Bulletin 8 UNJLC Liberia
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Bulletin No 8
01-02 October 2003
(186 KB)UNJLC bulletins aim to provide a concise weekly overview of UNJLC activities and the present logistical situation in regard to the crisis in Liberia.
In addition sector/country specific reports will be released regularly in order to provide in-depth coverage of priority areas.
Contact details for all UNJLC offices are available on the UNJLC website.
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CONTENTS
1. HIGHLIGHTSThe UNJLC/GTZ transport survey has been completed and is outlined below. The full study will be available on the UNJLC website (www.unjlc.org) in the near future. UNJLC has finalised its Customs and Immigration booklet. This will be made available in the next couple of days after presentation to the UN Country Team. A comprehensive planning map of the Freeport of Monrovia has been finished by UNJLC. This is available for download from the UNJLC website and will be distributed in hard copy in the next few days. ID cards are now mandatory for all those entering the Freeport of Monrovia. UNJLC is in the process of ensuring unhindered access for the Humanitarian Community. 2. SECURITYThe UN Security Phase for Monrovia remains Phase 4, while the rest of Liberia continues at Phase 5. Fighting in Monrovia broke out on 1st October. LURD fighters entered the city as part of the delegation of Sekou Conneh, Chairman of LURD, who was scheduled to meet with President Blah. Fighting began before this meeting could take place and four people were killed in the initial skirmishes. During the day 12 NGO and UN vehicles were reported to have been car-jacked while looting of local shops took place. During the night a house belonging to Sekou Conneh was set alight and a number of other structures were damaged. By the morning of the 2nd October it was found that LURD forces had withdrawn from the city. It was reported that fighting between two LURD commanders took place in Tubmanburg. One commander is reported to have been killed. The area remains tense. 3. AIR OPERATIONSThe WFP West Africa Air Service: Registration: In order to process your flight booking, the WFP West Africa Air Service requires your organisation to carry out an initial registration. This registration involves the provision of the following information:
Booking: As part of the ongoing effort to make booking procedures more accessible, a new simplified version of the passenger booking form has been issued. This form is available from the WFP West Africa Air Service offices or downloadable from the UNJLC website. Cargo: While the WFP West Africa Air Service no longer operates a dedicated cargo service, details of cargo movement needs are still sought. A limited cargo capability (on board the passenger carrying AN-24) is still maintained by the WFP West Africa Air Service and humanitarian cargo requirements will be matched up, where possible, with this available capacity. Storage: Two 20’ containers are to be moved to Roberts International Airport (RIA) for use as secure storage for incoming cargo. In addition they will hold spare parts for the WFP West Africa Air Service AN-24 once it is based in Monrovia. Schedules: UNJLC is in the process of compiling a map of all flights within the region as well as those onward connections available from each hub of the West Africa Air Service. Details of airlines and contact details will be included in order to facilitate easy booking of onward flights. In the meantime, schedules of commercial flights operating in the region are currently posted outside the WFP West Africa Air Service office in Monrovia in order to provide an option for those days on which UN flights do not operate. Contacts: Contacts for the WFP West Africa Air Service are:
4. SEA PORT OPERATIONSOn 7th October entry cards were made mandatory for entrance to the Freeport of Monrovia. A level of disruption to humanitarian operations resulted from this and UNJLC are currently working with the Humanitarian Community, UNMIL, and the National Port Authority in order to resolve the issue. Those with a UN identity card are able to enter the port, however modalities for allowing access to INGOs, daily labourers, and those commercial bodies that interact with humanitarian traffic at the Freeport (transporters, forwarders, security companies) are still under discussion. UNJLC have completed a Monrovia Freeport Planning Map. Incorporating an up to date plan of the Freeport, contact details, and full soundings information, the map is downloadable from the UNJLC website. Copies of the map will be distributed in the coming days. Daily schedules and ten day forecasts of activity at the Freeport continue to be published on the UNJLC website. For those that would like to receive the schedules regularly by email, please email your request to one of the UNJLC contact points listed in Section 10 below. 