UNJLC LIBERIA BULLETIN 27
11 - 17 February 2004

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The aim of the UNJLC bulletins is 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.

CONTENTS

• 1. Highlights
• 2. Security
• 3. Air Operations
• 4. Sea Port Operations
• 5. Customs and Immigration
• 6. Infrastructure
• 7. Logistics Co-ordination
• 8. Civil-Military Co-ordination
• 9. Fuel (Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene) / Commodity Prices
• 10. Other
• 11. UNJLC International Staff

1. Highlights

An Evaluation Team composed of two consultants from Royal Haskoning, a Dutch consulting firm, were on mission in Monrovia from 11 to 17 February to review the UNJLC Operation in Liberia. The Team met with representatives from UNMIL, UN Agencies, NGOs, IOs, and Donors. The main objective of the Review was to derive lessons and best practices to improve the application of the UNJLC Project in future deployments. 

The WFP Air Service Let 410 regional aircraft will undergo maintenance at the end of February. Flights scheduled for 27 and 28 February will be cancelled. 

The first Road Task Force Meeting was convened on Monday, 16 February at 14:00 at the UNDP Conference Room. A joint presentation was provided by UNJLC and HIC. A follow-up meeting will be convened in two weeks on 1 March, 2004.

2. Security

According to UNMIL reports, the situation in Monrovia and its environs remains calm but unpredictable.  UNMIL continues to consolidate outside of Monrovia with patrols and checkpoints, no significant operational difficulties have been reported.  

Further delays are expected for the re-commencement of the Disarmament Demobilisation Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) Programme. There is a possibility the Programme could be postponed until April. UNMIL is currently focusing on a sensitisation programme throughout the country in anticipation of the actual Disarmament and Demobilisation of the combatants.  

According to UNMIL Force Head Quarters, some factional commanders continue to harass and molest civilians in areas where UNMIL presence is not yet established. This may continue to be a problem until full deployment has been achieved. 

The curfew timings for UN staff (national and international) are 2400 hours to 0500 hours. The curfew does not apply to local inhabitants. 

Monrovia, Tubmanburg, Buchanan and Gbarnga are at UN Security Phase IV, while the rest of Liberia continues to be designated as Phase V.

3. Air Operations

UNHCR has shifted its Air Operations from RIA to Spriggs Payne Airport. UNHCR is presently operating a Beechcraft to fly passengers between Conakry, Freetown, Monrovia and Abidjan on Monday and Friday. For more information, please contact: Philippe Levieux, Tel: + 377 47 550 105, E-mail: levieux@unhcr.ch.

The WFP Air Service Let 410 regional aircraft will undergo maintenance at the end of February. Flights scheduled for 27 and 28 February will be cancelled. 

UNMIL Air Operations Contacts:
 Mr. Carl Markussen: OIC- UNMIL Air Operations/Aviation Section, Tel: + 377 47 532 603, E-mail:  markussen@un.org
 Mr. Chris Njenga: OIC- Technical Compliance/ UNMIL Air Operations, Tel: + 377 47 538246, E-mail: njengac@un.org
 Mr. Thomas Vandy: UNMIL Spriggs Payne Aiport Manager, Tel: +377 47 542883
 Mr. Tomislav Ristov: UNMIL Chief Air Operations Centre, Tel: + 377 47 532504, E-mail: ristov@un.org
 Ms. Griffith, MOVCON, Spriggs Payne Airport, Tel: + 377 47 530 602, E-mail: griffithsk@un.org
 Mr. Tesfaye Tesgaye, OIC, Airfield Management, Tel: + 377 47 547 041
 Mr. Idrissa Ezeh: UNMIL RIA Manager, Tel: + 377 47 542 885, E-mail: i_ezeh348@hotmail.com
 Mr. Christopher Tumbay: Assistant RIA Manager
 Mr. Mario Calderon: MOVCON RIA, Tel: + 377 47 532 597, E-mail: calderonm@un.org
 Mr. Assamis Comporare: UNMIL Gbranga Airfield Manager
 Mr. George Kabia: UNMIL Greenville Airfield Manager

WFP West Africa Air Service contacts are as follows:

4. Sea Port Operations

UNJLC, WFP, and UNMIL have negotiated an exemption from NPA vehicle access passes for all UN vehicles. In addition, a reduced rate has been negotiated on behalf of the NGO community. The reduced rate for the NGO community is equal to what the UN agencies were paying previously: US $ 37.50 for light vehicles and $ 75.00 for trucks. The system is already in place at the Freeport and an official letter confirming the arrangement is to be delivered by the NPA.

