Funding Status 2002-2004

FUNDING MECHANISMS AND PARTNERSHIPS WITHIN UN MINE ACTION SOUTH LEBANON

“To free South Lebanon , except the Blue Line, from mine and cluster bombs by December 2007 so long as funding is sustained”

1. SOURCES OF FUNDING

The United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre in South Lebanon (UN MACC) is funded through various mechanisms. They are as follows:

•  financial resources provided under the Mine Action component of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon 's (UNIFIL) peacekeeping assessed budget (AB) ,

•  extra-budgetary resources, namely, contributions to the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action (VTF) earmarked specifically for Lebanon by donors,

•  bilateral contributions including, inter alia, the United Arab Emirate's Operation Emirates Solidarity Project (OES) and Japan 's United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS).

The respective proportion of funding can be represented thus:

The Peacekeeping Assessed Budget (AB)

The General Assembly considers and approves the budget of UNIFIL annually. Expenses of the peacekeeping assessed budget are borne by Member States as apportioned by the General Assembly ( Article 17 of the United Nations Charter ) .

The UNIFIL budget was approved for the period of 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007 in the amount of US$ 143,526,200 inclusive of the amount of US$ 2,366,783 apportioned for the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre in South Lebanon and represents 5% of annual funding.

The Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action (VTF)

The Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action was established by the Secretary-General on 30 November 1994 to provide special resources for mine action programmes and projects, including surveys, mine clearance, mine risk education, victim assistance and advocacy activities, in situations where other funding is not immediately available.

Other than bilateral funding, the VTF is the main international funding mechanism and received voluntary contributions in the total amount of US$ 50,246,386 in 2005 and US$ 32,000,478 in 2006 inclusive of the contributions in the amount of US $ 21,516,30 3 earmarked by donors specifically for Lebanon , amounting to 49% of UN MACC's funding. Further unconfirmed pledges for Lebanon amount to approximately US$ 1,885,490 .

1.As at 8 January 2007.

2.As at 8 January 2007.

In 2006, 18 Member States' contributed to the Voluntary Trust Fund:

* Excluded from this table are bilateral contributions like the $998,250 contributed from the Government of Japan to the UN Trust

Fund for Human Security or the United Arab Emirates ' $19,881,982 contributed to the Operation Emirates' Solidarity project.

Despite general estimates that funding for mine action will steadily decrease, the above-mentioned figures show that donors have greatly supported the UN MACC in South Lebanon after the July-August 2006 conflict. It is hoped to free South Lebanon , except for the Blue Line, from the mine and cluster bomb threat by December 2007 so long as the funding level is sustained.

There are currently two bilateral support mechanisms:

The United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS )

In March 1999, the Government of Japan and the United Nations Secretariat launched the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS). The Fund is the result of the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000 , in which UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called upon the world community to advance the twin goals of "freedom from want" and "freedom from fear", and of the independent Commission on Human Security (CHS), which published a report, entitled Human Security Now in May 2003. Based on the recommendations of the Commission, the Advisory Board on Human Security was created to promote human security and advise the Secretary-General on the management of the Fund. The Fund represents 2% of the UN MACC funding and equals $998,250 .

The Operation Emirates Solidarity Project (OES)

Building on the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) previous support of $50 million to the Government of Lebanon (GoL) and the UN MACC from 2002 to 2005 to assist mine clearance in the former occupied areas of the South under the project “Operation Emirates Solidarity” (OES), His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the principle funder recently donated an additional $19,881,982 for the clearance of cluster bomb strike areas in South Lebanon, amounting to 44% of the UN MACC's current funds.

The Operation Emirates Solidarity (OES) project consists of three partners: the UN MACC, the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the government of Lebanon (GoL) represented by the Lebanese Army/National Demining Office (LAF/NDO), all three of which form the Mine Action Coordination Centre Southerm Lebanon (MACC SL). This structure is unique and unprecedented in any other Mine Action Coordination Centre involving the United Nations, as it brings together a donor, technical experts, and a national institution for mine action partners in the coordination of a mine action project.

