The SLMM Termination

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) ceased its field operation on 16 January 2008. Afterwards the SLMM has been occupied with the termination process; for the first few weeks on Sri Lanka, thereafter in the Nordic countries, from its temporary headquarters in Oslo. This process aims particularly at sorting all files before being archived, final accounting and preparing and submitting final reports.

 

The termination process started on Sri Lanka, with closing down the field operation, disposing of offices and other assets, and dismissing local employees. The SLMM files were dispatched to Oslo, to be sorted by the temporary office established there, whereupon the second and final phase of the termination process started, at the end of February 2008.

 

Projects

Following the relocation of the Head of Mission (HOM) and the establishment of a temporary office in Oslo, the last phase of the termination process mainly consists of two core projects:

 

I:   Accounting and auditing

The remaining financial accounts of the SLMM are all completed for external audit, and a complete report of resource utilisation for the operational period will be compiled.

 

II:  Documenting and reporting

Parallel to the accounts and audits, a major part of the termination process is to contribute toward an accurate historical documentation of the SLMM throughout the whole period, both in order to complement the resource accounts, and to provide firsthand and authoritative factual information for the future, not least as source material for researchers, evaluators, politicians, and others.

 

At the same time, the experiences of the SLMM, as an organisation and an operation, are considered having great value for future (civilian) monitoring operations. As such, part of the reporting is a “lessons learned” exercise, attempting to identify key elements of experience and understanding from various perspectives, while simultaneously constituting a part of the historical account.

 

Products

The termination (documentation) process will produce several physical end products, and a major part of the process constitutes the compilation and publication/publishing of the following products:

 

RESOURCE REPORT

The resource report is based on the annual accounts and statistics, and will cover the total Nordic resource allocations to the SLMM throughout the mission period, including both financial transfers to the SLMM and its use of funds, including personnel resources.

 

OPERATION REPORT

The operation report is an account of the entire SLMM operation, 2002–2008, with an emphasis on compiling and presenting factual historical documentation about the mission, thereby presenting the official/authoritative SLMM story, also as a contribution to independent research.

 

EXPERIENCE REPORT

The experience report is an account of experiences made – lessons learned – from the SLMM, from its inception until its termination, looking into key aspects of establishing such a mission and conducting an operation of this kind, including experiences/lessons of a general nature.

 

HISTORICAL WEB

The historical web, replacing this current web site, is to be a collection of all official SLMM documents and documentation that will be made public, including the printed reports mentioned above, which will be extended with additional information on the web, constituting the historical record of the SLMM.

 

Plan

The termination process carried out by the SLMM termination team is intended to be concluded by mid-2009. The five Nordic governments take part in the process, which also involves the majority of the monitors having served with the mission.