Sudan Projects 

PROJECT PROPOSAL

ESTABLISHING A MINE SAFETY SERVICE FOR HUMANITARIAN NGOs

1. Summary of the Project

1.1 Context. Since the second civil war in Sudan began in 1983, the United Nations estimates that 1.3 million Sudanese, primarily civilians, have died, four million Sudanese have become internally displaced, and hundreds of thousands more have fled to neighbouring countries where they suffer in refugee camps while awaiting re-entry into their now mine-strewn homelands. This "forgotten war" is also particularly vicious, with the UN having recorded evidence of extrajudicial killings, slavery, forced labour, torture, and the kidnapping and abuse of children. Greatly exacerbating this suffering is the current famine in south central Sudan, particularly Bahr-el-Ghazal Province bordering on Equatoria.

1.1.1 Ironically, in the southwestern parts of the province of Equatoria , along the border of Sudan with Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, lie arable lands which could be cultivated were it not for the land mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) hazards there. These effectively prevent the return of refugees and internally-displaced persons (IDP) despite the fact that the peace situation is considered by the UN to be stable there. The scene is similar in the towns.

1.1.2 The combination of large numbers of displaced persons and famine necessitates extraordinary humanitarian aid delivered by NGOs. These NGOs need a mine safety service to facilitate their delivery of aid, because they must work in a heavily mined environment. In Angola in 1994/95, CARE International (Angola) initiated just such a service in order to supply food to starving townsfolk over treacherously mined roads and tracks.

1.2 Rationale. Operation Save Innocent Lines-Sudan (OSIL-S), which has the mandate from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM - which is the de-facto government in these regions), to coordinate all humanitarian mine action and victim assistance, has asked CAMEO for help to build its capacity to organize and implement its mandate. This assistance will be at the organizational level and the working level. This proposed project forms an integral part of the capacity-building portion of the overall programme to raise OSIL-S' ability to fulfil its mandate. At the same time this project will facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

1.3 Project Description. Specially trained local experts will provide mine safety services to NGOs delivering humanitarian aid. In addition, this project seeks to begin the creation of a mine awareness and survey network for OSIL-S using all available resources to locate, identify and record land mines and UXO. This expanding knowledge would permit a better assessment of the requirements for future projects while contributing to safer movement for NGOs, thereby increasing the possibilities for re-settlement.

1.3.1 Project activities include the following

- assisting OSIL-S to set up a basic mine information recording system at their Headquarters in Yei. OSIL-S has proposed to establish a school at Yei for training of mine action workers. As part of this project the curriculum and instruction would be reviewed and expertise offered to upgrade the instruction to meet UN standards. This is necessary for the training of the mine safety teams.

- assisting OSIL-S in creating the teams for the mine safety service. These teams would be recruited from amongst former SPLA military engineers. They would be trained to the UN standard for mine awareness/demining and locating and recording mines and UXO. Although they would be knowledgable locally, their greatest strength would be the ability to access and interpret the information in the OSIL-S mines data base. Teams would be based in Yei and Kaya.

- assisting OSIL-S to improve the mines data base. When not required for mine safety duties the teams would perform mine survey duties to improve the data base. In the process they would clearly mark known and suspected minefields with markings which are understood by the local population.

2. Objectives of the Project. CAMEO's overall objectives are to raise the capacity of OSIL-S to achieve its mandate of coordinating all mine action and victim assistance in the pacified areas of Sudan's Equatorial Province and to provide an advisory and training team to OSIL-S for ongoing programme coordination in order to reduce the high incidence of suffering and death. This project is one of a series of projects which CAMEO proposes to implement over the next five years to achieve these aims. This project seeks to create a capacity to provide mine safety services to NGOs delivering humanitarian aid in New Sudan in selected areas.

3. Work plan and schedule

3.1 Upon project approval, CAMEO will engage one of its Technical Specialists and a logistics administrator on a full-time basis to accompany CAMEO's Executive Director to Nairobi to finalize project details with OSIL-S and establish an administrative base for the project. A clerk/logistician will be employed in the Cornwall office to arrange delivery of supplies and equipment directly to OSIL-S for this project. Departure for Nairobi is expected within three weeks of project approval as personnel have already been identified and are awaiting engagement.

3.2 The main project activities are listed at para 1.3.1 above. These activities will be implemented by OSIL-S personnel under the guidance of the Technical Specialist and at the beginning, CAMEO's Executive Director. Logistics support will be organized from the logistics base in Nairobi by the logistics/administrator. If the project is approved in September, deployment would occur in October. Establishing the mine information system and training system at Yei would occupy November and December. Recruiting and training of teams would occur during January and February with deployment of the service beginning in March.

