UNRWA BEGINS PLANNING FOR JUNE 2004 GENEVA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 006706

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA AND PRM; GENEVA FOR RMA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL KPAL JO UNRWA
SUBJECT: UNRWA BEGINS PLANNING FOR JUNE 2004 GENEVA
CONFERENCE

REF: STATE 294162


1. This is an action request; see para 11.


2. Summary: At an October 17 core group meeting, UNRWA
opened discussions on the agenda and participation of its
planned June 2004 extraordinary Geneva conference. UNRWA and
conference co-chair Switzerland view the Geneva event as an
opportunity to publicize UNRWA's mandate and programs and
broaden donor support. While host governments and Canada
share the U.S. view that the conference must remain
apolitical, the Europeans pushed for a slightly more
political conference, with refugee and NGO participation,
discussion of sensitive issues such as humanitarian access in
the West Bank and Gaza and a final declaration. The agency's
management was not mentioned as a potential agenda item.
UNRWA asked core group members to provide written guidance on
the conference's title, thematic workshops (including
members' willingness to chair workshops),and a proposed
panel debate by October 31. We also request guidance on the
proposed Geneva Declaration and participation by refugees and
NGOs, before the December core group meeting. UNRWA paper
outlining proposed topics was faxed to PRM/ANE. End summary.


3. On October 17, UNRWA held its first "core group" meeting
to plan the extraordinary Geneva conference, scheduled for
June 7-8, 2004. The core group consists of Ireland (as EU
President),the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, the
European Commission, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Jordan
(representing host governments),the PLO and the U.S. -- all
of whom have expressed an interest in playing an active role
in organizing the Geneva conference. UNRWA hopes that the
core group will take on responsibility for organizing,
chairing and possibly providing financial support for the
four thematic workshops that will be held during the Geneva
conference. The core group will meet every six weeks in
Jerusalem and will report periodically to the broader
steering committee (composed of all host governments and
major donors) in Amman. The next core group meeting is
scheduled for the first week of December, when UNRWA hopes to
finalize the agenda for the meeting, including selection of
workshop themes and chairs. UNRWA would like the workshop
chairs to be distributed proportionately among its
stakeholders: one host government chair, two EU chairs, and
one non-European donor chair.

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UNRWA WANTS APOLITICAL CONFERENCE;
SEEKS FEEDBACK ON DECLARATION AND TITLE
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4. UNRWA Deputy ComGen Karen AbuZayd told the core group that
UNRWA and co-chair Switzerland view the extraordinary Geneva
conference as an opportunity to publicize UNRWA's mandate and
programs and broaden UNRWA's donor base by encouraging minor
donors to increase their contributions and introducing the
agency to potential new donors. UNRWA will keep the
conference "institution-focused and humanitarian-focused,"
recognizing that it must avoid the "potential pitfalls" of
political issues. To that end, UNRWA is now reconsidering
whether the Geneva Conference should include a short "Geneva
Declaration" issued at the end of the meeting. EC
Representative Jean Breteche spoke in favor of a short
declaration, noting that it could be an important show of
support for UNRWA, Palestinian refugees and the peace
process. GOJ Department of Palestinian Affairs Director
General Abdulkarim Abulhaija, speaking on behalf of host
governments, said host governments prefer that the conference
not include a final declaration. Instead, the conference
co-chairs should issue a summary statement that is focused on
the discussions that will have taken place regarding the
humanitarian and programmatic challenges facing UNRWA.


5. The proposed working title for the conference is:
"Meeting the Challenges: High-Level Conference of UNRWA and
its Partners on Palestine Refugees." The Irish
representative suggested that perhaps the title should be
modified to "Meeting the Humanitarian Challenges," to ensure
that the humanitarian, rather than political, nature of the
meeting is clear to all conference participants and
observers, as well as the media. (We support the Irish
suggestion, as clear parameters -- beginning with the title
itself -- will be key to maintaining the Geneva conference's
apolitical nature.)

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EC PUSHES FOR REFUGEE AND NGO PARTICIPATION
--------------


6. The EC requested that UNRWA consider including
Palestinian refugees as participants in the Geneva
conference, arguing that it is impossible to discuss refugee
issues without including refugees in the debate. (UNRWA had
previously announced that the conference would be limited to
existing stakeholders, potential new donors and UN agencies
that support UNRWA's work.) The EC also argued that it is
necessary to include a "human element" in the conference (a
la the theme for the November 2003 UN CAP for the West Bank
and Gaza "Hear Our Voices") in order to adequately address
UNRWA's fund-raising and marketing goals. GOJ Representative
Abulhaija dismissed the need for refugee participation in the
conference, noting that host governments and the PLO would
represent refugees' views as they always do in UNRWA
meetings. Bringing nonofficial refugee representatives in
the mix, he added, would unnecessarily politicize and confuse
the meeting. The EC pushed back, arguing that video linkages
to (carefully selected) UNRWA beneficiaries in the camps
could be an effective and apolitical way to "humanize" the
conference and introduce UNRWA's mandate and programs to
potential donors. Cautioning that the question of refugee
participation would not be addressed at this particular core
group meeting, UNRWA Deputy ComGen AbuZayd suggested that
refugees could instead be invited to participate in either a
"pre-meeting" (the Swiss have proposed a pre-conference
academic meeting that would focus on UNRWA and Palestinian
refugees) or in parallel events highlighting Palestinian
culture and UNRWA's history.


