Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06AMMAN1830
2006-03-13 08:40:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

UNRWA STAKEHOLDERS RE-INVIGORATE AGENCY'S ADVISORY

Tags:  PREF KPAL KUNR PREL JO UNGA 
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130840Z Mar 06
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 AMMAN 001830 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR PRM, NEA AND IO
USUN FOR MEL ANG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF KPAL KUNR PREL JO UNGA
SUBJECT: UNRWA STAKEHOLDERS RE-INVIGORATE AGENCY'S ADVISORY
COMMISSION AS UNRWA WARNS OF IMMINENT SERVICE DISRUPTIONS

REF: A. 05 AMMAN 646


B. 04 STATE 179901

C. 04 AMMAN 5918

D. 04 GENEVA 1643

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 AMMAN 001830

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR PRM, NEA AND IO
USUN FOR MEL ANG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF KPAL KUNR PREL JO UNGA
SUBJECT: UNRWA STAKEHOLDERS RE-INVIGORATE AGENCY'S ADVISORY
COMMISSION AS UNRWA WARNS OF IMMINENT SERVICE DISRUPTIONS

REF: A. 05 AMMAN 646


B. 04 STATE 179901

C. 04 AMMAN 5918

D. 04 GENEVA 1643


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Representatives of 20 governments and
observers from the European Commission, the PLO and the Arab
League convened in an extraordinary meeting in Amman February
27-28 to re-invigorate the moribund governance structure of
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The culmination of a
two-year-old donor-driven reform plan, the negotiations were
contentious but concluded with agreement that UNRWA's
UNGA-mandated Advisory Commission (AdCom) should have broad
powers to review UNRWA's new policy initiatives. It also
took two steps aimed at giving the AdCom immediate relevance:
drafting formal rules of procedure that may give stakeholders
some oversight over UNRWA's budgets, and approving a 2006
work-plan that calls on the AdCom to convene in Amman in May
to examine the agency's response to political and security
developments in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, in addition
to reviewing normal service delivery issues. UNRWA's
Commissioner-General used this unusual gathering to
underscore her commitment to other proposed reforms,
including a plan to overhaul the agency's management
structure, and to strive to provide services in Gaza and the
West Bank "in full and on time." However she warned that
UNRWA, which operates on voluntary contributions, is in a
precarious financial position that will force it to suspend
operations at the end of March. END SUMMARY.

-------------- -
BRINGING A TWO-YEAR REFORM CAMPAIGN TO A CLOSE
-------------- -


2. (SBU) The February 27-28 meeting of UNRWA's major
stakeholders was the culmination of a two-year old governance
reform process initiated by donors (including the U.S.) and
Jordan at the high-level international conference Switzerland
hosted in 2004 to assess the effectiveness and relevance of
UNRWA's operations. In addition to examining UNRWA's service
delivery, the meeting looked at UNRWA's governance structures
and the chronic budget shortfalls that have resulted from the
fractured system of seven separate, and often completely

disconnected meetings, that UNRWA uses to solicit stakeholder
comments on its programs and budgets.

BACKGROUND ON UNRWA'S OLD GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
-------------- -


3. (SBU) The UN established UNRWA 56 years ago to support
Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank
and Gaza who now number 4.2 million. UNRWA is one of the few
UN agencies to report directly to the General Assembly.
Unlike UNHCR, it does not have an executive committee nor
governing board that meets regularly to review programs and
budgets. Instead, the UNGA-mandated Fourth Committee Working
Group on the Financing of UNRWA and the Fifth Committee's
Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions
meet annually to review UNRWA's budgets. The Fifth Committee
also reviews an annual report that UNRWA's Commissioner
General submits to the UNGA, as well as draft resolutions
related to UNRWA's mandate and operations, audit findings and
any requests the agency makes for additional international
staff. However, in recent years, the report of the Working
Group on UNRWA Financing has been prepared in advance by
UNRWA's External Relations Department, and debate has been
limited to marginal changes in its wording. The annual
pledging conference UNRWA holds in New York each December is
also largely a ceremonial event, as the timing does not match
the budget cycles of the agency's largest donors.