On the request of UNJLC, UNMIL has completed a technical assessment of NPA handling equipment. This includes tractors, forklifts and top lifters. The NPA will use this assessment to submit a proposal to UNMIL for quick impact repair projects. 

The Rotterdam completed its contract on 16 February. The vessel arrived in Monrovia on 17 November 2003. 

Contacts for the Ghanian Security contingent (UNMIL) at the Freeport are as follows:
 Commanding Officer – Lt Col James Adoinama: + 377 47 530 657
 Operations Officer – Major Louman Gbetanu: + 377 47 530 654
 Military Intelligence Officer – Capt Errigton Commil: + 377 47 530 649

5. Customs and Immigration

The Executive Summary of the Customs and Immigration Study in Liberia completed by the UNJLC Customs consultant from 13 January to 2 February, 2004 is now available on the UNJLC website.

This report outlines the issues, identifies changes that can be made without external aid and indicates the pressing need for substantial and immediate assistance to both Customs and Immigration from the international community as envisaged by the Accra Accord. Both services have received little assistance from outside Liberia during the past 14 years and their procedures are archaic, bureaucratic, lack transparency, encourage corruption and as a result have very low levels of efficiency.

The Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) has established temporary Customs posts at three locations around Monrovia: Iron Gate to the north of Monrovia, 15 Gate to the east of Monrovia, and Cotton Tree to the southeast of Monrovia. These measures are expected to generate revenue. 

Presently, the official Customs Collectorates within the country are in areas controlled by the rebel groups. 

UNJLC is working with HIC to produce a map identifying all border crossing points in Liberia.

6. Infrastructure

The first Road Task Force Meeting was convened on Monday, 16 February at 14:00 at the UNDP Conference Room. A joint presentation was provided by UNJLC and HIC.

UNJLC in collaboration with HIC initiated an assessment of the primary and major secondary roads in Liberia. Information was collected on all damaged bridges, culverts and road stretches along the routes. There has been a crucial need for up-to-date data on the surface infrastructure of the country. Additionally, the Humanitarian Community requested such information. 

There was limited capacity within the government and Humanitarian Community to conduct the survey. The NTGL was newly established and persons from the Government had limitations on travelling in areas controlled by various factions. There was certain expertise in the NGO community; however, it was limited in capacity to carry out a country-wide survey. The third available option was the private sector. 

Given the time constraint, the on-coming rainy season, and the imminent deployment of UNMIL and the Humanitarian Community outside of Monrovia, UNJLC contracted three logging companies to assess primary routes leading to humanitarian hubs. Liberia was divided into three sectors – western, central, and eastern – and a company was assigned to each sector. The companies had the advantage of having previously carried out road rehabilitation and repair in these sectors. 

The Aim of the Road and Bridge Assessment was to provide sufficient data on key humanitarian routes in order to coordinate and maximise a coherent road repair strategy.  

Specific objectives during the course of the Survey were to collect global positioning points (GPS) for each route; to assess each damaged bridge, culvert and deteriorated stretch of the road; and, to photograph each bottleneck for a graphic representation. 

The Methodology employed by UNJLC and HIC was to outsource the assessment execution phase to the contracted logging companies; to standardise the data capture procedures; to synthesise and analyse the collected data; and, the creation of a database and accompanying products that would serve as decision-support tools for the Humanitarian Community. 

HIC provided a technical overview of the Project including a summary on mapping Liberia’s road network, the assessment survey process, survey methodology, survey constraints, data quality issues, and issues arising from the survey. 

Some of the priority route alignments do not service populated places along the route. Re-settlement by refugees and IDPs will most likely be along serviceable routes in forest areas which may be cleared out. This has implications for environmental conservations. A nation-wide review of the road network and the resulting long-term rehabilitation of the network is required. It is important the NTGL’s capacity to use and maintain the digital road network data is developed. 

