IRAQ: UNAMI CHIEF ON AVIAN FLU THREAT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 008466

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAGR KHIV ECON IZ JO UN UNESCO
SUBJECT: IRAQ: UNAMI CHIEF ON AVIAN FLU THREAT,
OUT-OF-COUNTRY VOTING

REF: BAGHDAD 4384

Classified By: DAVID HALE, CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, REASONS: 1.4 (B &D)

Summary
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1. (C) Amman-based UNAMI chief Staffan de Mistura raised
concerns over the impending threat of an Avian Flu and/or
cholera outbreak in Iraq during a wide-ranging meeting with
Emboff. Mistura noted that insufficient security protection
continues to hamper U.N. international staff activities in
Basra and Erbil, and stressed the U.N.,s need for at least
one dedicated fixed-wing aircraft to support its Iraq
operations. He discussed his recent meeting with the UNESCO
Director General in Paris, in which they discussed a possible
UNESCO initiative to assist in retraining and placement of
Iraqi WMD scientists. De Mistura also related new Iraq
reconstruction and election support commitments from the EU
and a new university fellowship initiative for Iraqis by the
Italian Olympic Committee. De Mistura discussed the murky
state of December election out-of-country voting
preparations, and provided a list of ten UN "quick impact"
Iraq reconstruction projects to be implemented within the
next 90 days. End Summary.

Threat of Avian Flu, Cholera Outbreaks
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2. (C) Emboff met with United Nations Assistance Mission for
Iraq (UNAMI) chief Staffan de Mistura at his Amman office on
October 24. De Mistura had just come from an emergency
meeting with World Health Organization (WHO) staff on the
threat of an Avian flu and/or cholera epidemic in Iraq.
According to De Mistura, although Avian Flu has not yet been
detected, "thousands of birds" are dying in Erbil, Basra, and
Bakuba for causes unknown, and large flocks of migratory
birds are currently heading into the North and to the Basra
marshlands, having passed through infected areas of Turkey.
De Mistura explained that the UN will be urging the Iraqi
authorities to call for a ban on bird hunting as a "first
step," while continuing regular monitoring of the situation.
He also urged that USG assistance organizations "put this on
their radar screens" (see reftel).


3. (C) De Mistura also claimed that a severe cholera
outbreak has occurred in Iran, and expressed fear that the
disease will spread to Iraq without continued active counter
measures. He noted that the WHO is initiating a program
aimed at improving preparedness and response to the
threatened cholera outbreak (see paragraph #8 below).

UN "Security Ring" Needs in Basra and Erbil
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4. (C) De Mistura again raised concern over the lack of an
adequate "security ring" for UN international employees in
Basra and Erbil. He noted that in response to USG urging,
the UN has maintained a few international staff in these
cities full time since last summer, but complained that they
are operating as "prisoners in their offices" due to lack of
adequate security protection. He said that the problem is
particularly acute in Erbil, as the Korean contingent there
is "uninterested" in providing security protection for any
but visiting VIP,s.


5. (C) He acknowledged that UN policy is not to accept any
security protection from Iraqi forces (whether military,
police, or Peshmerga),and expressed hope that a solution to
this operational problem, perhaps involving a notional
Mongolian contingent, will soon be found. He also noted the
continued UN need for a dedicated fixed-wing aircraft.
According to De Mistura, the UN has six such member-provided
aircraft in the Congo, but none in Iraq. He said that U.N.
headquarters in New York is seeking U.S. Department of
Defense assistance in obtaining such a dedicated aircraft,
but is not optimistic on getting one from this source. If no
plane is provided by the USG, De Mistura opined that the UN's
next step will be to seek assistance from the Spanish,
Italian, and/or Belgian Ministries of Defense.

Possible UNESCO Program for Retraining Iraqi Scientists
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6. (C) De Mistura noted that while in Paris last week on his
way back to Amman, he met with UNESCO Director General
Matsumura, whom he urged to get more involved in the
reconstruction of Iraq. He outlined for Matsumura one
possible program whereby UNESCO would work with the USG and
others in re-training and finding work for up to 132 Iraqi
scientists previously engaged in nuclear and chemical warfare
research. De Mistura said that this could be done via
UNESCO-organized fellowships, which could be provided and
funded by France, Germany, and other states concerned about
non-proliferation. According to De Mistura, Matsumura
expressed readiness to take on the idea, and De Mistura
recommended that the U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO follow-up with
Matsumura in support of the concept as soon as possible.

New EU Grants for IRFFI, Election Support
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7. (SBU) De Mistura said he had met with EU representatives
in Brussels who confirmed that at least 200 million Euros
will be provided to International Reconstruction Fund
Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) trust funds in 2006. The
additional funds will be provided by the EU collectively, as
well as bilaterally by some individual EU member states. He
added that the EU also promised to provide 20 million Euros
to the UN for December election support. In Turin, De
Mistura met with the Winter Olympics Committee and
representatives of the Italian government, who agreed to
establish an unspecified number of university and graduate
school fellowships for Iraqi students as a tie-in to the
upcoming winter Olympics.

Out-of-Country Voting
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8. (C) De Mistura discussed the murky state of Iraqi
Out-of-Country Voting (OCV) preparations for the December
2005 general election. He expressed dismay at rumors that
the Iraqi Election Commission has decided to turn down an
International Organization for Migration (IOM) offer to run
the OCV process (as it did with the January, 2005 elections),
and instead utilize Iraqi Embassies as administrators for the
process. Apart from concern over Iraqs' capacity to pull
this off, De Mistura opined that the election's credibility
could be negatively affected. Emboff noted that there
appears to be a growing body of opinion that the OCV process
will be highly marginal anyway as there is apparently no
process for linking it to the new governorate-based voting
system. De Mistura agreed that it is important for all
parties to establish a consistent interpretation, and
promised to follow-up with UNOPS staff on the issue.

Final UN IRFFI "Quick Impact" List
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9. (SBU) De Mistura provided Emboff with the final,
compromise project list worked out with the Iraqi government
for over $39 million in short term "quick impact"
IRFFI-funded projects to be realized between now and next
February. Begin list:


UN Agency Project
U.S. $ Value
-------------- --------------
--------------

WHO Improved Cholera Preparedness
.9 million

WHO Malaria/Leishmania Control
5.2 million

WHO Health Care Waste Management
1.4 million

WHO Emergency Oxygen Supply Eq. to Hospitals
2.8 million

UNEP Hazardous Waste Storage at al-Qadissiya
.9 million

UNESCO Textbook Improvement Program
7.1 million

UNICEF Integrated Community-Based Social Services
12.9 million

UN HABITAT Community-Based Water and Sanitation
2.0 million

UNDP Emergency Water and Sanitation for South
Iraq 4.9 million

UNOPS Kerbala Water Project Filter Units
1.3 million
HALE