Terms and Conditions for the United Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC)
Customs Information Guide (CIG)

1. UNJLC

The United Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC) maintains Information Sharing Tools, such as the Customs Information Guide (CIG), an on line information service to enhance public access to information that is relevant to humanitarian operations.

By using the CIG, all users of the CIG accept the following terms and conditions on which the use and access to the CIG is based upon. The same acceptance applies to employers when users are acting on their behalf.

UNJLC is an inter-agency Humanitarian Common Service. Its mandate is to provide Logistics Information Management support and services to the United Nations specialised agencies, subsidiary organs and other non-governmental organizations involved in humanitarian activities. This involves providing an information platform for the gathering, collating, analysis and dissemination of logistics information as well as Commodity Tracking and Prioritization services.

UNJLC operates under the custodianship of the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP). References therefore to UNWFP as a legal personality shall include references to UNJLC.

2. Copyright Notice

Copyright © United Nations World Food Programme. All rights reserved. UNWFP holds the copyright for the information available in the CIG, unless otherwise stated. Copyright for any third-party materials found in the CIG must also be respected. The CIG is provided to the users for not-to-profit humanitarian activities and cannot be used for commercial purposes.

3. Disclaimer

Information in the CIG is provided ‘as is’, without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, without limitation, warranties as to fitness for a specific purpose, non-infringement, accuracy or completeness of any materials published in the CIG. Under no circumstances shall UNWFP be liable for any direct or consequential loss, personal injury, property damage, or expense of what ever the nature directly or indirectly incurred or suffered by a user that is claimed to have resulted from the use of CIG (including without any limitation, any bugs, viruses, Trojan horses or the like which may be transmitted to or through the CIG by any third party or any unauthorised access to or use of our secure server and/or any and all personal information stored therein)). Under no circumstances shall UNWFP be liable for how or for what purpose users use the information obtained from the CIG. The use of the CIG is at the user’s own risk.

4. Contents

CIG comprises parts where UNWFP, its contributing agencies and humanitarian partners have, individually and jointly, selected the sources and contents (UNJLC Submissions) and a part dedicated to the users where the users may upload or request UNWFP to upload and publish contents selected by that user (User Submissions). The opinions expressed in the CIG’s contents, whether UNJLC Submissions or User Submissions, are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by UNWFP.

All efforts are taken to ensure that any and all content or material of the nature described in paragraphs 7.2(b) and (g) below is excluded from the CIG but, in the event that content or material of this nature is included, UNWFP holds no responsibility or liability for this or any effects it may have.

5. Linked Websites

The CIG may contain links and references to third-party websites, and such websites may in turn contain links and references to further third-party websites (Linked Websites). The Linked Websites are not under the control of UNWFP and UNWFP shall not be responsible for the contents of any Linked Websites. UNWFP provides these links only as a convenience and the inclusion of a link or reference does not imply the endorsement of or preference for the Linked Web site by UNWFP.

6. Boundaries

The boundaries and names shown on maps within the CIG, as well as those appearing within the Linked Websites, do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations or UNWFP of such boundaries and names.

7. User Conduct

7.1 Users shall use the CIG for lawful purposes only.

7.2 Users shall not:

(a) post on or transmit through the CIG any material which transmits spam, bulk or unsolicited communications;

(b) post on or transmit through the CIG any material: (i) which violates or infringes in any way upon the rights of others; (ii) which is unlawful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, vulgar, obscene, profane, in breach of confidentiality or otherwise objectionable; (iii) which encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any law; and/or (iv) or contain advertising or any solicitation with respect to products or services;

(c) pretend to be UNWFP or someone else, or spoof UNWFP or someone else's identity;

(d) forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers (including URLs) in order to disguise the origin of any content transmitted through this service;

(e) misrepresent one’s affiliation with a person or entity;

(f) disrupt the normal flow of dialogue or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to use the CIG;

(g) engage in activities that would violate any fiduciary relationship, any applicable local, state, national or international law, or any regulations having the force of law, including but not limited to attempting to compromise the security of any networked account or site, operating an illegal lottery or gambling operation, stalking, or making threats of harm;

(h) collect or store personal data about other users unless specifically authorized by such users; or

(i) use professional contact information for anything other than legitimate business purposes, as stated in paragraphs 1 “UNJLC” and 9 “Personal Information” of this Terms and Conditions.

