South Sudan Meeting Minutes

Transcription

1 LOCATION: OCHA, Juba DATE: 11 February 2014 CHAIR: PARTICIPANTS: Cluster Coordinator OCHA, UNICEF, NGO Forum, World Vision, Care, Mercy Corps, Marie Stopes, DRC, UNOPS, Plan International, IOM, Danish Church Aid, Tearfund, Samaritans Purse, IMC, Save the Children, MSF-Belgium, WFP, Medair, UNHCR, GOAL, ACTED, Intersos, Oxfam, ADRA, NGO Forum, MSF-Swiss, MSF- Holland. ACTION POINTS: AGENDA: Organisations to clearly mark and appropriately package all cargo for transport by the Logistics Cluster. Logistics Cluster to share stock report for warehouses in Malakal with participants. Logistics Cluster to seek the advice of the WASH Cluster regarding Cold Chain temporary storage facilities in Juba. Logistics Cluster to raise with the HC the idea of potentially advocating for humanitarian convoys to be exempt of paying fees to pass through checkpoints. Logistics Cluster to share the contact details of comercial air carriers operating ex-juba Airport. 1. Follow-up of Action Points 2. Humanitarian Update 3. Common Transport Services 4. Access Constraints Update 5. AoB 1. Follow-Up of Action Points Logistics Cluster to investigate whether forced protection is necessary for road transport from Juba to Minkaman. Completed. UNDSS has stated that it is not necessary but recommended to take all necessary measures to mitigate the risks. Logistics Cluster to investigate whether the ferry between Malakal and Pariang is still operational. Completed. The ferry has been confirmed as operational. Logistics Cluster to inform participants of any updates regarding the potential opening of the border for humanitarian cargo between Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan. On-going. Discussions are still on-going between the two government bodies with the active participation of WFP. Participants to the Logistics Cluster regarding organising/joining convoy movements. Completed. Handicap International & Intersos ed the Logistics Cluster regarding their planned convoys and a formal notification was sent to partners via the mailing list. Save the Children to send query regarding organisations potential cargo movements to Awerial to the Logistics

2 Cluster for dissemination via the mailing list. Completed. 2. Humanitarian Update The Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) opened the Meeting. He stated that the due to the increasing needs in South Sudan, logistics will be a fundamental aspect of the response and encouraged the strengthened partnership and efficient and effective coordination between Logistics Cluster partners. The HC advised participants that the humanitarian community is to not to use the SPLA as a solution to escorting cargo. The HC stated that participants should communicate the needs of their organisations to him and to OCHA so they can try and be of assistance. The OCHA representative gave participants an update on the overall humanitarian situation in South Sudan: o As the an open discussion Meeting on distinction between humanitarian and political/military actors held on Sunday, there was a request that a dedicated UNDSS focal point be nominated to provide security updates to partners. The Logistics Cluster Coordinator stated that contact details of the focal point will be shared with partners. o OCHA stated that there have been UNDSS reports of harassment of UN staff in Juba. o The WASH Cluster is scaling up their response in to meet the needs of the IDPs in the various camps in Juba. There has been a reported increase in infant mortality rate. Similar issues have been reported in the PoC in Bor. o OCHA reported that there are around 35,000 IDPs in Nimule who need to be relocated. There are also around 12,000 IDPs in Twic County; authorities have identified a relocation site. o Response operations are still on-going in Unity but the South of the State is inaccessible. Needs have significantly increased in the South but due to the tense security situation the response has been impeded. o It has been agreed that Clusters are now only required to provide OCHA with Input for their External Situation Report once per week. 3. Access Constraints Update The Logistics Cluster GIS Officer gave participants an update to on the latest Access Constraints: o Jonglei State is still mostly inaccessible and there is a significant lack of information regarding updates from partners. The majority of information is still being sourced from WFP. o The river is reportedly operational between Juba and Bor. o The route Juba - Bor is open. o The route Juba Mingkaman is open although there are numerous checkpoints. o The border between South Sudan and Sudan is not yet open. o The border between Ethiopia and Gambella is also not open. The following routes are now accessible, although it should be noted that all checkpoints incur fees to pass:

3 o Wau to Abeyi: 9 checkpoints. o Juba Wunrok via Tambura o Juba Yambio : 18 checkpoints o Yambio Tambura : 6 checkpoints o Tambura Wau : 07 checkpoints o Wau Kuajok : 05 checkpoints o Kuajok Wunrk : 03 checkpoints The GIS Officer presented the Security and Refugee Update Map. The Logistics Cluster Civil-Military Liaison Officer stated that it would be unlikely for organisations to gain access across any currently contested areas; for example it has been reported that UNDSS have not been allowed to assess the area beyond the last checkpoint of the Maban- Gambella road. All roads North of Bor are also areas of contention. It was discouraged from using areas such as these for prepositioning relief items for the rainy season. The Cluster Coordinator stated that the WFP is planning a convoy between Pariang and Yida. This convoy will travel via Wau, Kuajok and Wunrok. One organisation asked if there have been any security problems at the checkpoints from Juba to Wau. The Logistics Cluster stated that they have not received any information that there have been any issues at the checkpoints on this route but drivers are paying quite substantial fees all the way. One organisation asked if the Logistics Cluster, now that part of the river is operational, would commence barge movement operations. The Logistics Cluster stated although this would be a cost-effective option, security constraints need to be considered and all risks must be mitigated. Yesterday the Logistics Cluster presented a general overview of humanitarian pipelines in country to the HCT. An additional follow-up meeting will be held this afternoon with the HC to confirm the way forward on prepositioning relief items for the next 2-3 months. 4. Common Transport Services Update Road Transport: The Logistics Cluster, in collaboration with IOM, has a dedicated fleet of 13 trucks in country for use by the humanitarian community. IOM are relocating 7 of these trucks to Malakal from Maban. IOM stated that this would hopefully be completed by next week. The Logistics Cluster is still providing shunting services in Malakal, Bor, Bentiu and Juba. There is a critical absence of transporters in Malakal. 2 trucks are shunting cargo between Malakal airport and Cluster common store located in UNMISS. Air Transport: In the last week, the Logistics Cluster facilitated the movement of 140mt/320m 3 of relief items via 26 flights to five locations on behalf of six organisations. The Logistics Cluster has now expedited all the WASH supply allocations for the Malakal response ex-rumbek (Hawker 2 flights per day 11mt total) and Juba AN12 (18mt uplift capacity).