3.3 The duration of the initial project will be six months (1 October 1998 to 31 March 1999). This period will allow the flexibility necessary to accommodate the lack of existing civil infrastructure in the project area while establishing a useful service. The project is conceived as a multi-year project with continuation of the service in initial areas and expansion of the service to new areas in each year.

4. Target population and participants

4.1 The main participants in this project are: CAMEO personnel, OSIL-S members, and humanitarian assistance NGOs. As the project is designed to permit the international and indigenous NGOs to operate with greater freedom of movement, the project beneficiaries are the entire population as the project will enable increased humanitarian assistance of all types. NGO employees will also benefit from safer working conditions. This project will directly benefit women and children, who are the principal beneficiaries of humanitarian aid currently being conducted in southern Sudan.

5. Methodology and approach

5.1 CAMEO personnel will work with OSIL-S personnel both in Nairobi, Kenya and in Yei, Sudan. Liaison will be maintained with the Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) medical facility in Yei. All deliveries of equipment and supplies will be to Nairobi, which will be CAMEO's logistics base. From Nairobi, these items will enter southern Sudan via air or by CAMEO/OSIL-S ground vehicle.

5.2 Training standards will be those recommended by the United Nations Mine Action Service. One of the primary obstacles to the necessary training will be the level of literacy, so literacy will be incorporated into the overall project objectives.

6. Expected results and sustainability of the impact

6.1 Expected results include a decrease in mine and UXO incidents for humanitarian assistance NGOs and an increase in the freedom of movement for these organizations. Concrete indicators will be new areas/communities to which service is delivered.

6.2 This project transfers to OSIL-S a limited capacity to offer safe conduct with respect to mines and UXOs to humanitarian assistance NGOs. The project can be readily expanded in modular fashion with the addition of mine safety teams in other communities. Some mobilization costs can be avoided if follow-on or expansion projects are approved prior to 31 March 1999.

6.3 The benefits from this initiative are easily absorbed by OSIL-S and the communities. However continuation of the service depends on continued funding for local wages and operating supplies. OSIL-S is not in a position to fund this service on its own in the foreseeable future.

7. Project risks

7.1 Low risks not requiring specific detailed handling but rather only normal managerial oversight are in the technical, managerial, environmental, financial (including completing the project on-time and on-budget), and social risk areas.

7.2 Medium risk is found in logistics, where personal special attention must be paid to safe delivery of supplies and equipment. It is also found in political risk, so CAMEO will have special procedures to deal with unexpected power shifts. Medium risk of casualties also exist in operations of the mine safety teams as they will be proving mine-safe routes for delivery of humanitarian assistance.

7.3 High risk areas lie in security of people and goods and in living in a very disease-prone country. All CAMEO personnel, both expatriate and indigenous will require full immunization, and will adopt a highly secure life style on project.

8. Coordination

8.1 This project will be coordinated with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the de-facto government in the area; its local NGO, (Operation Save Innocent Lives-Sudan or OSIL-S); and the local communities. Operations will be coordinated with humanitarian assistance NGOs operating in the targeted areas which will use the project services.

9. Executing agency and originality of the project

9.1 CAMEO is a land mine practitioner NGO whose mission is to conduct mine action and victim assistance in developing societies. It is composed primarily of former Military Engineers of the Canadian Forces who have extensive hands-on experience with UN mine action and experience with overseas administration and logistics (Cambodia, Kuwait, Mozambique, Angola and former Yugoslavia). CAMEO's Executive Director carried out a CIDA landmines study in Mozambique in 1996 and knows CIDA's requirements.

9.2 Canadian visibility is assured in this project because OSIL-S has selected CAMEO as its primary partner in its mission to coordinate mine action and victim assistance in southern Sudan.

9.3 This project is catalytic in that it is the means by which increased aid and re-settlement can begin in southern Sudan, particularly in the agricultural areas which will help overcome the current famine. It is innovative to the extent that it is very small scale with minimal bureaucracy surrounding actual delivery of the project, and is highly transferable to OSIL-S. It is the only project in southern Sudan that will actually destroy some mines as a by-product of the mine safety service.

10. Monitoring, follow-up, and reports

10.1 Monitoring will be on a continuous basis through e-mail and telecommunications between OSIL-S HQ and our logistics base in Nairobi and CAMEO HQ in Canada. Field reports will be submitted to CAMEO HQ monthly.

10.2 Project activities will be evaluated in March 1999 and a final report submitted after project end.

11. Budget. The budget is attached as Annex A.