UNHCR: REGIONAL ISSUES AND IDPS DISCUSSED DURING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GENEVA 001605

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF UNHCR
SUBJECT: UNHCR: REGIONAL ISSUES AND IDPS DISCUSSED DURING
DONOR CONSULTATIONS


1. (U) Summary: Donor government representatives and NGOs
were in full attendance at UNHCR,s May 18-19 informal
consultations. Then-acting High Commissioner Wendy
Chamberlin led the meeting, flanked for the regional sessions
by Assistant High Commissioner Kamel Morjane and the entire
senior management team. Septel reports on progress towards
results-based budgeting and priority-based management. This
cable focuses on UNHCR,s policy on internally displaced
persons (IDPs) and regional priorities. End Summary.

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REGIONAL DISCUSSION
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2. (U) USDEL opened the regional discussion, asking UNHCR
Directors to describe how in each region their 2006 budgeting
and priority setting exercise -- called the country operation
plan (COP) process -- ensured that beneficiaries such as
women and children received proper attention and were
mainstreamed into all aspects of programming. USDEL also
wanted to know how UNHCR balanced between meeting refugee
needs and identifying money for self-reliance and how the COP
process supported the move forward on standard indicators.


3. (U) Europe: Responding to a Russian question about UNHCR
involvement in the issue of stateless people in Latvia,
acting Director Rob Robinson confirmed UNHCR is involved in
looking at arbitrary statelessness in the European region and
described efforts to draft an action plan.


4. (U) Africa: USDEL expressed concern over a proposed
decrease in funds for West Africa during a time when UNHCR
will accrue significant expenses related to Liberian
repatriation as well as some increased cost with Togolese
refugees. The Dutch added concern over the gaps between
protection and assistance that are evident in the 2006 budget
for Africa. Director David Lambo listed a number of reasons
why there is a decrease in the Africa budget, starting with
local integration and self-reliance for refugees. He
explained that UNHCR is pushing host governments to develop
self-reliance programs that will in some cases lead to local
integration in countries such as Guinea and Gabon. In other
countries, UNHCR is facing resistance from governments that
restrict refugee access to farming or are tired of providing
land. UNHCR has only spent 5 percent of its under-funded
budget for self-reliance projects in the past two years.


5. (U) Lambo described the COP exercise in the Africa region
as mostly successful. The exercise identified standards that
were uneven in some areas. UNHCR will use the Operational
Reserve I in 2005 to see if these gaps can be filled before

2006. Lambo also discussed UNHCR,s constant struggle to
mainstream refugee women and children,s programs due to the
lack of continuity with UNHCR staff and government officials,
but he asserted this should be accomplished by 2006.


6. (U) Chad/Sudan: Explaining why UNHCR was taking the lead
in southern Sudan in repatriation and reintegration, Director
Jean-Marie Fakhouri talked about how the collaborative
approach is based on sectoral assignments but protection is
&cross-sectoral.8 Therefore, in consultation with other UN
actors in Khartoum, the decision was taken to handle two
areas on a geographic (vice sectoral) basis. UNHCR has
responsibility for IDPS and refugees in these two areas.
UNHCR is attempting to rebuild capacity, primarily in
Equatoria. Answering a question about UNHCR,s countrywide
role, Fakhouri referred to the Protection Framework and
UNHCR,s lead of the protection working group for Southern
Sudan. There is also a Core Returns Task Force that has
elaborated a Framework for Returns that includes registration
for IDPS, transportation for vulnerables and distribution of
return packages.


7. (U) Americas: Director Philipe Lavanchy talked about how
the Mexico Plan of Action has given UNHCR the opportunity to
focus on needs in the region and was reflected in the recent
COP exercise. Protection and durable solutions are UNHCR,s
main concerns as it continues to assist Colombian refugees in
Ecuador and negotiates the resettlement of Columbians
refugees in Brazil. The United Kingdom expressed concerns
over the large number of Colombians in Ecuador and asked how
UNHCR planned to respond. Lavanchy replied that UNHCR needs
to see what will happen with the new government before it
develops new activities. UNHCR believes that the best
approach to Colombian refugees and IDPs is to focus on the
situation as it affects the region. Lavanchy also said that
UNHCR and OCHA are coordinating well and developing
activities in the urban areas.


8. (U) In the Caribbean, UNHCR is seeking to form a unit in
the Washington office that can respond to mass outflows of
asylum seekers. Lavanchy also said that UNHCR needs to
reinforce its representation in Caribbean countries by
fielding strong honorary liaisons. He thanked the USG for
its support of the regional protection officer position in
Miami.


9. (U) Asia: Donors raised the IDP situation in the region,
UNHCR,s support for Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, and the
protracted refugee situation in Burma and Thailand. Director
Janet Lim first noted the uneven performance of the COP
exercise in Asia. Although there were some good results
reflected by training on age and gender mainstreaming in
India, UNHCR needs to provide more focused COP training
rather than rely on written instructions. The integration of
refugee women and children had been successful in some
countries. Lim described UNHCR efforts to implement
self-reliance programs in Nepal and Bangladesh as very
politicized. She added that UNHCR needs partners to help
them work with governments. In West Timor, UNHCR plans to
wrap up its program for unaccompanied minors. In Nepal, Lim
said that security continues to be a problem for everyone
including the camp refugees; there are reports of Maoist
insurgents present in the camps. She urged donors to put
more political pressure on the Nepalese government to make
refugees a priority. In Sri Lanka, UNHCR is assisting with
the repatriation of 5,000 IDPs.