4 As of today the Logistics Cluster is supporting the humanitarian community via airlifts of fuel to Malakal on a freeto-user basis. There have been reports of a parallel market in Malakal; Diesel (20 SSP/litre) and Petrol (12SSP/litre) The Logistics Cluster advised participants that all cargo must be ready to be moved (i.e. packed appropriately with the sender s logo) when it is delivered to the Logistics Cluster. It was emphasised that the Logistics Cluster air assets need to be used effectively so as not to lose rotations, and that this can be achieved by submitting ideally the Service Request Forms (SRFs) at least 48 hours in advance so that the Logistics Cluster can adequately plan. It was also emphasised that when an organisation has a particularly large amount of cargo to be moved, this request must be sent with the relevant Cluster lead in copy so as to ensure the streamlining of cargo movement requests and enhance the coordination with the cluster lead and its partners. Storage The Logistics Cluster currently has storage facilities in Juba, Malakal and Bentiu. In Juba there are three common warehouses in UNMISS Tomping and two in Juba 3. One of the warehouses in Tomping acts as an air transit storage hub where cargo to be transported by air is temporarily stored. The stock report for the warehouses in Malakal has been completed and will be shared with participants bilaterally by . In Malakal, Bor and Bentiu, the Logistics Cluster plans to reinstall the common storage facility in the UNICEF and WFP compound. The Logistics Cluster also stated that the WFP warehouse in Juba can accommodate inter-agency cargo but only on a temporary-basis, i.e. not longer than two weeks. The Logistics Cluster is scaling up their common storage facilities; in three weeks 11 more Mobile Storage Units (MUSs) will arrive in South Sudan. Merlin inquired as to whether the Logistics Cluster has any col-chain storage facilities. The Cluster advised Merlin that although it has no cold-chain storage facility, it could put Merlin in contact commercial companies in Juba that can provide this service. One organisation stated that there are hardly any commercial companies that offer shortterm storage. The Logistics Cluster suggested getting in touch with WHO, who might be able to assist them. The Logistics Cluster stated that they would also look into these issues and seek the advice of the WASH Cluster. One organisation asked if the Logistics Cluster had any plans to erect storage facilities in Awerial and/or Mingkaman. The Logistics Cluster responded that last month this was raised to participants yet no need was communicated. Save the Children stated that the Logistics Cluster should set up a common storage facility in Mingkaman as many organisations are moving back there to operate. The Roving Logistics Officer for the Cluster will travel to Mingkaman this weekend to assess the needs of partners on the ground, with an aim to potentially set up two MSUs there in the future. The Logistics Cluster also informed participants that if partners have their own MSUs that need to be set up, it could provide assistance with the installation. The Logistics Cluster emphasised that participants must share their logistical needs with the Cluster.

5 UNICEF informed participants that it would erect three additional MSUs in Juba and two additional MSUs in Malakal to be used for WASH items. One organisation asked about fuel procurement in locations other than Malakal. The Logistics Cluster can assist organisation depending on the size of the need and the capacity of the Logistics Cluster. Locations such as Yida and Maban fall under UNHCR mandate and thus fuel transport will be done on cost-recovery basis. World Vision stated that the issue of storage of fuel in Malakal must be raised. The Cluster responded that this discussion will be led from the field-level, and implementing partners such as IOM will ensure that the issue will be will be raised at field-level. One organisation asked about cost per litre of flying fuel to Malakal. The Cluster responded that the transportation of 5000 litres costs between 14-17,000 USD. The Cluster added that there are many commercial carriers at Juba Airport who are ready to work and the Cluster will share their contact details with participants bilaterally. 5. AOB One organisation asked if the Logistics Cluster could liaise with the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) to advocate for humanitarian convoys to be exempt paying fees to pass through checkpoints. The Cluster Coordinator stated that he would raise this issue with the HC. Due to conflicting schedules with the Inter-Cluster Working Group, the next Logistics Cluster Meeting will take place between 10:30am - 11:30am on 18 February Contacts: southsudan.logs@logcluster.org southsudan.cargobooking@logcluster.org Christophe Morard Cluster Coordinator Christophe.morard@wfp.org Katherine Ely Logistics Officer Katherine.ely@wfp.org Andrew Jackson Logistics Officer andrew.jackson@wfp.org Amelia Stewart Information Management Officer amelia.stewart@wfp.org Nadika Senadheera GIS Officer nadika.senadheera@wfp.org