UNAMI REPORTS INCREASED CIVIC OUTREACH EFFORT BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003033

SIPDIS

NOFORN REL GBR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2025
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: UNAMI REPORTS INCREASED CIVIC OUTREACH EFFORT BUT
REMAINS CONCERNED ABOUT SUNNI TRIANGLE


Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford.
Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C/NF/REL GBR) SUMMARY. The constitution drafting
process is continuing with an eye towards meeting the
drafting deadline in the TAL. In support of this
effort, the UNAMI-coordinated civic outreach campaign
continues to gain momentum despite personnel shortages
in both UNAMI and the Civic Outreach Unit of the TNA's
Constitution Committee. The multimedia portion of the
campaign is expanding and includes radio programs,
newspapers stories and announcements, and television
Public Service Announcements (PSA) and talk shows
covering the constitution. As civic outreach expands
throughout Iraq, UNAMI expressed concern over the lack
of coverage in the Sunni triangle, an area critical to
the political process. UNAMI has asked the member
states for support in identifying means to bring Sunni
civil society into the constitution process,
especially prior to the TNA's August 15 deadline for a
draft constitution. END SUMMARY

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CONSTITUTION DRAFT EXERCISE CONTINUES FORWARD MOMENTUM
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2. (C/NF/REL GBR) Head of UNAMI's Constitutional
Support Unit Nicholas Haysom told PolOff and
international donors at a July 20 briefing that the
constitution text was nearly complete with about 20 to
30 percent remaining to be negotiated prior to the
presentation of the first draft to the TNA on August

1. (Comment: For the past few weeks, the
Constitution Committee has been reporting roughly the
same completion rate, which can be misleading since it
does not take into account the level of complexity for
the remaining contentious issues. End Comment.)
Haysom said that Committee Chairman Sheikh Humam
Hamudi is adamant that a first draft will be completed
by August 1 and submitted to the TNA. He also stated
that Hamudi has given no indication he will request to
extend the August 15 deadline for the TNA approved
draft as authorized in TAL Article 61(F). Haysom
opined that two of the most significant remaining
issues include the latest Kurdish demands about an
expanded Kurdish regional government in terms of its
size and authorities and more general questions about
federalism for all parts of Iraq.

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UNAMI CIVIC OUTREACH SUPPORT STILL BEHIND SCHEDULE
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3. (C/NF/REL GBR) Haysom said that the media campaign
continues to grow, with UNAMI contracts signed or in
the process of being signed with 46 newspaer, 1
television stations, and 16 radio stations. Although
newspaper stories on the constitution have increased
in number, UNAMI also plans to make greater use of
newspapers to distribute constitution-related
educational materials. Haysom also stated that
several PSAs have been recorded and aired, with talk
shows gaining popularity. He briefed that radio
programming, in addition to the UNIFEM-supported FM 96
program, will increase at the latter end of the week.
UNAMI has also contracted for the printing of over
1,000,000 posters, 300 banners, 500 billboards, and
1,000,000 questionnaires. UNAMI plans to distribute
this material via newspapers, the NGO community, and
the constitution committee offices recently
established in most of the governorates.


4. (C/NF/GBR) Other UNAMI staff briefed on the "blue
box" campaign, a UNAMI-supported committee project to
purchase 300 boxes for distribution throughout Iraq
where the public can deposit their inputs and comments
on the constitution. These boxes will be kept in
banks and mosques for security reasons, and the inputs
eventually delivered to the Constitution Committee's
newly established, 16-person Analysis Unit. Haysom
reported that, to date, the Committee has received
over 1,000 email submissions and over 4,000 inputs
from Committee and NGO-led conferences and seminars
throughout much of Iraq. The NDI-created database is
now on-line, and Haysom hopes the Analysis Unit will
quickly reduce the backlog of submissions and inputs.
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OUTREACH SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES
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5. (C/NF/REL GBR) Haysom said that the Constitution
Committee has sponsored its own series of outreach
conferences, with 60 of the 300 conferences already
taking place throughout Iraq. The Committee plans to
complete all conferences by the first week of August.
These conferences, Haysom explained, are in addition
to the robust seminar and conference schedule already
underway by both NDI and IRI. Haysom pointed out that
Sheikh Hamudi recently lead a conference each for
religious leaders and women, with each conference
hosting over 1,000 participants.


6. (C/NF/REL GBR) Haysom hopes to culminate the
series of conferences with a national conference in
Baghdad. He explained that, due to security reasons,
Sheikh Hamudi is considering canceling the 500-person
national conference but may consider reducing its size
and changing the location in order to address this
security challenge. The results of all the seminars
and conferences, Haysom said, are fed directly to the
Committee's Outreach Analysis Unit.


7. (C/NF/GBR) Haysom explained that UNAMI's biggest
concern remains the lack of coverage in the Sunni
Triangle. He said the area was too dangerous for the
typical outreach efforts, and looked for options to
reach that population. (COMMENT: USAID's implementers
are currently conducting outreach activities in this
region; details to follow on extent of this activity.
END COMMENT.) Other UNAMI members expressed concern
over the ability for the Sunni Arabs to submit their
comments to the Committee given limited internet
access, mail delivery, and overall security concerns.
Haysom said that UNAMI and the Committee do not have a
plan drawn up to fully address outreach needs in the
Sunni Triangle, and requested recommendations from the
international community and implementers. (NOTE:
Both the USG and UK meeting participants agreed to
research options to address this problem. END NOTE.)

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COMMENT
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8. (C/NF/REL GBR) UNAMI still confronts staffing
constraints largely due to UN-imposed staff ceilings
and the rigid Baghdad-Amman rotation scheme that
appears beyond SRSG immediate control. The slow
development of the Committee's Outreach Unit resulted
in responsibilities reverting back to UNAMI that the
committee unit could not manage. This resulted in
UNAMI and, by default the implementers, filling the
void. Similar problems exist with the Analysis Unit,
a group that hired far few staff than originally
intended.


9. (C/NF/GBR) While UNAMI continues to address these
challenges, work in the field by the NGO community
continues to reap positive results, with the Iraqi
people thirsting for anything related to the
constitution. At the UNAMI meeting, USAID passed
around photos of an NDI seminar that took place in a
small provincial town, where a 3-hour event stretched
to 7-hours at the behest of the participants. The
villagers, still hungry for more interaction, offered
to pay for tea to host the seminar team's return visit
in order to continue their discussions. Post has
urged UNAMI and all USG-funded implementers to push
their outreach campaigns even harder, and will work
with Iraqi NGOs to ensure they have the resources to
keep this program moving ahead. END COMMENT.


10. (U) REO HILLA, REO BASRA, REO MOSUL, and REO
KIRKUK, minimize considered.


Satterfield