Minutes
Logistics Cluster Meeting
1 Logistics Cluster, Sri Lanka
Minutes
Logistics Cluster Meeting
Date: Thursday, 25th September
Time: 1430 - 1530
Venue: WFP CO, No 6 Joseph Lane, Colombo – 4
Key points discussed were;
WFP Country Representative, Mr Mohamed Saleheen briefed the group on discussions held with senior government officials regarding the movement of food into the Vanni. The following is the proposed plan;
1. UN organized convoys to un-cleared areas in Mullaithivu and Kilinochchi districts will be routed via Mankulam (A9) using the A34 road up to pre-agreed points of delivery
2. Requirement for safe passage will coordinated with ICRC as well as the GA system in order to confirm guarantees by LTTE
3. UNDSS will be authorized to perform a security and road assessment and provide clearance before every UN convoy operation. Security Risk Assessment (SRA) mission will take place on 29-30 September
4. International humanitarian aid workers will be part of the convoy to ensure the accountability for delivery(number of International staff permitted to be confirmed)
5. The first UN convoy will be composed of a total of 60 trucks comprised of 30 trucks from the UNWFP fleet augmented by additional 30 WFP hired commercial trucks provided by the district GAs. All trucks of the convoy will be under UN flag
6. Anticipated date of the convoy will be mid to end next week (week 40). The convoy will carry 700-800mt of WFP food
7. The cargo and trucks of the UN convoy will be inspected by SLA during the loading process at UN Inter-agency logistics Hub in Vavuniya (Teakwatta), therefore, allowing a quick pass through at OMANTHAI checkpoint
8. The SLA will ensure that returning empty trucks of the WFP fleet (30) will be allowed to cross OMANTHAI on arrival
9. 3 locations have been identified for delivery of the food; PTK, Dharmakulam and Mulaithivu. Food will be delivered to locations as close to IDP populations as possible
10. The GA will inform WFP about the exact discharge points, number of beneficiaries, tonnage of food required per location for optimum truck loading and discharge plan
11. The UN convoy will have to stay more than 1 day probably 3 days inside the Vanni to ensure satisfactory delivery of cargo. Safe havens will be established by UNDSS
12. The UN convoys will have its own schedule (and SOPs) and therefore, will be by its nature independent from other convoys that may be established by the Government
13. Notification procedures to both parties will be put in place to ensure concurrence before any convoy departures
14. Detailed operational plans are being worked out between WFP, UNDSS, GA staff and the local military liaison personnel in Vavuniya
Based on the above the following points were raised;
15. USA/OFDA asked clarification for the minimum-level of monitoring.
- WFP clarified that the standard monitoring by the WFP field monitors throughout the distribution process will not be possible, but WFP will monitor the food delivery to the point where food is off-loaded. WFP stressed the flexibility/option due to the highly volatile security situation in the Vanni. The off-loading point should be close to the beneficiaries. Details will be worked out after the 1st convoy. In future convoys systems will be put in place for post distribution monitoring
16. Questions were raised on the mechanism of the convoy.
- WFP explained the concept and stressed that there were a lot of unknowns. Operational plans are being worked out and are subject to change and fine tuning for future convoys
17. ECHO asked who will take over the food distribution
- The modalities for the distribution are being worked out in coordination with the GA. WFP also pointed out that there are 536 NGO national staff in the Vanni, which is a huge capacity, and concerted efforts are required. NGO consortium working with GoSL on the agreement and modalities of how the NGO volunteers could support the GA system
18. DRC pointed out concerns that the GA is under stress and may not have adequate capacity to cover effective distribution and monitoring due to the fact that many GA staff are not reporting to work. In addition there are some MPCS outlets that are not functioning
19. ZOA suggested that follow up convoy missions could do post distribution monitoring.
20. Caritas offered the support of their set up (through the churches) to assist in distribution and monitoring
The participants were then briefed on the logistics concept of operations. Taking into account WFP’s capacity for transport and storage, a concept for the humanitarian convoy system was presented
21. It was pointed out that the government has made the supply of food to the Vanni as a priority
22. A reminder was given to the participants about the free common services of storage and transport being provided by WFP. Storage is available at the I-A logistics hub in Vavuniya. Transport as part of the convoy is available for movements from the Inter-agency Logistics hub into the Vanni. Organisations are required to obtain all necessary approvals and clearances prior to any movement
23. Participants were also reminded about the free transport service being provided by IOM.
24. The recent introduction of a police check point at Medawachy was seen as a logistics bottleneck for some organisations. Goods have to offloaded and reloaded onto trucks which very often cause damage to the commodities. In addition, it is prudent to limit double handling of fragile and high value items. To encounter this, organisations can avail of WFP’s primary transport capacity which provides sealed transportation from Colombo (WFP hub) upto the I-A logistics hub in Vavuniya
25. Some organisations are facing delays in the clearance process for relief items to be transported to the Vanni. It was suggested that these issues be taken up at respective cluster meetings allowing for cluster leads to push the collective cause of their respective cluster participants
26. As a follow up to this meeting, a logistics cluster meeting will be held in Vavuniya to coordinate the logistics support to the Vanni. Participants were asked to relay this message to relevant staff in Vavuniya to participate in this meeting
27. WFP will keep the concerned people in the loop on further developments.
1 Logistics Cluster, Sri Lanka