UAE RED CRESCENT: "AID TO NEEDY, NOT TERRORISTS"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001103 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARP STHORNE, EB/ESC/TFS JSALOOM TREASURY FOR U/S SLEVEY, DAS DGLASER, PHEFFERNAN MANAMA FOR JBEAL NSC FOR JZARATE, NSHAMPAINE E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2016 TAGS: EAID PTER KTFN PHUM IS PA AE TC UAE SUBJECT: UAE RED CRESCENT: "AID TO NEEDY, NOT TERRORISTS" REF: 2004 ABU DHABI 4218 Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.5 b and d. ¶1. (SBU) Summary. In response to the March 20, 2006 New York Times Article, "Emirates Aided Kin of Palestinian Militants," the Chairman of Board of the UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA) told Ambassador on March 21 that the RCA's policy is to fund needy children and that it does not aid families of terrorists. The Secretary General told Ambassador that the RCA has a clear policy that no family of a suicide bomber is to receive RCA aid. According to the Secretary General, the RCA conducts a series of background SIPDIS checks on all RCA employees and aid organizations that the RCA works with, and she said that the Israeli authorities have access to the list of Palestinian beneficiaries of all RCA aid. On March 20, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs underscored to Ambassador that the reason the Red Crescent supports needy children is to help them move away from extremist views and actions. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Ambassador and econoff met on March 20 with Khalifa Nasser al-Suwaidi, Chairman of the UAE Red Crescent Authority's Board of Directors and Sana'a Derwish al-Kitby, Secretary General of the RCA to discuss the allegations SIPDIS raised in the 20 March New York Times article that the RCA supports families of Palestinian militants. (Note: the RCA is a quasi-governmental organization through which the UAEG channels much of its international humanitarian aid. The RCA's titular head is Deputy Prime Minister Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahyan, but its policy and day to day activities are coordinated by al-Suwaidi and al-Kitby. End note.) ¶3. (SBU) Al-Suwaidi began the discussion by noting that the UAE was the first country to offer to send aid to the United States after Hurricane Katrina, and that the RCA had transferred the money within days of the disaster. He stated that the RCA's intention is to help the "needy and deserving" and to keep it away from those who are "terrorists and have bad intentions." Al-Kitby stated that the RCA does not have a political agenda. "We are working for salam (peace)." Referring to the article's use of the term "martyrs," 
al-Kitby noted that Islam defines a "martyr" as anyone who dies violently. She explained that the RCA wants to help needy families who have been negatively impacted by the violence in the region. "We help them to settle them and encourage them to not become extremists." Similarly, during a conversation on March 20, Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed al-Nahyan told Ambassador that the reason the Red Crescent supports needy children is to help them move away from extremist views and actions. ¶4. (SBU) Al-Kitby stated that the RCA's international branches have "strict instructions" to not fund families of suicide bombers. She said this restriction is in place so that the bombers do not "assume" that their families will be taken care of by charities after they "blow themselves up." During a conversation on March 20, Yousef al-Otaiba, the International Affairs Director for Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, told Ambassador that the UAE has consistently and publicly condemned suicide attacks. He also said that all UAE aid organizations are prohibited from offering financial support to families of suicide bombers. Al-Kitby explained that families seeking aid must submit supporting documents to verify income and their family relationships (nfi),and that the RCA's Social Welfare department verifies whether the family qualifies under the strict criteria to receive assistance. The orphans program entails a 200 dirham (approx $54) per month cash payment to needy children under the age of 18 who have lost a parent. She also explained that the children must fulfill certain requirements -- such as remaining in school, not smoking, and staying out of trouble with the authorities -- and she said the Social Welfare department conducts regular checks to be sure they are complying. Al-Kitby stated that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israeli authorities have access to the names of all RCA beneficiaries in the Palestinian territories. ¶5. (C) Al-Kitby explained the RCA's procedures for validating international organizations with which the RCA cooperates. Internally, the RCA submits the name of the organization to UAE security services for their approval. Externally, the RCA seeks approval from authorities in the recipient country. In the case of organizations in the Palestinian territories, the RCA checks with the PA and Israeli security services. Al-Kitby stated unequivocally that if the RCA finds out negative information about an organization, it ceases all cooperation. Al-Suwaidi stated that when the RCA found out that the Israeli-approved Tulkarem Zakat Committee was suspected of having ties with the Hamas-associated Holy Land Foundation, the RCA ended all cooperation with Tulkarem. "As soon as there is any doubt, relations are immediately stopped." Al-Suwaidi also told Ambassador that after the Israeli authorities raided the office of the UAE Friends Society (the Jerusalem branch of the Red Crescent) and confiscated their documents, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked with the Israelis to determine if there had been any wrongdoing on the part of the organization. According to al-Suweidi, the feedback they got was that there was "nothing wrong." Al-Kitby also said that the RCA seeks clearance and approval from the Israelis before any Red Crescent mission goes to the Palestinian territories. ¶6. (SBU) Both al-Kitby and Al-Suweidi acknowledged that unintentional mistakes may happen, but they assured Ambassador that if the RCA finds out after the fact that it has been funding the family of a suicide bomber, or working with an inappropriate charity, it ceases the activity and implements changes to try to prevent it from happening again. According to al-Kitby, "We work very hard to be sure that our assistance cannot be interpreted as supporting violence." ¶7. (SBU) Ambassador has an appointment on Sunday, March 26 with the Minister of Social Affairs, Mariam al-Roumi, who is responsible for federal oversight of UAE charities. Ambassador will discuss the UAEG's policy on assistance to orphans and needy families. She will also raise questions about the UAE's definition of a "martyr" and UAEG policy on vetting and monitoring international donations. SISON