7. The EC also requested that international NGOs be invited
to participate in the conference as observers, arguing that
NGO participation would promote a spirit of cooperation and
coordination among Palestinian refugee service providers and
also would inject a fresh perspective to the conference's
workshops. EC Technical Adviser Bart Witteveen suggested the
NGO consortia that participate in the Geneva interagency
standing committee -- Interaction, the Standing Committee for
Humanitarian Response (SCHR) and the International Council of
Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) -- would be appropriate
representatives. Noting that the U.S. Government insists
that the Geneva Conference remain apolitical, refcoord said
any NGO participation would have to be carefully managed and
limited to responsible organizations that share UNRWA
stakeholders' interest in preserving UNRWA's mandate and
ability to provide services. AbuZayd responded that this
issue would have to be addressed at the next core group
meeting, adding that any NGO participation in the Conference
would have to follow established UNGA guidelines (e.g., would
be limited to observer status only).

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PROPOSED TOPICS AND POSSIBLE PANEL DEBATE
--------------


8. UNRWA circulated a paper outlining five proposed topics
for the conference's four workshops: 1) promoting the
well-being of Palestinian children and youth; 2) promoting
socio-economic development; 3) new approaches to resource
mobilization; 4) housing and infrastructure/community
development; and 5) assisting the refugees to decide their
own future. (Paper was faxed to PRM/ANE.) EC Representative
Breteche requested that humanitarian access also be
considered as a possible theme for the workshop, explaining
access is a problem that dominates UNRWA's operations in the
West Bank and Gaza. Refcoord responded that although the
U.S. also is deeply concerned about humanitarian access
issues, focus on this particular topic could derail our
efforts to organize an apolitical conference. Moreover,
focusing on a West Bank and Gaza-specific problem would
detract from the conference's stated goal of addressing the
challenges facing Palestinian refugees as a community -- the
majority of which lives outside the West Bank and Gaza.
AbuZayd concurred, adding that inclusion of access issues in
the Geneva conference would require UNRWA to publicly address
access in Lebanon, something the agency historically has been
reluctant to do. She suggested that core group members give
UNRWA written feedback on workshop topics no later than
October 31 so UNRWA can circulate a revised list for
consideration well before the early December core group
meeting. AbuZayd also asked that core group members consider
which workshops they would be willing to chair and what
financial assistance, if any, they could provide for
commissioned papers, travel of technical experts, etc.


9. Finally, AbuZayd asked the core group to consider whether
it supports inclusion of a panel debate in the Geneva
conference and, if so, what topics and participation would be
appropriate. UNRWA views the panel debate as a good
opportunity to address "more controversial topics" as fewer
players would be involved in the discussion and less
preparation would be required to organize the event.
(Comment: Although UNRWA did not identify potential topics,
we assume they would include issues such as resolution of the
refugee question and the future of UNRWA.) AbuZayd asked
core group members to submit their views on the panel debate
to UNRWA no later than October 31 so possible topics can be
circulated to members before the December meeting.

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COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST
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10. Comment: From comments made at this meeting as well as
refcoord's separate discussions with core group members, it
seems that host governments, Egypt, Canada and the U.S. have
a shared interest in ensuring that the Geneva Conference
maintains a strictly apolitical agenda. Host governments and
Egypt are reluctant to do anything that would be interpreted
in the refugee community as having addressed the right of
return outside a negotiated political settlement, while
Canada shares our concerns about unnecessarily raising
UNRWA's political profile when donor support for UNRWA is
under scrutiny in some domestic circles. The Europeans,
however, see this meeting as an opportunity to take a fresh
look at UNRWA programming issues and likely will try to push
the envelope on political issues. No one seems interested in
raising UNRWA management or governance issues at the Geneva
conference. As instructed reftel, refcoord will continue to
explore with other UNRWA stakeholders appropriate parallel
structures to the Geneva meeting preparations in which we
could address management concerns.


11. Action Request: UNRWA requested that core group members
provide written feedback on the conference title, thematic
workshops (and members' willingness to chair workshops) and
the proposed panel debate no later than October 31. We
suggest that a letter from PRM to UNRWA would be an
appropriate means to do so. We also request written guidance
for refcoord on the proposed Geneva Declaration as well as
refugee and NGO participation for use at the December core
group meeting.
GNEHM