Sudan - Humanitarian Challenges in the East

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 001072

SIPDIS

AIDAC
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS
USMISSION UN ROME
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NAIROBI FOR SFO
NSC FOR JMELINE, TSHORTLEY
USUN FOR TMALY
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: Sudan - Humanitarian Challenges in the East


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Summary
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1. A USAID team visited Kassala from April 20 to 23,
2006, to assess the humanitarian situation in eastern
Sudan. A disagreement between the U.N. Mission in Sudan
(UNMIS) and Sudan's Government of National Unity (GNU)
concerning implementation of the U.N. Status of Forces
Agreement (SOFA) is preventing U.N. agencies from
conducting humanitarian operations in Kassala State. The
withdrawal of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)
from the Hamesh Koreib enclave continues, but tension has
escalated due to uncertainty surrounding final security
handover procedures. Residents originally displaced from
Hamesh Koreib have expressed their unwillingness to
return following the withdrawal of SPLA forces. These
internally displaced persons (IDPs) are likely motivated
by a desire to maintain access to water, health, and
education services currently provided by non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) in their current IDP communities.
End Summary.

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Background
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2. From April 20 to 23, 2006, USAID Senior Humanitarian
Advisor Kate Farnsworth and Food Security Advisor Abdel
Rahman Hamid visited Kassala State to monitor USAID-
funded activities and gain a better understanding of the
current humanitarian situation in eastern Sudan. The
team held group meetings with local and international
NGOs operating in the area including Accord, the Sudanese
Red Crescent (SRC),Ockenden, the Dutch Red Cross, and
GOAL. In addition, the team convened specific meetings
with GOAL, SRC, the U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO),UNMIS Civil Affairs, U.N. Military
Observers (UNMO),and local political actors including
the Governor of Kassala State, representatives from the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM),and Ahmed
Tirik, leader of the Hadendawa tribe and a former Kassala
State Minister of Education.


3. Sudan's GNU remains suspicious of humanitarian
agencies operating in the east and monitors their work
closely. The USAID visit occurred in tandem with a
similiar field visit of the European Commission
Humanitarian Office (ECHO). The local Humanitarian Aid
Commission (HAC) office detailed two staff members to
travel full time with the USAID and ECHO assessment
teams. HAC officials either participated in or monitored
all conversations that occurred in the field between the
USAID and ECHO teams and beneficiary populations. (Note:
This also happens in other sensitive areas within Sudan,
such as Abyei. End note.) Local officials prevented the
USAID team from traveling to Odi, an International Rescue
Committee (IRC) project area approximately 10 kilometers
from the entry point of the Hamesh Koreib enclave.
Authorities have also blocked IRC's access to Odi in
recent weeks, and only SRC enjoys freedom of movement
throughout the area.

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Status of Forces Disagreement Threatens U.N. Presence in
the East
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4. An ongoing disagreement between UNMIS leadership and
government officials over interpretation of articles 64
and 65 of the U.N. SOFA has brought all U.N. humanitarian
operations outside of Kassala town to a halt. The GNU
insists that the SOFA only applies to UNMIS political and
military personnel. U.N. specialized agencies - such as
the U.N. World Food Program (WFP),U.N. Children's Fund
(UNICEF),U.N. World Health Organization (WHO),U.N. Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO),and U.N. High
Commission for Refugees - continue to assert their right
to travel freely throughout Sudan without obtaining a
government-issued travel permit. The resulting stand-off
has suspended U.N. staff movements out of the immediate
vicinity of Kassala town. Unable to monitor their relief

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and assistance programs, WFP and UNICEF have suspended
food and non-food distributions in the local area. In a
meeting with USAID, the Kassala State Governor asserted
the government's position: that it reserves the right to
monitor and control visitor movements within its
sovereign territory. Furthermore, the GNU sees no reason
to drop this requirement as the U.N. has complied with
such requests for the last 18 years. The Governor
acknowledged the importance of U.N. contributions to the
development of the area and proposed the mutual adoption
of a travel notification system to which both parties
could agree. The U.N. has not yet accepted this proposal
and has threatened to withdraw all operational agencies
from eastern Sudan if the SOFA issue is not resolved in a
timely manner.