4. (SBU) UNRWA also convenes meetings in Amman, which with
Gaza, is one site of UNRWA's headquarters. For the last ten
years, UNRWA has convened its Advisory Commission -- which
was created by the UNGA through the same 1949 resolution that
created the agency itself -- to "advise and assist" the
Commissioner-General, only once a year. The sole exception
was a January 2005 extraordinary session that former ComGen
Peter Hansen convened to decide how to respond to a request
from Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen)
to allow UNRWA staff to run as candidates in PA municipal
elections (ref A). The AdCom used to offer active policy
advice periodically in the 1950s-1980s, but since then it has
done little more than endorse the ComGen's own annual report
to the General Assembly. Debate on the annual report's
contents has been limited largely to how strongly it should
criticize Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza. In the
1990s, UNRWA also started to convene larger informal meetings
of donors who contribute over $1 million annually to the
agency and refugee-hosting governments to respond to
stakeholders' demands for greater information on its programs
and budgets. UNRWA also holds periodic meetings to highlight
urgent humanitarian needs and review technical issues, such
as the standards its uses to deliver food aid or rehabilitate
refugee housing. While UNRWA has started to review its
planning assumptions and draft budgets in these informal
meetings, they have offered limited platforms for donors or
host governments to make concrete proposals, as they have no
legislated mandate or formal reporting system.

CHANGES MADE SINCE THE 2004 GENEVA CONFERENCE
--------------


5. (SBU) The U.S., Switzerland and Jordan initiated calls at
the 2004 Geneva Conference for UNRWA to establish a more
formalized method of interaction with its key stakeholders
(ref C). UNRWA established a field-based working group to
help it develop a governance reform "roadmap" in the fall of

2004. With the active participation of over 20 donors and
all of the regional states hosting Palestinian refugees, this
"Working Group on Stakeholder Relations" eventually decided
to use UNRWA's UNGA-mandated AdCom as the primary vehicle for
reform. (NOTE: The refugee hosting governments refused to
accept the U.S. proposal to establish a new Executive
Committee. END NOTE.). Participants in this process have
made concerted efforts to revamp the AdCom over the last year
with the support of UNRWA's new Commissioner-General Karen
Abu Zayd. To date, these efforts have led the UNGA to
approve a significant expansion in AdCom membership, designed
to more accurately reflects UNRWA's donor base. (NOTE: In
November, the General Assembly invited eight new member
states (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland) and two new observers (the European Commission
and the Arab League) to join existing AdCom
members/observers: the U.S., UK, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon,
Syria, Belgium, Japan, Turkey and "Palestine." END NOTE.)
UNRWA's senior management and its major stakeholders also
agreed on the margins of the UNGA that the expanded AdCom
should convene early in 2006 to finally define the powers of
the AdCom and develop clear working procedures in line with
modern management practices.

--------------
RESULTS OF THE FEBRUARY 27-28 NEGOTIATIONS
--------------


6. (SBU) The focus of the February 27-28 meeting was to
develop an agreed view of the AdCom's "mission," draft the
commission's first formal rules of procedures, agreed on the
modalities of decision-making, and set a work-plan for 2006.
The USDEL was lead by PRM/ANE Director Richard Albright and
included Amman refcoord Claire Kaneshiro and PRM/ANE Program
Officer Liana Brooks-Rubin. At the outset, host countries
(Jordan, Lebanon and Syria but particularly the latter two),
joined by Spain, voiced their suspicion that donors were
colluding to commission reports critical of host country
treatment of Palestinian refugees, or to push for policies
that might place additional financial burdens on them.
However, the atmosphere became more constructive as delegates
took pains to point out that donors and host nations were
both working to improve Palestinian refugee living
conditions, and that competing demands for humanitarian
funding and accountability requirements meant that donors are
faced with the annual task of justifying our contributions on
the basis of UNRWA's performance and transparency. Delegates
also found common ground in their shared frustration over
UNRWA's bureaucracy. Canada, Jordan, Italy and Syria, for
example, made similar highly critical and animated
interventions to protest the agency's refusal to meet
stakeholders' request for ample lead time to review critical
working documents, such as the ComGen's annual report to the
General Assembly.