The Major Supply Routes (MSRs) UNMIL is planning to repair and rehabilitate are the following: Gbarnga – Zorzor – Voinjama – Foya; Kley Junction – Tubmanburg – Robertsport; Ganta – Tapeta – Zwedru; Zwedru – Greenville; and, Monrovia – RIA – Buchanan.

There are 5 Engineering Units in UNMIL: 2 from Pakistan, 2 from Bangladesh and 1 from China. These Units carry their own construction equipment and engineering/stone crushing capabilities. However, the Units require material including stones, asphalt, and timber. UNMIL is expecting to receive a number of Bailey Bridges which can be erected within a single day.

A follow-up meeting will be convened in two weeks on 1 March, 2004 at 14:00 at the UNDP Conference Room. Priority will be to identify the current rehabilitation projects in the country as a whole and to coordinate those efforts using the data collected from the UNJLC/HIC Road Assessment Project. The meeting will focus on prioritising the routes for rehabilitation and identification of available funds allocated for road rehabilitation at the Donors Conference in New York on 5-6 February.

7. Logistics Co-ordination

The weekly meeting of the Joint Logistics Working Group was held on Wednesday, 11 February, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. in the WFP conference room. Items on the agenda were a briefing by UNMIL; sharing possibilities of UNMIL assets and facilities; re-negotiation of port charges and UN assistance in rehabilitation of the port infrastructure; joint Humanitarian Hub Assessments; and, NPA issues.

Mr. Jeff Whitworth, from JLOC at UNMIL, provided an update on UNMIL activities. The Chinese Contingent, incorporating Engineering and Medical Units, is expected next month. The Contingent’s presence will greatly improve the engineering and medical capabilities and facilities, especially at the Sector Headquarters in Zwedru.

UNMIL is rehabilitating the JFK Hospital in Monrovia, including the operating theatres, recovery rooms, and installing an elevator. Once completed, JFK will operate as a Level 4 Hospital. A Level 3 Hospital exists in Monrovia, along with Level 2 Hospitals at each Sector Headquarters. Each battalion has a Level 1 Hospital facility. Currently the designated Level 4 Hospital is in Accra, Ghana. UNMIL is establishing and improving its MEDEVAC procedures and plan. Night flights to test procedures and routes are being conducted to rehearse the medical evacuation of personnel. Currently, persons evacuated will be taken to the Level 4 Hospital in Accra. A Medical Board has been established and will be reviewing the MEDEVAC Plan. 

UNJLC will investigate the agreements and arrangements among the UN Agencies and UNMIL regarding access to the Level Hospitals and inclusion in the MEDEVAC Plan. 

To date, UNMIL has not officially confirmed sharing possibilities of UNMIL assets and facilities to the UN agencies, including fuel, water and communication. UNJLC held a meeting with the Deputy SRSG and was informed that UNMIL will share assets where “technically possible or feasible.” 

Sharing of communication facilities at the sector headquarters involves access to UNMIL facilities and a guarded location for equipment.  Mr. Martin Kristensson, WFP FITTEST, will build a matrix for UN Agency requirements per location. 

Agencies interested in sharing communication facilities with UNMIL are requested to provide requirements to: 
Martin Kristensson
Tel: + 377 47 530 581
E-mail: martin.kristensson@wfp.org

UNMIL’s fuel contract will be awarded end of February, 2004. Prior to this, UNMIL faces difficulty in assisting Agencies and can only provide fuel on an ad-hoc basis. 

To further assist the Humanitarian Community in planning the sharing of assets among UNMIL and the UN Agencies, UNJLC has requested the Agencies in providing their fuel, communication, and water requirements. 

For fuel requirements, the figures are urgently required for planning and finalising of the fuel contract:
Tim Washington, UNMIL
Tel: + 377 47 532 625
E-mail: washington@un.org

Humanitarian Operations Centre (HOC):
 Humanitarian agencies are requested to make use of the available services at the HOC to organise air, sea, and road missions to the interior of Liberia. In planning missions, the HOC must be informed of changes in dates and names at least 48 hours in advance. 
 Facilitation in use of UNMIL assets for air, sea and road missions must be coordinated through the HOC. 
 The HOC is enhancing operations as the geographical areas of Liberia become more accessible to the Humanitarian Community.