5. Meanwhile, non-government organizations (NGOs)
continue to request travel permits to move out of the
city. In general, permits can be obtained in about 24
hours. In some cases, permits are granted for multiple
days to facilitate longer field trips. The USAID team
observed that travel documents are carefully scrutinized
by security officers at each checkpoint. When the USAID
team attempted to visit an FAO project on the periphery
of Kassala town, the group was denied access because the
specific site was not listed on the travel permit.

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SPLA Withdrawal from Hamish Koreib Creates Uncertainty
and Tension
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6. Uncertainty surrounding the withdrawal of SPLA forces
from the Hamesh Koreib enclave is a major topic of
conversation and an ongoing source of tension in eastern
Sudan. While attempting to gain a better understanding
of the challenges facing the local humanitarian
community, the USAID team discovered that even foreign
aid workers are affected by the prevailing tension.
There is general concern within the humanitarian
community that completion of the SPLA withdrawal
(currently scheduled for June) will create a local power
vacuum that will likely result in violent clashes between
Eastern Front and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for control
of the area. One U.N. interlocutor opined that SAF may
initiate reprisals against local civilians accused of
aiding the Eastern Front during the conflict, and that
reprisals of this nature could trigger displacements into
Eritrea. Local residents generally acknowledged the
presence of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels.
Prior to the team's visit, JEM had claimed responsibility
for a security incident at Wager. Since the USAID team
visited the area, JEM rebels ambushed vehicles traveling
on the Port Sudan road while ostensibly targeting the
Kassala State Governor's convoy.


7. The Kassala State Governor promised IRC, USAID's
largest partner in the area, access to Hamish Koreib
following completion of the SPLA withdrawal. SRC is the
only NGO currently permitted to operate in Hamesh Koreib
town. SRC is providing limited health services to local
beneficiaries using a hospital and compound previously
occupied by Samaritan's Purse but does not have the
financial resources to continue operating indefinitely.
SRC expressed interest in a joint partnership with
Samaritan's Purse but Samaritan's Purse has been unable
to obtain a permit to travel to Kassala. USAID partners
who normally work in Hamish Koreib anticipate shortages
of food and medicine should relief programs stall during
this transition period. The government has expressed a
desire to put an end to relief programs in the area and
cannot guarantee the safety of any NGO that would "cross
the front line" from government-held Hamesh Koreib to
"SPLA-controlled" areas.

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USAID Programs - IDPs Are Happy Where They Are
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8. Kassala's 10 IDP camps hold an estimated 78,000
residents who benefit from integrated programs aimed at
addressing the root causes of poverty and marginalization

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in the east. These interventions are funded primarily by
USAID and ECHO. USAID grants to IRC, GOAL, FAO, and WFP
support villages in various localities - including the
government-held areas of Hamesh Koreib - with health,
water, food security, and livelihoods activities such as
restocking, women savings societies, and pasture-land
recovery. These interventions are yielding a positive
impact in the areas served and provide lessons learned
for expansion of similar activities if additional
resources become available. A longer trip report,
submitted separately by e-mail, provides details on
projects and site visits undertaken by the team.


9. IDPs interviewed by the USAID team said they had no
intention of returning home to Hamesh Koreib, even
following the SPLA withdrawal. Since all land in
Hadendawa areas is tribal, IDPs were assured that they
would be able to establish permanent settlements. With
access to good schools, clinics, and safe drinking water,
they see no reason why they should return to the
"enclave". Local residents expressed some concern that
IDPs may be manipulated by tribal leaders who want them
to repopulate areas of the Hamesh Koreib enclave and
reduce the demand for land along the Gash River.
However, the government believes the IDPs will stay where
they are. The government appears to have begun preparing
for this eventuality by investing in social service
infrastructure, such as schools, that will serve groups
of IDP villages.


10. A major conference on humanitarian and development
assistance to the east sponsored by the U.N., NGOs, and
the eastern state governments took place in Port Sudan on
May 2 and 3. Septel will report on the key agenda items
and points of discussion during that meeting.

STEINFELD