UNRWA COMMISSIONER GENERAL SUCCESSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 009013

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2014
TAGS: PREL PREF JO
SUBJECT: UNRWA COMMISSIONER GENERAL SUCCESSION

REF: TEL AVIV 5436

Classified By: Acting DCM Christopher Henzel for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D
).


1. (C) SUMMARY: At the informal UNRWA Major Donors Meeting
in Amman October 13-14, PRM A/S Dewey met with Commissioner
General Peter Hansen to inform him that the United States
does not support any extension of his tenure beyond his
current term, which expires in February. Hansen claimed he
had the backing of some Arab states and was willing to stay
&if asked.8 He appears to be banking on his relationship
with SYG Annan and the inability of donors to find a
qualified replacement. A/S Dewey also met with big donors on
the margins of the conference to express our desire to see
Hansen replaced. They agreed that Hansen should go, but
noted that the EU would likely adopt a common position, which
would be heavily determined by Denmark,s position (as Hansen
is Danish). Israel and the U.K. have possible candidates in
mind to replace Hansen, while Japan has begun lobbying for
its candidate. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) At a private breakfast meeting October 14 with
Hansen, his deputy Karen Abu Zayd, and UNRWA Director of
External Relations Andrew Whitley, A/S Dewey asked Hansen
what his plans were. (Note: PRM PDAS Rich Greene had
informed Abu Zayd on multiple occasions over the past six
months of the U.S. position that three terms in office is
enough for Hansen and that we had solicited other donors to
nominate qualified candidates to replace him.) Hansen
responded that he had just bought a new apartment in
Copenhagen, but then added that certain Arab states had asked
him to stay on in his job, and that he was willing to do so
&if asked.8 He noted that he was not considering a fourth
three-year term, but that one year was too short, because he
would be a lame duck. He seemed to have some indefinite
period less than three years in mind.


3. (C) A/S Dewey replied that he was unaware of any
groundswell of support for an extension, and that the U.S.
opposed it. He noted that USUN Ambassador Danforth had
conveyed our position to SYG Annan. He added that USG
outrage over Hansen,s recent remark that Hamas members were
on his staff would make it difficult for Hansen to remain in
office even until his current term expires. He relayed that
a group of furious congressmen had requested that Secretary
Powell press SYG Annan to replace Hansen immediately, or risk
a cutoff of U.S. funding to the agency (USD 127 million in FY
04).


4. (C) Abu Zayd dismissed the notion that the SYG would
remove Hansen before his term was up. Hansen inquired
whether there were any candidates to replace him. A/S Dewey
said that the Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman wanted
Hansen,s job and was being backed strongly by his
government. Hansen said he had not been aware of that fact.


5. (C) In a pull-aside with A/S Dewey later that day, Abu
Zayd said that British citizen Ian Martin would make a good
choice for a new ComGen. A/S Dewey promised to follow up to
learn about his interest and availability for the job.
Martin was the UN SRSG for East Timor and Deputy SRSG in
Ethiopia and Eritrea. Subsequently, in an October 15 meeting
with the Israeli MFA in Jerusalem (septel),the head of the
international affairs division, Roni Yaar, suggested
Norwegian Geir Pedersen (UN Department of Political Affairs,
Director of Asia/Pacific Division) for the job. Yaar had
just met with Pedersen, a member of the UN team sent by SYG
Annan to investigate a GOI allegation of misuse of UNRWA
ambulances, and found him fair and reasonable. Yaar also
recommended Australian Chris Lamb, who works for IFRC.


6. (C) In bilateral meetings on the margin of the major
donors meeting with Japan, Norway, Sweden, the U.K., Canada,
the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the EC, A/S Dewey found
universal agreement that Hansen had to go when his term ends
in February. Donors agreed with A/S Dewey that Hansen not
only caused problems with his antagonistic relationship with
Israel and public relations blunders, but also was a major
impediment to implementing needed reforms to the agency,
especially timely if donors are going to be forthcoming with
massive new investment UNRWA wants over the next five years
to fund new schools, health clinics, housing, and other
infrastructure. Donors were still scrambling to identify a
suitable replacement for Hansen, with several noting that
they had not put forth a candidate because their country
already held at least one high level UN position and they
could not expect to obtain another at the same time. Japan
continues to strongly back its candidate, despite A/S
Dewey,s caution that neither we nor the Europeans believe he
is qualified. Japan knows that there is at present no other
candidate who wants the job and is backed by his or her
government, and appears to hope that its candidate will be
the only alternative to Hansen. Japan is the second largest
donor to the UN but at present none of its nationals holds a
high-level UN job.


7. (U) PRM PDAS Richard Greene cleared this message.


HALE