7. (SBU) Debate on the AdCom's role consumed almost the first
full day; consensus was finally reached after Lebanon, the
AdCom Chair, suggested that a small group of delegations
including the U.S. leave the plenary to draft a "mission
statement." The text, adopted by consensus as a preamble to
a new rules of procedure (full text at para. 10),preserves
broad rights to review substantive program, budget and policy
issues. The expanded AdCom also made significant progress
developing other procedures to allow the Commission to review
substantive topics, but there was protracted and contentious
discussion over the modality of decision-making and the right
of smaller groups of AdCom members to commission studies.
These forced the meeting to adopt a provisional draft rules
with bracketed text that will have to re-visited at the next
AdCom session, which the agency notionally agreed to schedule
in May at the urging of incoming AdCom Chair (the
Netherlands) and the U.S. The AdCom also approved a 2006
work-plan that should allow UNRWA stakeholders to examine the
agency's response to political developments in Gaza, the West
Bank and Lebanon in May, and review UNRWA's program and
budget at key points in the agency's planning cycle as well
as that of the UNGA Fourth and Fifth Committees.

THE OUTSTANDING ISSUES
--------------


8. (SBU) When the AdCom reconvenes in May, it will have to
determine how the commission establishes subsidiary bodies
and authorizes special reports. There was broad consensus in
the February 27-28 session that standing subcommittees should
be established to start reviewing key aspects of the agency's
normal work cycle, such as the development of UNRWA's
biannual budgets. However, the US, supported by the UK,
requested that the AdCom also establish procedures that would
allow a limited number of commission members to form ad hoc
subcommittees to study time-sensitive issues or facilitate
discussion on topics of limited interest to the whole
committee, such as harmonized performance indicators.
However, the host governments, with the strong support of
Spain and Sweden, insisted that such studies should only be
initiated after securing the consensus of the whole
commission. Members were close to agreement on a compromise
"non-objection" arrangement that would have allowed
subcommittees and/or reports to be established by small
groups of commission members after the AdCom Chair had
confirmed they were within the AdCom's UNGA mandate and not
detrimental to the national interests of any commission
member, but lack of time precluded the commission from
adopting this mechanism.

The AdCom also agreed to re-visit two additional points by
2009:

-- MODALITIES OF DECISION-MAKING: Most donors, with the
exception of Sweden and Spain, favored establishing a voting
system to be used in extraordinary situations where consensus
could not be reached. However, host governments vigorously
opposed this idea. After considerable and often animated
discussion on the need to preserve the principle of consensus
in international fora, delegates agreed to submit advice to
the ComGen in the form of a report containing clear
recommendations that highlight any areas of disagreement.
However, the AdCom was deadlocked over the mechanism to
change the AdCom's own rules of procedures, as the host
governments insisted that the principle of consensus be
maintained. The Canadian delegation broke the impasse by
proposing that the principle of consensus be used for a
provisional two-year period.

-- FORMAL OVERSIGHT ROLE FOR ADCOM: At the request of
UNRWA's ComGen, the AdCom also agreed to defer discussion on
a USG proposal to allow the ComGen to invite AdCom members to
sit as external members of the agency's audit and inspection
committee to respond to a July 2004 recommendation the UN
Board of Auditors made in made to increase the transparency
of that body (A/59/5/Add.3 in the official records of the
General Assembly's 59th Session) to a later session in 2006,
after the ComGen explained that the UN Board of Auditors had
subsequently clarified in communications with the agency that
this recommendation was a request to appoint external
auditors who could increase the Audit Committee's expertise.


