PRM PDAS GREENE DISCUSSES PALESTINIAN REFUGEES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 001334

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2014
TAGS: PREF PREL KPAL KWBG IZ IS JO UNRWA
SUBJECT: PRM PDAS GREENE DISCUSSES PALESTINIAN REFUGEES
WITH UNHCR AND UNRWA

REF: AMMAN 1078

Classified By: A/DCM Doug Silliman per 1.5 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary and Comment: In a February 16 meeting with
PRM PDAS Greene, UN Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees
Morjane requested U.S. assistance in finding durable
solutions for 345 Iraqi-Palestinians in Jordan's Ruweished
refugee camp. Morjane -- to the surprise of the UNHCR Jordan
representative and UNRWA Deputy ComGen AbuZayd -- asked that
the U.S. consider resettling the Iraqi-Palestinians. AbuZayd
promised to include the issue in upcoming UNHCR-UNRWA
consultations, which also will address registration and
assistance issues for Iraqi-Palestinians and possibly
registration for Palestinians outside the region. Given the
political ramifications of such a change in Palestinian
refugee policy, we again recommend the Department not
consider Palestinians for resettlement. In a February 15
meeting with AbuZayd, Greene also discussed UNRWA succession,
section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act, the Operations
Support Officer program and an upcoming review of UNRWA
emergency programs. End summary and comment.


2. (U) PRM PDAS Richard Greene met with UNRWA Deputy
Commissioner General Karen AbuZayd on February 15. PRM/ANE
Deputy Director Larry Bartlett and Refugee Coordinator Joan
Polaschik (notetaker) also attended the meeting. PDAS Greene
held a separate meeting with UN Assistant High Commissioner
for Refugees Kamel Morjane February 16 on the margins of a
UNHCR meeting on Iraq (Iraq meeting reported septel).

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UNHCR-UNRWA Cooperation;
Solutions for Iraqi-Palestinians?
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3. (SBU) UNRWA Deputy ComGen Karen Abu Zayd told PRM PDAS
Greene that she held an initial meeting with UN Assistant
High Commissioner for Refugees Kamel Morjane on February 15
to outline possible cooperation on Palestinian refugee
issues. While most of the cooperation will address
Iraqi-Palestinian issues (UNHCR is responsible for the
registration and care of an estimated 30,000 to 50,000
Palestinian refugees in Iraq),the two refugee agencies will
also begin a dialogue on more general issues such as
registration and assistance practices. She noted that as
part of UNRWA's move toward individual -- rather than family
-- registration, UNRWA might consider asking UNHCR offices to
register Palestinian refugees outside the region. The two
agencies are scheduled to hold working level consultations
during the week of February 22.


4. (C) In a February 16 meeting with PDAS Greene, UN
Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees Kamel Morjane
requested U.S. support in finding solutions for the 345
Iraqi-Palestinians remaining in Jordan's Ruweished refugee
camp (ref). First, UNHCR seeks U.S. support in urging the
Government of Israel to allow these Iraqi-Palestinians to
"return" to the West Bank and Gaza. Acknowledging that the
Israelis were unlikely to accede to this request, Morjane
then asked the U.S. to consider resettling these
Iraqi-Palestinians in the United States. Morjane told Greene
that UNHCR realizes the political difficulties of finding
durable solutions for Palestinian refugees, but said UNHCR
has a morale imperative to find solutions for this group.
UNHCR could not expect Jordan to accept more Palestinian
refugees and could not force this group to return to Iraq.
Resettlement outside the region seemed to be the only durable
solution.


5. (C) In a follow-on February 17 conversation, UNRWA Deputy
ComGen told refcoord that Morjane had not raised this issue
in their meeting and she was surprised he was considering the
possibility of resettling Palestinians from an UNRWA area of
operation. She commented that resettlement of Palestinians
outside the region would be interpreted as a conspiracy to
solve the Palestinian refugee question outside a negotiated
political settlement, with serious political ramifications.
Moreover, under long-standing agreement between the two
agencies, UNHCR considers for resettlement from UNRWA areas
of operation (e.g., Jordan) only individual Palestinians with
exceptional vulnerabilities. AbuZayd said she would add this
issue to the agenda of the upcoming UNHCR-UNRWA consultations
and brief refcoord after the meetings.

