Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04LILONGWE889
2004-09-14 13:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Lilongwe
Cable title:  

UNHCR VERIFIES REFUGEE POPULATION IN MALAWI

Tags:  PREF PHUM MI 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000889 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/AFR MARY LANGE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2014
TAGS: PREF PHUM MI
SUBJECT: UNHCR VERIFIES REFUGEE POPULATION IN MALAWI

REF: A. 03 LILONGWE 887

B. 03 LILONGWE 1241

Classified By: POLOFF KIERA EMMONS FOR REASONS 1.5 b & d

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000889

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/AFR MARY LANGE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2014
TAGS: PREF PHUM MI
SUBJECT: UNHCR VERIFIES REFUGEE POPULATION IN MALAWI

REF: A. 03 LILONGWE 887

B. 03 LILONGWE 1241

Classified By: POLOFF KIERA EMMONS FOR REASONS 1.5 b & d


1. (C) SUMMARY. A UNHCR team from Geneva has assembled in
Malawi to verify the number of refugees and asylum seekers in
the two camps and in urban areas. Serious problems with the
2003 census and doubts about UNHCR Malawi's management of the
refugee situation prompted World Food Program (WFP) to
request Geneva's assistance in determining the actual
population and number of food beneficiaries in Malawi.
Though initially marred by technical difficulties, the
exercise is being conducted in an efficient manner and is,
thus far, reducing the possibility for fraud and
misrepresentation in the camps. New, sophisticated refugee
identification and ration cards are being distributed, and
though a formal exit monitoring system is not yet in place,
the new cards provide previously non-existent identification
and accountability controls. END SUMMARY.


UNCLEAR POPULATION FIGURES
--------------


2. (C) During September 8 visit to Dzaleka refugee camp, WFP
officials told poloff they requested a verification of the
refugee and asylum seeker population directly from Geneva.
WFP officials observed that the camp was essentially empty
until food day, and asked UNHCR Malawi to provide updated
population figures. UNHCR Malawi was unable to do so, and
according to WFP, the resident UNHCR mission in Malawi was
"unhelpful" and "resistant" to the idea of a verification
exercise, so WFP "went around" the local office and straight
to Geneva. (NOTE: Asylum seeker is defined as a person who
has not been designated by the GOM as a refugee - the GOM has
only one officer to adjudicate these cases and works with a
substantial case backlog. END NOTE.) WFP has long suspected
that poor management of the refugee caseload has contributed
to misrepresentation and incorrect assessments of the
population eligible to receive food assistance in the camps.
Verification will also take place in Luwani camp and in urban
areas, though refugees living outside of the camps are not
entitled to WFP rations.


3. (C) The head of the UNHCR delegation from Geneva admitted
that the 2003 census (reftel A) was badly flawed, and that
the lack of a departure monitoring mechanism combined with

the generic ration cards presented an easy opportunity for
fraud. WFP officials have repeatedly told poloff they have
serious concerns with UNHCR's management of the camp
population. Incidences of Malawians posing as refugees or
refugees using the ration cards of dead or long-departed
refugees are, according to WFP, very common. UNHCR
population figures continually disagreed with WFP figures,
and even after the 2003 census, UNHCR maintained there were
many more refugees than were counted (reftel B).

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES
--------------


4. (C) The UNHCR team arrived in Malawi on August 23 with
the goal of verifying 100 families each day. As of September
8, fewer than 200 families had been verified, though the
daily figures have steadily risen. The first two weeks of
the exercise were lost to computer and equipment problems.
WFP's position is that these problems could have been easily
prevented with prior communication and adequate preparation
on the part of UNHCR Malawi, whom they felt was behaving in
an "obstructionist" manner. The UNHCR official from Geneva
agreed that preparation was inadequate.


5. (U) The verification process is complex and heavily
dependent on technology. Much of the process is based on a
May 2004 exercise carried out by an NGO to identify and
assign street addresses to each home in the camp. Each
individual or family must come to the verification center
with all of his/her identification documents, ration card,
and street address. The existing ration card database is
cross-checked against the residential database, and family
size is physically verified. All of this information is then
entered into a new database.

21ST CENTURY ID CARDS
--------------


6. (U) New refugee/asylum seeker identification cards are
printed after the legitimacy of each claim to such status,
identity, and family size are verified. The cards include a
digital photo of the bearer, the ration card number, and a
case number, and are laminated with a UNHCR holographic logo.
To receive food rations, an adult member of the family must
present the ration card and his/her photo ID. A "food list"
will be maintained to document who has received rations each
month, and after three consecutive no-shows, the refugee will
be presumed to have departed the camp and all benefits will
be suspended. The database will then be updated accordingly.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) The verification exercise is long overdue. The
admittedly flawed census and UNHCR Malawi's unsubstantiated
claims of a higher population have been a source of
controversy and concern for us and, apparently, for WFP.
Though not entirely infallible, the new ID cards and
management system will provide better data and reduce
opportunities for misrepresentation. Because the authority
for printing both the ID cards and the ration cards will
ultimately rest with UNHCR Malawi, further uncertainties are
not out of the question. WFP's obvious distrust of UNHCR
Malawi corroborates our suspicions of poor local leadership
and further emphasizes the need for continued oversight of
the Malawi portfolio. Along with WFP, we will be on the
lookout for a significant change in population demographics
or in the number of daily verifications performed after the
departure of the UNHCR team.
RASPOLIC