PRESIDENTIAL DECREE PUTS GOAM ON THE HUNT FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001411

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR EUR/CACEN; PMR

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAID AM PMR
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL DECREE PUTS GOAM ON THE HUNT FOR

REFUGEE MONEY


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.

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SUMMARY
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2. (SBU) President Kocharian signed a decree June 1,
stating the GOAM's intent to free five million dollars
from the GOAM budget over the next two years for
refugee housing assistance and authorizing the
Department of Refugees and Migration (DRM) to seek an
additional thirteen million in funding from
international donors. The decree does not allocate
money from specific accounts in the budget, but only
declares the GOAM's intent to find it. Embassy
contacts from the international donor community
expressed some skepticism regarding the initiative's
intent and eventual effectiveness. The decree and
reaction illustrate an uneasy relationship between DRM
and many international donors. End Summary.

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DECREE AND IMPLEMENTATION
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3. (SBU) President Kocharian signed a decree June 1,
stating the GOAM's intent to free five million dollars
from the GOAM budget over the next two years for
refugee housing assistance and authorizes the
Department of Refugees and Migration (DRM) to seek an
additional thirteen million in funding from
international donors. The decree does not reallocate
funds within the budget but states GOAM priorities. The
GOAM convened an inter-ministerial meeting June 23 to
explain the program and discuss the ongoing search for
donors. The program would be similar to the USAID
Earthquake Zone Recovery Program, which has proven an
effective method to house an estimated 7,000 families
who were victims of the 1988 earthquake in northern
Armenia. Both the USAID and the proposed DRM plan
would distribute assistance through the issuance of
housing purchase certificates.

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DONOR REACTIONS
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4. (SBU) A USAID officer who attended the meeting was
skeptical about the viability of the proposed program.
The absence of adequate oversight of the program and a
lack of real estate market information were among the
officer's noted concerns. The representative of the
Norwegian Refugee Council also expressed skepticism,
saying the program does not address the difference in
housing costs between Yerevan and the rest of Armenia.
According to the office of Population, Refugee, and
Migration, 42 percent of Armenian refugees live in the
Yerevan area, and the Norwegian Refugee Council
representative noted the exceptional difficulty in
finding them adequate, affordable housing in the
Yerevan area, where many of them are employed.


5. (SBU) United Nations Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) Representative Peter Nicolaus reacted strongly
to the initiative, saying he believed that DRM proposed
the decree specifically to ensure its survival as a
bureaucratic entity. According to Nicolaus,
international donations for refugee housing make-up the
lion's share of DRM's budget. He was particularly
frustrated that the initiative might thwart UNHCR's
strategy to end its humanitarian refugee assistance
programs in Armenia. He explained that UNHCR in
Armenia intends to pass its remaining humanitarian
funding to the United Nations Development Program to
administer through its local economic development
efforts. He feared that DRM would insist on separating
refugee assistance from other development efforts,
keeping UNHCR in its current role as humanitarian
donor.

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COMMENT
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6. (SBU) As illustrated by their reactions,
international donor organizations remain skeptical
towards DRM and its efforts to aid Armenia's refugees.
GOAM officials in the past have reportedly inflated
refugee numbers in order to amplify Armenia's refugee
burden relative to Azerbaijan in the aftermath of the
Nagorno-Karabagh conflict.
ORDWAY