headquarters, and in
consultation and liaison with the offices of the concerned Ministries
andNGO’s.
The NDO reports through the army command to the Ministry of National
Defence.
In April 2002 the NDO delegated part of their LAF staff to assist
in the OES project coordination. They commenced their duties within
the MACC SL to coincide with the start of the project operations.
The LAF/NDO component consists of a Colonel as representative,
a secretary, four officers working in Quality Assurance monitoring,
two in MACC SL operational support positions, and one officer
to work with the Information section on IMSMA.
Additionally a team of 10 LAF Officers were seconded to the MACC
SL in late 2003 as a dedicated Survey, Sampling Team with an EOD
capacity.
This team of 10 has been trained and accredited to the National
Technical Standards and Guidelines (TSG’s) by the MACC SL
and is now deployed in the OES project area.
View LAF/NDO Component
Structure
For further information about the National Demining Office visit
www.ndo-lb.org
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