5. BORDER CROSSING, CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATIONA finalised version of the UNJLC Customs and Immigration booklet has been completed. The Director of Immigration has verified immigration information included in the document and Customs information is undergoing a similar process by the Commissioner of Customs. Once presented to the UN Country Team, the booklet will be distributed to the Humanitarian Community at large. 6. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE (Roads, Bridges, Rail, Ports, Airports, Warehouse)The UNJLC/GTZ transport survey of Monrovia has been completed and full details of the survey are currently in the process of upload to the UNJLC website (www.unjlc.org). Hard copies of the survey will be distributed to interested parties in Monrovia and can be emailed on request. An overview of the survey’s findings are as follows:
Contacts:
Indicative prices: A full breakdown of indicative prices as issued by the National Tankers Union will be distributed by UNJLC, however an overview of prices is included below:
7. LOGISTICS COORDINATION• The eighth weekly Joint Logistics Meeting was held at 11.00 hours in the HOC, ground floor of the WFP building. As requested in the previous meeting, UNJLC provided information on banking services in Monrovia. Laminated route maps were distributed to all participants as well as a number of 4xA1 planning maps of Liberia. All UNJLC maps are downloadable from the UNJLC website. Key concerns expressed by the participants centred on the Customs and Immigration system. UNJLC announced that it’s initial Customs and Immigration study was undergoing final verification and would be disseminated immediately afterwards (see Section 5 ‘Border Crossing, Customs and Immigration’). 8. CIVIL-MILITARY COORDINATIONOn 1st October the interim Headquarters (HQ) of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) took over ECOMIL responsibilities in Liberia. This was to ensure the smooth transfer of authority from ECOMIL to UNMIL and to avoid any break in the continuity of operations aimed at implementing the mandate stated by UN Security Council Resolution 1509. This event signified the commencement of the transition phase of UNMIL deployment (to be completed by 1st November). The main effort in this transition phase will be the provision of a secure and stable environment within Liberia, through a combined programme of robust patrolling, short-term deployments, and temporary checkpoints and to expand UN presence towards Tubmanburg, Gbanga, and Buchanan. From 1st October, former ECOMIL troops will, as the first UNMIL Brigade, assume full responsibility within Sector 1 (Monrovia and its immediate environs, and RIA). In this Sector the Brigade will carry on the military tasks previously assumed under ECOMIL authority and, in particular, will conduct robust patrolling along main roads to show UN presence and determination. The third weekly UN Civil-Military Co-ordination (CMCoord) meeting convened on 4th October. An update of CMCoord activities undertaken by the UN CMCoord Officer, UNHCR, WFP, and UNJLC Civil-Military Liaison Officers was presented, while a detailed discussion on the UNMIL deployment plan was held. UNMIL Emergency Response HOTLINES: Sector 1 Commander – Brigadier General Festus Okonkwo, Nigeria. Sector 1 Chief of Operations – Colonel Mark, Nigeria: +377 47 523 675 Civil-Military Co-ordination Officer – Lt Col Logonda, Togo: +377 47 529 882 UN Civil-Military Co-ordination – Willy Peerens: +377 47 530 434 WFP Civil-Military Liaison – Albert Fiawosime: +377 47 530 209 UNHCR Civil-Military Liaison – Harry Leefe: +377 47 530 180 UNJLC Civil-Military Liaison – Oleksandr Grebenyuk: +377 47 532 378 9. FUEL (Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene) /COMMODITY PRICESThe exchange to the US$ rose from 50 L$ on 30th September to 52 L$ on 7th October Fuel Prices
Commodity Prices
10. LIBERIA UNJLC STAFF
UNJLC Offices are located on the ground floor of the WFP building, UN Drive, Mamba Point, Monrovia. 11. OTHER
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ABOUT UNJLC
UNJLC is an inter-agency facility reporting, in the current emergency, to the Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Liberia, and overall to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee. Its mandate is to co-ordinate and optimise the logistics capabilities of humanitarian organisations in large-scale emergencies. UNJLC operates under the custodianship of WFP who are responsible for the administrative and financial management of the Centre. UNJLC is funded from voluntary contributions channelled through WFP. The UNJLC project document for Liberia will be posted on the UNJLC website. (www.unjlc.org).