-------------- --------------
COMGEN WARNS CASH SHORTFALLS WILL LEAD TO SERVICE BREAKS
-------------- --------------


9. (SBU) Commissioner-General Karen Abu Zayd used this
extraordinary AdCom meeting to underscore her personal
commitment to other reform processes, including a
donor-driven plan to start overhauling the agency's
management structure. While discussion of political events
was left to corridor discussions (septel),she briefly noted
the impact that recent deterioration in security conditions
in Gaza and the West Bank and political developments were
having on the agency. While noting that the increase in
movement restrictions were affecting the agency's Palestinian
staff, she assured the AdCom that the agency had successfully
maintained planned services to date, adding that UNRWA
intended to "continue to provide all services within its
mandate in full and on time." However, she warned that
UNRWA, which operates entirely on voluntary contributions, is
in a precarious financial situation due to poor donor
response to appeals to support its normal operating budget
and its extensive emergency programs in Gaza and the West
Bank. Without an immediate response, Abu Zayd predicted that
the agency would be forced to "start suspending operations at
the end of March."

-------------- --------------
ADCOM RULES OF PROCEDURE PROVISIONALLY ADOPTED FEBRUARY 28
-------------- --------------


10. (SBU) BEGIN TEXT:

(Working Draft of 28/2, 1900hrs)

Preamble

As initially established under UNGA Resolution 302 (IV) of 8
December 1949, the purpose of the Advisory Commission of
UNRWA is to advise and assist the Commissioner-General in the
execution of the programme. The work of UNRWA and the
Advisory Commission is guided by the UN General Assembly
resolutions concerning Palestine refugees.

As subsequently elaborated, and to promote good practice in
line with UN directives, the Advisory Commission will advise
and assist the Commissioner-General on UNRWA's planning,
implementation and evaluation of its programmes for the
benefit of Palestine refugees. With the objective of
exercising its mandate, the Advisory Commission shall discuss
important operational issues, such as items pertaining to the
strategic planning, budget, the apportionment of funds among
projects, proposed changes in previously approved plans and
current operations, and the Commissioner-General's Annual
Report to the UN General Assembly. These will be discussed
in a timely manner corresponding to UNRWA's schedule and the
work cycle of the General Assembly. As specified in these
Rules of Procedure, the Advisory Commission may, in
consultation with the Commissioner-General, also respond to
extraordinary developments affecting Palestine refugees
related to the work of the Agency.

The Advisory Commission will strive to undertake its work by
consensus and in a transparent manner that promotes the
principles of partnership. In that spirit, the
Commissioner-General will strive to keep the Advisory
Commission informed of developments affecting the Agency.
Likewise, the Commissioner-General, with the support of the
Advisory Commission, will inform the Agency's informal
stakeholder bodies of its main conclusions and
recommendations.


I. Sessions

a. Annual Session
i. The Commission shall convene in an Annual Session, in the
autumn of each year, to consider inter alia the
Commissioner-General's Annual Report prior to its submission
to the UN General Assembly.

b. Regular Sessions
i. The Commission shall meet in one or more Regular Sessions
between the Annual Session, at times determined in the annual
Calendar of Meetings of the Commission, and in line with the
reporting and annual work cycle of UNRWA and the General
Assembly.

c. Extraordinary Sessions
i. An Extraordinary Session may be convened in order to
discuss urgent business, at the request of:
The Commissioner-General;
The Bureau; or
At least three Members.

d. Place of Meetings
i. Annual and Regular Sessions of the Commission will
ordinarily take place in Amman, Jordan. With the approval of
the Advisory Commission, sessions may be convened under
exceptional circumstances in other locations.
ii. If the Session takes place at a location away from the
Headquarters of the Agency, the Government responsible for
hosting the meeting will be responsible for additional costs
incurred by the Agency in consequence.

e. Notification of Sessions
i. The Secretariat shall convey to the members the date,
place and provisional agenda of each Regular Session (at
least six weeks) before the commencement of each session.