2. MINE ACTION FUNDRAISING MECHANISMS

The Lebanon Crisis Flash Appeal 2006 & The Stockholm Appeal

The July-August 2006 conflict prompted the international community to issue the Lebanon Crisis Flash Appeal 2006 and t he Government of Lebanon initiated a series of early recovery and long-term reconstruction efforts through the Stockholm Appeal . In the Lebanon Crisis Flash Appeal 2006, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) asked for $4.1 million for immediately required activities from August through October 2006, and for $4.2 million for early recovery efforts from October to December 2006. Donors responded positively to the appeals, sending their contributions through the VTF for "emergency operations”. Those contributions are used to fund clearance activities under the Rapid Response Plan until the end of 2006.

Portfolio of Mine Action Projects (Portfolio)

The Portfolio of Mine Action Projects (Portfolio) is a collection of mine action project proposals published jointly by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UNOPS), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and UNICEF. The 2007 edition includes 300 proposals covering all five "pillars" of mine action: clearance and marking of hazardous areas, mine risk education, victim assistance, destruction of stockpiled landmines, and advocacy for international agreements related to landmines and explosive remnants of war. The combined budgets of all project proposals in the 2007 edition total $429 million. Of that amount, only $111.7 million in funding has been secured, resulting in the $317.5 million gap. The UN MACC bid for $15,691,135 . Donors responded to the Portfolio projects, channeling their contributions through the VTF.

3. MINE ACTION RESOURCE MOBILISATION COORDINATION BODIES

Mine Action Support Group (MASG)

The Mine Action Support Group (MASG) is an information-sharing forum of donor countries and the European Commission. It facilitates discussions with the UN mine-action partners. The group is chaired on a rotating basis by various permanent representatives of donor countries in New York . The United States chairs the group in 2006. The MASG meets on a regular basis to promote the information and knowledge sharing between donors and the UN Mine Action Team about their mine action activities and policy-making. The objective is to simplify the coordination between donor states and to achieve greater transparency about funding availability and needs as well as to share different experience in combating the threats of mines. Lebanon was on the agenda of the MASG's 30 November 2006 meeting.

International Support Group for Mine Action in Lebanon (ISG)

Chaired by the Lebanese Ministry of National Defense, the International Support Group for Mine Action in Lebanon (ISG) , the ISG coordinates the Mine Action Strategy for Lebanon , hosts mine action workshops and puts together the Portfolio of Mine Action Projects. With regard to resource mobilisation, the ISG is responsible for identifying resources to cover financial and technical mine action gaps, securing financial sources for de-mining and looking for additional sources, overall co-operation with international institutions on fund-raising and reviewing proposals submitted by the NDO or third parties for funding.

4. PARTNERS 

The United Nations

The United Nations Mine Action Center in South Lebanon (UN MACC) is a UN-managed project supported by the United Nations Mine Action Services (UNMAS) in New York and executed with the assistance of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). On the ground, the UN MACC works closely together with UNICEF , which is conducting mine risk education activities in Southern Lebanon, UNDP's Chief Technical Advisor in Beirut and UNDP's Post-Conflict Socio-Economic Rehabilitation Programme for Southern Lebanon , the UN MACC's partner for a Trust Fund for Human Security clearance and rehabilitation project. The UN MACC also coordinates its work closely with UNFPA, UNHCR, WHO and other pertinent UN agencies in-country.

The Lebanese Armed Forces/National Demining Office (LAF/NDO)

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 and NGO 's.
The NDO reports through the army command to the Ministry of National Defence.
The LAF/NDO component in the MACC SL 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 soldiers 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 throughout South Lebanon . It is anticipated that the NDO will assume responsibility for all landmine and EOD clearance by 31 December 2007 .

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)

UNIFIL is also contributing to overall clearance activities in South Lebanon through 6 BAC and 9 EOD teams. Chinbatt, the three Chinese BAC teams and Bluebatt, the three Belgian BAC teams, all are available to conduct humanitarian clearance tasks.

Implementing Partners

On behalf of the United Nations, ArmorGroup International Limited, BACTEC International Limited, Danish Church Aid, Handicap International, Mines Advisory Group, Norwegian People's Aid, the Swedish Rescue Services Agency and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action are being subcontracted to undertake clearance activities on behalf of the UN MACC.

