Peace and
Security Cluster
The UNOPS Peace and Security
Cluster (PSC) is a princ...
Peace and
Security Cluster
The UNOPS Peace and Security
Cluster (PSC) is a principal service provider in the field of mine action with
the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), UNDP, UNICEF, Governments of
mine-affected countries and other mine action partners. The Head of Cluster is
responsible to administer, provide support and oversight of the day-to-day
management of the Project Field offices, both according to the client
requirements and in line with UNOPS rules and regulations. It is headed by the Head of Cluster who has the overall authority and
accountability for the performance of the Peace and Security Cluster on behalf
of its clients.
UNMAS
United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is a division of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). UNMAS is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly (RES/68/72) to ensure an effective, proactive and coordinated response to the problem posed by a wide range of explosive hazards. Legislative mandates also recognize UNMAS technical expertise in responding to threats posed by unsecured and unsafe conventional weapons and ammunition stockpiles. As an office within DPKO, UNMAS supports peacekeeping and special political missions in accordance with Security Council mandates.
UNMAS as a component of the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) provides explosive hazard management capacities, including mitigation, to AMISOM as part of a logistical support package. Non-lethal tactical advice and analysis is delivered by UNMAS technical advisors located in each AMISOM Sector Headquarters and at AMISOM Force Headquarters, who support AMISOM planning and operations. UNMAS support includes both enabling (“operate in spite of IEDs”) and response (“defeat the device”). As a component of the UN Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) UNMAS also supports the Federal Government of Somalia, including the Somali Police Force, Somali Explosive Management Authority and National Security Advisor.
Somalia
Since 2009 UNMAS has been mandated through the UNSOS to support the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) with training and mentoring in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and improvised explosive device – defeat (IED-D), provided the relevant specialized equipment and the use of explosive detection dogs (EDD). The AMISOM support project is the core UNMAS project and contains a number of sub-projects within the whole. In addition, UNMAS is mandated through the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) to deliver projects associated with: Weapons and Ammunition Management; stabilization and employment; humanitarian demining; EOD/IEDD with the Somali Police Force, and capacity development with the State body for Explosive Hazard Management and the coordination of humanitarian demining. UNMAS, a component of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions, draws upon project management services from UNOPS for implementation of its field operations.