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UNRWA Succession
--------------


6. (C) AbuZayd confirmed to Greene that UNRWA Commissioner
General Peter Hansen intends to step down after his current
term expires in February 2005. She cautioned, however, that
Hansen could change his mind if he believes the U.S. is
pushing for his ouster. AbuZayd said Hansen was taken aback
by recent comments from the UNSYG's office that the U.S.
would not want Hansen to remain in office for another term
and asked specifically that AbuZayd probe U.S. intentions.
Assuring AbuZayd that the U.S. would not launch an overt
campaign to oust Hansen, Greene noted that the U.S.
nonetheless prefers that Hansen's third term become his last.
AbuZayd confirmed that she plans to stay on as Deputy ComGen
until August 2005, to ensure continuity during the transition
to a new ComGen.

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Section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act
--------------


7. (SBU) Greene told AbuZayd that the U.S. continues to be
concerned that UNRWA take all possible measures to ensure
that no assistance is provided to terrorists, as stipulated
in section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act. Referring
to a February 6 letter from PRM A/S Dewey to UNRWA ComGen
Hansen, Greene explained that the U.S. strongly encourages
UNRWA to take a broader view of what constitutes an act of
terrorism, particularly in the context of "work accidents,"
explosions in refugee shelters that result from presumed
bomb-making activities. The technical explanation provided
in UNRWA's November 2003 letter to A/S Dewey simply was not
sufficient. Greene suggested that the Department's legal
advisors should speak directly to UNRWA legal counsel.
AbuZayd responded that UNRWA took the U.S. concerns seriously
and had already drafted a response to A/S Dewey's letter.
However, she urged the U.S. to look at UNRWA's policies and
practices rather than its technical interpretation of U.S.
law and UN conventions on terrorism.

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Operations Support Officers Program
--------------


8. (U) Explaining that the manager's report to the FY04
omnibus appropriations bill urged the Department to provide
funds to make UNRWA's Operations Support Officers (OSO) part
of the agency's regular programs, Greene asked AbuZayd why
the agency had not done so. Greene explained that the U.S.
Government found the OSO program to be an effective oversight
tool for the agency and hoped that it could be continued
beyond the current emergency in the West Bank and Gaza.
AbuZayd responded that limits on UNRWA international staff
members, set by UN Headquarters, preclude any regularization
of the OSO program. UNRWA international staff positions for
its regular programs currently are limited to 110. UNRWA
employs an additional 43 internationals beyond the UN HQ
limit (including 14 OSOs funded by the U.S.) but with the
caveat that they are short-term positions funded by
individual donors. Regularization of the OSO program would
require UN HQ to raise the limit on UNRWA international
staff.

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Review of UNRWA Emergency Programs
--------------


9. (U) Noting that there is a large, global demand on
limited U.S. emergency assistance funds, Greene informed
AbuZayd that the U.S. Government plans an expanded monitoring
mission to review UNRWA emergency programs. Tentatively
planned for April, the mission will look at UNRWA emergency
programs in the West Bank and Gaza, focusing on program
prioritization, identification of beneficiaries and the
programs' impact. AbuZayd welcomed the mission, noting that
it could complement an EC review of West Bank programs and
the UK-financed external review of all UNRWA programs.

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Comment
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10. (C) We -- as well as the UNHCR Jordan Representative --
were surprised by Morjane's proposal to resettle
Iraqi-Palestinians from their temporary place of asylum in
Jordan. UNHCR resettlement of a group of Palestinian
refugees would constitute a departure from existing
Palestinian refugee policies and, in the context of Israeli
PM Sharon's statements about unilateral withdrawal from Gaza,
would likely be viewed in the region as something far more
significant than a humanitarian solution for a small number
of refugees. We again recommend that the Department not
consider Iraqi-Palestinians for the U.S. resettlement program.


11. (U) PDAS Greene cleared this message.


12. (U) CPA Baghdad minimize considered.
GNEHM