Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) was set up in April 1989 following a devastating famine in Southern Sudan - the result of drought and civil war - which killed an estimated 250,000 people in 1988.
The consortium includes three United Nations agencies, UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) who with 40 non-governmental organizations who work with technical counterparts and local populations to provide survival an protection for the Sudanese whose lives are jeopardized by the 15 years old conflict. Its mandate negotiated with the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), was to deliver humanitarian assistance to all civilians in need, regardless of their location. OLS operates on four basic principles -- neutrality, impartiality, transparency and accountability.
Code of Conduct
OLS is a consortium of UN and non-government agencies working with the people of southern Sudan, whose survival, protection and development is jeopardized by the complex emergency and chronic underdevelopment. In striving to meet the needs of the Southern Sudanese, OLS saves lives, promotes self-reliance, protects people's safety and dignity and enables them to invest in their future. The OLS Southern sector is guided by the principles of the International Federation of the Red Cross/Non Governmental Organizations Code of Conduct in Disaster Relief, adopted by the OLS Southern Sector Consortium, in Machakos, Kenya, on 30 January 1997.
In summary, these are:
* The humanitarian imperative comes first
* Aid is given regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the recipients and without adverse distinction of any kind. Aid priorities are calculated on the basis of need alone.
* Aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint
* We shall endeavor not to act as instruments of government foreign policy
* We shall respect culture and custom
* We shall attempt to build disaster response on local capacities
* Ways shall be found to involve Programme beneficiaries in the management of relief aid
* Relief aid must strive to reduce future vulnerabilities to disaster as well as meeting basic needs
* We hold ourselves accountable to both those we wish to assist and those from whom we accept resources
* In our information, publicity and advertising activities, we shall recognize disaster victims as dignified human beings, not objects of pity
Agency Activities:
UNICEF works through two OLS sectors. OLS northern sector operates out of Khartoum while OLS southern sector is based in Nairobi with a forward staging base in Lokichoggio in northern Kenya.
The northern sector Programme delivers humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons and other affected populations mainly in Government locations, as well as some rebel-held areas. The southern sector delivers aid mainly to rebel-held areas of Southern Sudan, but also to Government areas. Both OLS sectors operate airlifts to deliver food to vulnerable people on opposite sides of conflict lines. In the Southern sector, UNICEF is the lead agency for coordinating Programme activities as well as many logistical issues, such as operating the forward staging base at Lokichoggio. Consequently, UNICEF shoulders special responsibilities in addition to its regular Programmes for women and children.
These responsibilities include:
* Coordinating overall Programme strategies, policies and priorities
with an OLS consortium of 40 NGOs and two UN agencies
* Promoting common, collaborative approaches among NGOs to identify needs, provide services and monitor progress
* Consulting with authorities on all sides of the conflict to plan and implement Programmes, negotiate access and assess humanitarian needs
* Coordinating logistical support with WFP in transport, security and radio communications, and managing the OLS relief base at Lokichokkio in northern Kenya