10. (U) CASWANAME: Donors asked UNHCR to describe its
response to sexual and gender-based violence in the Middle
East, North Africa and South Asia, and to provide insight on
UNHCR,s plans beyond 2006. Director Ekber Menemencioglu
described UNHCR,s relationship with most of the Central
Asian governments as good with the exception of Uzbekistan.
UNHCR has persuaded Turkmenistan to grant Tajik refugees who
are ethnic Turkmen citizenship. In Kyrgyzstan, the
government has already given most Tajik refugees (ethnic
Kyrgyz) citizenship and in Kazakhstan, the government is
considering doing the same for Tajik refugees who are
ethnically Kazakh. UNHCR still struggles to provide
protection for Chechen refugees in the region, particularly
in Kazakhstan. UNHCR has lowered the number of Afghan
refugees in the region through U.S. and Canadian resettlement
programs. Capacity building projects will continue for
refugees in the region.


11. (U) Responding to Russian and U.S. questions on
Uzbekistan, Menemencioglu said there were 560 Uzbek refugees
in the Jalalabad oblast in Kyrgystan. UNHCR is negotiating a
longer permit for the refugees to stay in the country and is
making plans to move them away from the border. Relief items
have been distributed and more supplies were in transport
from Khorog, Tajikistan to Osh. Considering most of the
refugees are young men, Menemencioglu said that refugee
status determination is the best solution for the time being.
UNHCR can manage 560 refugees, however, if there is another
mass migration, UNHCR will need to bring in additional
assistance. UNHCR urged donors to put pressure on the Uzbek
government not to continue its use of &undue force8 and to
keep the borders open.


12. (U) Afghanistan: UNHCR has reached a critical juncture in
its repatriation program; a difficult outstanding problem is
Afghan refugees who are not willing to return. UNHCR
continue to negotiate with host governments on local
integration efforts. In Afghanistan, UNHCR has been working
on capacity building projects and is in the process of to
register IDPs. Sexual and gender-based violence continues to
be a problem; UNHCR is looking at resettlement as a solution
for women who have been abused.

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Internally Displaced Persons
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13. (U) Referring to the Secretary General,s invocation of
an international &duty to protect,8 Wendy Chamberlin led
the discussion on IDPs by repeating her previous announcement
that UNHCR will be more active in the collaborative response,
especially on protection needs. She listed three key
elements for UNHCR,s involvement in IDP situations: 1) if
the population of concern was both persecuted and displaced,
UNHCR would provide protection; 2) if an assessment
identified the need for UNHCR,s skills to provide protection
and the UN country team supported UNHCR,s involvement; and
3) if funding was available to support the protection
programs. She admitted that in the past, UNHCR had been
selective about the IDP situations in which it chose to
engage, but asserted that UNHCR will now use the three
elements as a guide to getting involved. UNHCR plans on
using the Operational Reserve I to jumpstart new IDP
situations and then switch to the Supplemental Budget for
continued support.


14. (U) Donors voiced support for a structured UNHCR
involvement in IDP situations, but had a number of questions
concerning mandate, funding, and UNHCR,s role in the
collaborative approach. Protection Director Erika Feller
asserted that UNHCR is accountable for protection concerns.
She emphasized the need for a cross-sectoral approach, saying
that protection would fall through the cracks if it were
approached as a sectoral concern. Canada said it supports
the collaborative approach and want to see the humanitarian
community work on developing a more predictable response to
IDP situations. Canada questioned why the Acting HC had
suggested that funding would have to be additional. However,
Canada joined USDEL in asserting that IDP programs should not
negatively impact funding for refugee programs. Canada
suggested creating a new budget for IDP funding or drawing on
the Central Emergency Revolving Fund (CERF) mechanism.
Canada spoke for many donors that do not want UNHCR to use
trust funds when it suggested that UNHCR issue supplementary
appeals instead.


15. (U) Chad/Sudan Director Fakhouri used the situation in
Sudan to illustrate the need for UNHCR involvement. He said
that although IDPs are receiving food, they are not being
protected. UNHCR brings a cross-sectoral expertise to the
collaborative approach that combines protection, coordination
and solutions for return. However, Fakhouri said, there is
currently no money to support this type of approach as only
10 percent of UNHCR,s $30 million program in Darfur is
funded.


16. (U) USDEL suggested that the conversation on IDPs needs
to continue and repeated concerns about funding modalities of
IDP operations. Sweden and the USDEL expressed concern over
the use of SURGE, saying that it is meant to fill gaps not to
respond to entire program needs. They urged UNHCR to look at
other alternatives. Finally, USDEL reminded the group that
previous EXCOM conclusions had incorporated criteria for
UNHCR involvement in IDP situations that included: an
invitation by the concerned government, support by a
competent UN organ, and a refugee-related component, such as
the prospect of preventing persons from having to flee to
become refugees.


17. (U) Responding to donor comments, Chamberlin said that
it was a constant struggle for UNHCR to get money for its
programs and that it was going to be difficult to find money
for IDP programs. She added that the humanitarian community
continued to struggle with the problem of IDPs but it clearly
needed a greater protection capacity to deal with refugees
and IDPs. This would include security, basic services, and
law and order. Erika Feller added that UNHCR needs to
strengthen its protection capacity, including by
re-engineering SURGE. She suggested that UNHCR and donors
try to draft an EXCOM conclusion on the need to protect IDPs.
(Comment. USDEL doubts that the time is ripe for a 2005
EXCOM conclusion without at least a trial year for the IDP
policy. A policy paper provided to the Standing Committee
for discussion or some other mechanism to frame UNHCR/donor
consultation is the logical first step.)

Moley