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

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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

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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

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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