8. Content Submitted to the Guide

8.1 The user shall affirm, represent and/or warrant that the user owns or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents and permission to use and authorise UNWFP to use all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to any and all User Submissions and to enable inclusion and use of the User Submissions in the manner contemplated by the CIG.

8.2 The user shall be solely responsible for its User Submissions and the consequences of publishing or posting such User Submissions on the CIG. By submitting the User Submission on the CIG, the user is granting UNWFP and each other user of the CIG a world wide, non-exclusive, royalty free, sub-licenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute and display such User Submissions for the purposes indicated above. The above license shall terminate a reasonable time after the user removes the User Submissions from the CIG however UNWFP may retain copies of the User Submissions. The above license is irrevocable and perpetual.

8.3 UNWFP does not claim ownership of the User Submissions and shall have no obligation of any kind with respect to such content. Efforts and measures will be taken to ensure that the security level, as requested, of the User Submissions is respected. However, UNWFP takes no responsibility and is not liable for any User Submission displayed and transmitted under a different privacy level setting or condition, and any loss, damage, or expense directly or indirectly incurred or suffered by the user that is claimed to have resulted from an incorrect setting or condition.

8.4 UNWFP does not endorse any User Submission or any opinion, recommendation, or advice expressed therein, and UNWFP expressly disclaim any liability in connection with any User Submissions. UNWFP does not permit copyright infringing activities and infringement and violations of intellectual property law, such as, but not limited to types of contents listed under the paragraph 7.2 “User Conduct” above and reserves the right to remove any such User Submissions and/or terminate user’s access at its sole discretion without prior notice.

8.5 UNWFP will work in good faith, as best as possible, to credit and acknowledge the origin of the material and information provided in the CIG.

9. Personal Information

Professional contact information for focal points and actors involved in the import process are included in the CIG. Users shall not use professional contact information contained within the CIG for anything other than legitimate business purposes. Therefore, users shall not sell or rent this information or use it for any gain that is not a part of, or expected from, the normal, legal and legitimate importation of humanitarian aid consignments. UNWFP will never sell or rent this information or use it for anything more than information sharing purposes. Anyone or any entity represented in the CIG has the right to request UNWFP to remove their contact information from the CIG.

10. Indemnity

The users agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless UNWFP and its staff, officers and contractors from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs of settlement and expenses (including but not limited to legal fees) arising from (i) the users’ use of and access to the CIG (ii) the user’s violation of any terms of these Terms and Conditions; (iii) the user’s violation of any third party right (including without limitation any intellectual property right) or (iv) any claim that the User Submission caused damaged to a third party. This provision shall survive these Terms and Conditions and the user’s use of the CIG website.

11. Non Waiver of Privileges and Immunities

Nothing herein shall constitute or shall be considered a limitation upon or waiver of privileges and immunities enjoyed by the United Nations, its subsidiary organs or UNWFP pursuant to the 1946 “Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations”, and the 1947 “Convention on Privileges and Immunities of Specialized Agencies”, which are specifically reserved.

12. Governing Law and Disputes

12.1 These terms and conditions shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the general principles of commercial law and international law, in particular to the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (2004), excluding any choice of law rules which would refer the matter to the law of any given jurisdiction.

12.1 The user and UNWFP shall use their best efforts to settle amicably any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of this Contract or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof (a “Dispute”). Where the parties wish to seek such an amicable settlement through conciliation, the conciliation shall take place in accordance with the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules then obtaining.

12.2 Any Dispute, unless settled amicably under paragraph (a) above, within sixty (60) days after receipt by one party of the other party’s written request for such amicable settlement, may be referred by either party to arbitration for exclusive resolution of the Dispute in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules then obtaining. The arbitral tribunal shall have no authority to award punitive damages. The parties shall be bound by any arbitration award rendered as a result of such arbitration as the final adjudication of any such Dispute.

Date: October 2007