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. Mine Action is one of the three main risk capabilities of ArmorGroup International Limited. In Lebanon , ArmorGroup deployed ten battle area clearance (BAC) teams in Areas 1-5, which are bilaterally funded by the United Arab Emirates .

BACTEC International Limited

BACTEC International Limited is a UK based explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and landmine clearance company that provides comprehensive explosive ordnance disposal, risk mitigation and landmine clearance services across the globe. In Lebanon , BACTEC clears cluster bomb strikes with seven BAC teams in Areas 7 and 8 and provides rapid response to immediate threats with five explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams working in all Areas but Area 6, which are funded through the VTF. In addition, BACTEC deployed four manual demining and three flail teams to Area 6, which are bilaterally funded by the United Arab Emirates .

Danish Church Aid

Danish Church Aid (DCA) is one of the major Danish humanitarian non governmental organisations, working with local partners, international networks , churches and non-religious civil organisations to assist the poorest of the poor. In Lebanon , DCA will deploy three BAC teams by approximately January 2007 to Area 7 or 8, which will be funded by ECHO, the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission.

Handicap International

Handicap International (HI ) is committed to helping people with disabilities worldwide, assisting them and helping them to achiever their goes in life. On the prevention front, HI has fought to put an end to humanitarian suffering caused by landmines and cluster munitions. The association operates independently of any political, religious or economic influences. In Lebanon HI is setting up three BAC teams which will work in coordination with the National Demining Office and the UN MACC in South Lebanon . These teams will be operating in Areas 6, 7 or 8. The BAC teams will be funded by ECHO donation.

Mines Advisory Group

Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is one of the world's leading humanitarian organisations providing conflict-affected countries with a real chance for a better future. In Lebanon , MAG deployed nine BAC teams and one EOD team to Area 6 with bilateral funds from Norway , the UK , the US and the support of a Dutch foundation, and 5 BAC and 3 EOD teams, funded by the VTF, to Area 7.

Norwegian People's Aid

Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) is the humanitarian organisation of the Norwegian trade union movement and conducts, inter alia, mine action. In Lebanon , NPA has started clearing cluster bomb strike sites with three BAC teams and one EOD team in Area 7, with the financial support of the Government of Norway.

Swiss Foundation for Mine Action

The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) clears mines and unexploded ordnance so that people can build a better future. In Lebanon , FDS will deploy five BAC teams by approximately January 2007 in Area 7 or 8, which will be funded by ECHO.

Swedish Rescue Services Agency

The 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. In Lebanon , SRSA deployed three BAC teams in Area 7 and two EOD teams working under the rapid response framework in all Areas but Area 6, all of which are funded through the support of the Government of Sweden. In addition, SRSA will deploy one mechanical team for all areas, which is currently awaiting its equipment.

3-The BAC requirements can be divided into the following: (i) Verification/clearance of suspect hazardous areas containing cluster bomb contamination; (ii) Verification (and clearance if required) of areas required for the UN humanitarian aid relief efforts; (iii) Verification (and clearance if required) of areas required to support the return of refugees and internally displaced persons; and (iv) General explosive ordnance disposal response. The BAC capacity will consist of 5x (15 man) teams, including 1x mine/UXO clearance supervisor , 1x team leader, 10x searchers, 1x medic and 2x driver/translator.

4-The EOD requirements can be divided into the following : (i) Clearance of suspect hazardous areas containing cluster bomb contamination; (ii) Clearance of areas required for the UN humanitarian aid relief efforts; (iii) Clearance of areas required to support the return of refugees and IDP; and (iv) General EOD response. The EOD capacity will consist of 1x (4 man) team, including 1x team leader, 1x EOD technician, 1x medic and 1x driver/translator.

* Excluded from this table are unconfirmed contributions, contributions from the UNIFIL assessed budget and bilateral contributions like those of the Government of Japan to the UN Trust Fund for Human Security or the United Arab Emirates to the Operation Emirates Solidarity.