II. Agenda

a. With the objective of exercising its mandate of advising
and assisting the Commissioner-General in the most effective
manner, the Advisory Commission may discuss agenda items
pertaining the budget, the apportionment of funds among
projects and the annual report in a timely manner
corresponding to the UNRWA schedule and its submission of the
budget and annual report to the General Assembly.

b. Adoption of the Annual Work Plan
i. At the final Regular Session of each calendar year, the
Commission shall adopt an annual Work Plan and Calendar of
Meetings for the following year, in coordination with the
Commissioner General. The Calendar shall be synchronized with
the annual and biennial work cycles of UNRWA, the UN's
consolidated annual calendar of meetings, and statutory
reporting requirements of the Agency.
ii. The annual Work Plan shall be prepared by the
Secretariat under the direction of the Bureau.

SIPDIS
iii. The annual Work Plan shall monitor and measure
performance.

c. Adoption of the Agenda
i. A Provisional Agenda for each Regular and Extraordinary
Session shall be prepared by the Secretariat under the
direction of the Bureau, including proposals made by the
Commissioner General.
ii. The Agenda shall be adopted at the beginning of each
session.

III. Submission of Reports

a. Annual Report
i. The Commissioner-General shall submit his or her Annual
Report to the General Assembly in advance to the Commission,
for its consideration;
ii. After reviewing the Annual Report, the Commission shall
forward it to the Commissioner General for onward
transmission to the UN General Assembly accompanied by a
Letter from the Chair.
(alt.) Before submitting his or her Annual Report on the work
of the Agency to the UN General Assembly, the Commissioner
General forwards it to the Advisory Commission, for its
consideration
iii. The Advisory Commission agrees on the letter directed
to the Commissioner General which comments on the Annual
Report and the work of the Agency. The letter is attached to
the Annual Report when submitted to the General Assembly.

b. Other Reports

i. (On the request of the Commissioner-General, and with the
approval of the Bureau) (On the request of the Bureau),other
reports from UNRWA, other UN Member States, Specialized
Agencies or Inter-Governmental Organizations may be submitted
to the Commission (for its consideration) (for information).

IV. Documentation and Languages

a. Official languages
ii. Official languages of the Commission and its Subsidiary
Bodies for oral proceedings and written documentation shall
be Arabic, English and French;
iii. Documentation related to items on the Provisional
Agenda of each Regular Session shall be available to
Commission members and observers in all three languages four
weeks prior to the meeting.
iv. Issuance of reports of the Commission. The Commissioner
General, with the support of the Advisory Commission, will
brief the Hosts and Donors Meeting on the outcome of its
proceedings.


V. Agreed Conclusions

a. Acknowledging the advisory and assisting character of the
Advisory Commission, the Commission shall endeavour to reach
clear conclusions through consensus on substantive and
organizational matters.

b. In the event of significant differences on substantive
advice, the Summary Record of the Session shall provide a
full account of all views. The Summary Record shall not
exceed 15 pages in length, single-spaced, and shall be
circulated to Members and Observers, for comments on accuracy
within one month of the meeting.

VI. Representation

a. The names of representatives, alternate representatives
and advisers shall be submitted to the Secretariat, if
possible, no less than 10 days before the session they are to
attend.

b. The Secretariat shall circulate the list of participants
ahead of the meeting.

VII. Officers and Bureau

a. Officers of the Commission will consist of a Chair, and a
Vice-Chair. Together the two office holders constitute the
Bureau;

b. The Bureau serves as the link between the Advisory
Commission and UNRWA, to promote dialogue and common
understanding of issues facing the Commission. It will direct
the Secretariat, inter alia, in the preparation and
organization of Commission Sessions;

c. The Bureau provides general direction on the
implementation of the Commission's annual Work Plan and
facilitates transparent decision-making;

d. The Chair and Vice-Chair will each hold office for
twelve-month terms, commencing on 1 July. To ensure
continuity, the Vice-Chair will become Chair in the
subsequent year;
e. The Chair and Vice Chair will be rotated between Members
in the alphabetical order of the country's name, in the
English language, alternating between hosts and donors for
each position;

f. If the Chair is the representative of a Palestine refugee
host country, the Vice-Chair shall be a representative of a
donor country, and vice-versa;

VIII. Secretariat

a. UNRWA shall provide the Secretariat of the Commission;

b. The Commissioner-General will designate a member of the
Secretariat to serve as the Secretary of the Commission;

SIPDIS

c. The responsibilities of the Secretariat will be to assist
in arranging meetings and ensuring the smooth conduct of the
Commission's meetings, to provide background documentation in
advance of meetings, and prepare reports on these meetings.

