Protection of civilians in Syria through Explosive Ordnance Assessment Support to humanitarian actors in Northeast Syria The overall aim of UNMAS Syria Response Programme (SRP) is to reduce the impact of explosive ordnance in Syria through effective sector coordination and the implementation of humanitarian mine action activities in line with strategic objective of enhanced protection as detailed in the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). In line with the OCHA’s 3rd Syria Humanitarian Fund (SHF) Reserve Allocation priorities, SRP will support humanitarian agencies' emergency response work in the Northeast Syria (NES), by providing Explosive Ordnance Assessments (EOA) capacity. Through non-technical and technical means
Below are the process outlines how the EOA capacity works:
1) UNMAS SRP will not conduct assessments at its own initiative but based on agencies’ requests only. The project locations must be already approved for the UN/Humanitarian Agency to implement the activities and access granted. When UNMAS SRP receives a request to conduct an EOA from UN/humanitarian agencies on prioritized locations, UNMAS SRP will confirm with agencies that they have been granted access to operate. Discussions with UN agencies are ongoing and we have been provided priority lists from several UN agencies that includes NES locations.
2) Based on the requests, UNMAS SRP will prepare an EOA tasking list with specific locations per governorate/district to enable most efficient tasking, taking into account proximity of locations and urgencies, priorities, potential impact of the EOA in line with HRP.
3) UNMAS SRP will have consultations (usually weekly) with our MOFA interlocutor to discuss these tasking locations, and request for access approvals for the EOA capacity to support the requesting UN/Humanitarian Agency. Following this, UNMAS SRP will officially submit a request through Note Verbale-this will usually take 10 working days, and our approval track record has been good (93% approvals received).
4) Once access granted, UNMAS SRP will deploy the team to the site, in close consultation with the requesting UN/Humanitarian Agency and UNDSS.
5) The EOA usually has two main components as part of its process, Non-Technical Survey and Technical Survey. The Non-Technical Survey covers the gathering of information through focused discussions with people that would have information on the location to ascertain the weapon platforms used and potential scope of contamination. The Technical Survey will enable the team to do an intrusive search into the area/infrastructure and confirm physically the absence/presence of explosive ordnance. Both components of the process are required to complete the assessment.
6) When and if explosive ordnance items are found and identified, the team will ascertain if they are remnants/parts that no longer contain any active explosive component, or are abandoned items of ordnance that have not been primed or fused, and therefore do not present a danger when moved. These items will be removed from the area/infrastructure and UNMAS SRP will liaise with competent national authorities to have these handed over for destruction.
7) If during the EOA items of explosive ordnance are found that cannot be moved then the area will be marked as “unsafe”, and the requesting agencies will be fully briefed about the extent of the contamination
8) UNMAS SRP will provide an EOA report for each area assessed to the requesting agencies. The report will explain the status of the area -safe/unsafe, the marking and the scope and type of contamination at the area/infrastructure, as well as any recommendations/precautions that should be taken.
9) Contamination data and information will be uploaded in the UNMAS SRP information management system for mine action (IMSMA), analyzed and made available for further sharing with HCT and humanitarian community.