LOCOMOCC: 
 The LOCOMOCC facilitates the coordination of the logistics activities of the Humanitarian Community. The LOCOMOCC is also providing operational and logistical support in the planning of the DDRR Programme. 
 The Humanitarian Coordinator has tasked UNJLC to coordinate joint logistics and infrastructure assessments of key future UN Agency sub-office/humanitarian hub locations. The aim of these multi-agency missions is to collect information on available and potential infrastructure for offices storage, and accommodation.
 These Assessments will provide a common decision-support tool for the Heads of Agencies. Recommendations will be made on which locations in the Humanitarian Hubs are feasible for deployment.
 To date, Tubmanburg, Gbarnga, and Buchanan have been assessed. The next group of locations will be Saclepea, Zwedru, Voinjama, Harper, and Greenville. 
 The mission to Saclepea was undertaken from 16 to 17 February. 
 Reports of the assessments for Tubmanburg (16 January), Gbarnga (22 January), and Buchanan (27 January) are available at the UNJLC website.

The points of contact at the HOC are as follows: 

 General:
  Stephen Hiscock, Tel: + 377 47 530 434, E-mail: steven.hiscock@wfp.org
 Logistics Coordination & Movement Control:
  Steven Eames, Tel: + 377 47 534 468, E-mail: steven.eames@wfp.org 
 Civil-Military Coordination:
  Stephen Hiscock, Tel: + 377 47 530 434, E-mail: steven.hiscock@wfp.org
  Major Noel Duffy, Tel: + 377 47 532 516, E-mail: monrovia.guest8@wfp.org
 LRRRC Liaison:
  Adella K. Kermah, Tel: + 377 47 544 133, E-mail: kobekermah@yahoo.com
 NGO Liaison: 
  Momo Larmena, Tel: + 377 47 530365, E-mail: momo.larmena@wfp.org 
 Security: 
  Arve Skog, Tel: + 377 47 529 616, E-mail: arve.skog@undp.org
 Humanitarian Information:
  Varney Kawah, Tel: + 377 47 521 726, E-mail:varney.kawah@undp.org

The HOC is located on the ground floor of the WFP building. 

The opening hours are: Mon-Fri: 08:30 – 18:00. Sat: 10:00 – 15:00.

8. Civil-Military Co-ordination

The sites identified for the DDRR Programme are Gbarnga, Tubmanburg, VOA Camp, and Buchanan.

Peacekeepers contributed by Sweden to the UNMIL Mission are expected in country next month. 

The total strength of the UNMIL Force Headquarters is now 107 (out of 165), including a dedicated "Civil Military Cooperation" (CIMIC) section. 108 Military Observers are now deployed in the country. The Force Brigade's total strength is 11,714. There are 140 CIVPOL officers.  

UNMIL Emergency Response Hotlines are:
 Duty Officer HQ Sector 1:  + 377 47 530 173
 Duty Officer HQ UNMIL :   + 377 47 532 313

UNMIL Force Commander – Lieutenant General Opande, Kenya

Sector 1 Commander – Brigadier General Festus Okonkwo, Nigeria

Civil-Military Co-operation Officer – Noel Duffy: + 377 47 532 516                                                                 

UN Civil-Military Co-ordination – Stephen Hiscock: + 377 47 530 434

WFP Civil-Military Liaison – Albert Fiawosime: + 377 47 530 209

9. Fuel (Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene) / Commodity Prices

The exchange rate to the US $ is LD $ 54.

Fuel Prices (per gallon)

10. Other

11. UNJLC International Staff

 Peter Schaller: peter.schaller@wfp.org Mobile: + 377 47 534 090
 Matthew Dee: matthew.dee@wfp.org Mobile: +377 47 530 187
 Steven Eames: steven.eames@wfp.org Mobile: + 377 47 534 468
 Farzana Rasheed: farzana.rasheed@wfp.org Mobile: + 377 47 531458

 UNJLC Offices are located on the ground floor of the WFP building, UN Drive, Mamba Point, Monrovia.
 UNJLC Fax: + 871 763 467 061. 
 UNJLC Tel:  + 871 763 467 060.

ABOUT UNJLC
UNJLC is an inter-agency facility reporting, in the current emergency, to the Humanitarian Coordinator for Liberia, and overall to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee. Its mandate is to coordinate 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 can be viewed on the UNJLC website (www.unjlc.org).