IX. Conduct of Business

a. The presence of a quorum is required for the convening of
Regular, Annual and Extraordinary Sessions of the Commission;

b. A quorum shall consist of a double majority of Members,
both hosts and donors;

c. Proceedings of the Commission shall be conducted in
private;

d. The Commissioner-General or a member of the Agency
designated by him or her as a representative may, at any
time, make either oral or written statements to the Advisory
Commission or any of its Subsidiary Bodies.

e. The Chairman shall declare the opening and closing of
each meeting of the Commission, shall direct the discussion
in line with the agreed agenda, ensure observance of these
rules, accord the right to speak and announce decisions.

f. Subject to these rules, the Chairman shall have complete
control over the proceedings of the Commission and over the
maintenance of order at its meetings. He or she shall rule on
points of order, which shall take precedence over substantive
business. He or she may propose to the Commission the closure
of the list of speakers, a limitation on the time to be
allowed to speakers and on the number of times the
representatives of each Member or Observer may speak on an
item of the debate, and the suspension or adjournment of a
meeting.


X. Subsidiary Bodies

The Commission may form subsidiary bodies, such as Standing
Committees. (The Commission will study the possibility of
establishing ad hoc Working Groups at a future date.) Ad hoc
Working Groups may also be formed (by Members)(in
coordination with the Bureau). These bodies report back to
the full Advisory Commission.

a. Standing Committees
i. Standing Committees need to be established with the
consensus of the full Advisory Commission. These are
Committees of the Whole, in which all Members and Observers
may participate.
ii. A Standing Committee shall execute its mandate as set by
the Advisory Commission
iii. A Standing Committee shall serve for a period decided
upon by the Advisory Commission

b. Ad Hoc Working Groups
iv. An ad hoc Working Group, limited in scope and duration,
may be proposed by a minimum of five Members and/or Observers
to examine issues related to the annual Work Plan of the
Advisory Commission or other extraordinary topics related to
UNRWA's work.
v. The formation of an ad hoc Working Group is made in prior
coordination with the Bureau. The Bureau will ensure that the
Working Group is not in conflict with the interests of nor
opposed by any Member or Observer, (according to the
assessment of the latter) and that the scope of its work is
consistent with the mandate of the Advisory Commission.
vi. Following formation of an Ad hoc Working Group, Members
and Observers of the Commission will be informed.
Participation is open to any Member and/or Observer.

c. The rules of procedure of the Advisory Commission shall
apply to the proceedings of its subsidiary bodies, in so far
as they are applicable.

XI. Consultations on Commissioner-General Nomination

a. When the UN Secretary General requests to consult with
the Commission regarding a nominee for UNRWA
Commissioner-General, the Chair will consult with Members and
Observers, and draft a letter of reply to the Secretary
General giving consensus views.

b. If necessary, an Extraordinary Session may be held to
discuss the matter.

XII. Participation of Non-Members

Further to the decision of the UN General Assembly (reference
number) of December 2005,
i. Palestine shall be invited to attend and fully
participate in the meetings of the Advisory Commission, as an
Observer;
ii. The European Community shall be invited to attend the
meetings of the Advisory Commission;
iii. The League of Arab States shall be invited to attend the
Advisory Commission as an observer.
iv. Observers shall enjoy all the rights and privileges
accorded to them by UNGA practice.

XIV. Amendments

Amendments to or suspension of these Rules of Procedure can
be effected through consensus. This clause will be
provisionally adopted for two years after adoption of these
Rules of Procedure.

XV. Interpretation of the Rules of Procedure

The Rules of Procedure of the Advisory Commission should be
in line with UNGA Resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949. In
case of any conflict in the interpretation of the Rules the
Resolution itself shall prevail.

END TEXT.

HALE