Long
after combat ends, landmines and unexploded ordnance continue to maim and kill,
preventing people from safely returning to their homes, tilling their fields,
collecting water, as well as preventing governments from reconstructing
powerlines and industrial infrastructure. Mine action is an integrated approach
to addressing the mine problem and consists of a range of activities that create
a safer environment for people to resume a normal and productive life.
In 16 of the world's most heavily mined countries, UNOPS acts on behalf of
its major clients (the United Nations Mine Action Service – UNMAS, the
United Nations Development Programme – UNDP, and the United Nations Office
of the Iraq Programme – UNOIP), providing the project management and
technical services necessary to deal with immediate urgent needs and to help
develop national capacity to resolve the problem over the long term, combining
the flexibility and innovation of a private sector firm with the principles and
objectives of the United Nations.
UNOPS has been designated as a principal provider
for mine action project services within the United Nations system. The UNOPS
Mine Action Unit (MAU), established in early 1998, is directly responsible for
all UNOPS involvement in mine action, including the execution of nearly all of
the UN mine action projects. The MAU includes specialized project management,
technical and legal expertise, as well as appropriate support for fielding
personnel and procurement of services and supplies. This unique combination of
skills enables UNOPS to efficiently provide mine action project management
services tailored to its clients’ and host countries’ needs. UNOPS
acts in many ways:
Behind the scenes: Before mine action begins, UNOPS
brings together the elements required to set up a mine action programme,
including international expertise, specialized equipment, complex agreements
with donor governments for the provision of "in-kind" personnel, as well as
necessary management and administrative support.
In the country: Depending on the scope of the project,
UNOPS’ specialized project personnel advise officials of the national mine
action authority or directly coordinate the work of all actors, launch
nationwide mine surveys and work with the responsible authorities to set
priorities to meet local needs.
In the minefields: UNOPS contracts the world's leading
demining companies and NGOs through competitive bidding, and ensures that they
follow the International Mine Action Standards. As areas are cleared,
certification is provided to let civilians know it's safe to move back home.
In the community: UNOPS supports networks of prosthetic
and rehabilitation centres, mine-awareness/mine risk education campaigns, and
training programmes to lessen the risk of living in mine affected areas and to
teach new skills to those who have lost limbs and livelihoods.
When requested to do so, UNOPS will:
orchestrate the many resources required to start up and carry out effective
mine action;
identify and recruit international and national expertise in mine action,
management, administration, finance, logistics, information systems, etc.;
train nationals and develop local institutions to ensure
sustainability.
rapidly procure and deploy state-of-the-art demining and other equipment to
the field;
conduct tenders and draft contracts and agreements to suit any country
situation;
provide technical backstopping from Headquarters on all aspects of mine
action;
ensure exchange of experience and best practices among programmes;
prepare grant agreements for support to victim assistance and mine
awareness.
Through the provision of tailored mine action services,
UNOPS has been able to assist UNMAS, UNDP, UNOIP and national governments in
the:
establishment of national mine action centres and development of national
mine action plans and policies covering standards and quality assurance for
survey, clearance, accreditation, mine awareness/mine risk education, and victim
assistance;
establishment of mine action information systems for priority setting,
tasking and reporting;
launching of mine survey and clearance operations through the use of manual,
mine detection dogs and mechanical systems in mine-affected areas; and
strengthening of medical treatment, rehabilitation and vocational services
for mine victims.
UNOPS CLIENTS / PROGRAMMES
UNOPS has been entrusted to manage mine action
projects for various UN agencies since the early 1990s. The Mine Action Unit
delivered a range of management and procurement services valued at about $25
million in 1999, $40 million in 2000, $50 million in 2001, and is expected to
reach $ 70 million in 2002.
UNOPS’ major clients include UNMAS, UNDP and the UNOIP. UNOPS’
involvement varies, depending on the country and the project. Sometimes funders
of mine action call on UNOPS to assume full operational responsibility for an
entire programme (e.g., Kosovo and N. Iraq). At other times, UNOPS is given
responsibility for all UN support to a national programme; whereas in some cases
UNOPS may be hired to manage only a single component, such as identifying and
hiring international technical expertise in mine action. The programmes, listed
below, are described in more detail in the country update sections of this
Report.
UNMAS is the focal point for mine action within the UN system, as designated
by the UN Secretary-General, and is responsible for coordinating all
mine-related work funded by eleven UN departments and agencies, and for
launching emergency mine action activities such as in Kosovo, or when natural
disasters severely impact on a country’s mine problem as in the floods in
Central America and Mozambique. Over the past few years, UNOPS has worked with
UNMAS by providing the programme management services necessary to implement
programmes in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Eritrea-Ethiopia Temporary
Security Zone, South Lebanon, Kosovo, Mozambique, Nicaragua, and Yemen and on
global projects such as the Land Mine Safety Handbook, the development of User
Requirements for Mine Action Information Management Systems and the extension of
Quality Assurance Monitoring activities to Landmine Impact Surveys in Cambodia,
Thailand, Mozambique, Somalia, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Lebanon and
Azerbaijan. Key new activities over the past year included the programmes in
Afghanistan (transferred from UNOCHA), in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and in Sudan.
UNDP is generally responsible for mine action projects in stable development
contexts, which generally focus on strengthening national institutional capacity
to enable mine-affected countries to manage mine action programmes on their own
over the long-term. Over the past years, UNOPS provided project management
services necessary to support implementation of UNDP programmes in Angola,
Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chad, Croatia, Ethiopia, Guinea
Bissau, Mozambique, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Yemen and the UNA-USA “Adopt-a
Minefield” programme. During the past year, the preliminary phase of
capacity building support to the Government of Eritrea’s mine action
programme was begun.
UNOIP manages the "Oil for Food Programme" established under Security Council
Resolution 986. Since 1997, UNOPS has managed the integrated mine action
programme in N. Iraq on behalf of UNOIP. Under this programme over 700 local
deminers have been trained and deployed, a mine action information database has
been established with a Landmine Impact Survey conducted in all of the
accessible territory, over 10 square kilometers of minefields cleared, a network
of emergency medical and prosthetics centers established and supported, a mine
awareness strategy developed, and special efforts have been taken to develop a
full range of local capabilities, including an indigenous mine detection dog
programme, development and production of local mini-flail systems, and
development of local mine awareness and demining NGOs.
OTHER UNOPS ACTIVITIES
UNOPS is actively involved in the efforts of the
United Nations and the international mine action community to develop the
information, tools, and infrastructure to increase the effectiveness of
humanitarian mine action, and is an active member of the Interagency
Coordination Group on Mine Action chaired by UNMAS. UNOPS participates in the
development of the International Mine Action Standards, in the discussion of the
specification and use of appropriate indicators for priority setting to increase
the impact and efficiency of mine action activities, and in the further
development of the IMSMA database to enable its use for the full range of
operational and information management needs of mine action programmes. UNOPS
seeks to ensure that international and national staff involved in the daily
management and support to programmes take part in all such discussions. UNOPS
actively encourages exchange of information among programmes and learning from
best practices, and has developed startup kits including model documents and
guidelines that enable the new programmes with which it is involved to benefit
from the experience accumulating in the field.
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