Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KHARTOUM491
2006-02-27 06:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Khartoum
Cable title:  

Sudan/Unity State: Sources of Fragility

Tags:  EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1633
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0491/01 0580652
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 270652Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1628
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY 0156
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KHARTOUM 000491 

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/Unity State: Sources of Fragility


KHARTOUM 00000491 001.2 OF 004


-------------------
Summary and Comment
-------------------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KHARTOUM 000491

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/Unity State: Sources of Fragility


KHARTOUM 00000491 001.2 OF 004


--------------
Summary and Comment
--------------


1. USAID staff visited Rubkona/Bentiu from February 19-
22, 2006. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) has
significantly improved security as the militia groups
that dominated the area during the war have integrated
into the SPLA. However, a number of factors threaten the
uneasy peace: a dispute over the border with South
Kordofan and thus the revenues of the lucrative Heglig
oil field, he mhgr!tion ofJaggra@(Liw3ipm) nouads-qnd$5hc!dc2gQbeczQ_gz'QupNok`kh@~BcQ`% udo,^Q^c4QH+a1be%E`U3Q7QQ5e it clear that he was
"counting on USAID" to provide humanitarian assistance
while the SPLM "takes care of the army." Capacity in the
area for community-based organizations to manage a
humanitarian response is also very weak, making it
difficult for the small international NGO community to
expand their work rapidly. Provision of potable water is
the most urgent need, especially in the urban and peri-
urban zones, in addition to a food aid package to carry
returnees up through the next harvest. A strong
injection of energy and expertise is needed from the
humanitarian community to support the reintegration of
the returnees, while dialogue with the state government
on what it will contribute to the process must continue.
End summary and comment.

--------------
Brief Background
--------------


3. USAID staff (Senior Humanitarian Advisor and FSN IDP
focal point) visited Unity State from February 19-22,
2006, to investigate reports of large number of returnees
to the northern part of the state and to examine factors
of fragility as part of an ongoing exercise to fine tune
the DCHA programming in Sudan (Note: visits have already
been made to the Nuba Mountains, Abyei, Twic County, Bor,
and Wau/Aweil - ongoing). During the visit, the team

traveled to Abiemnon in Mayom County, near the border
with Warrap State and South Kordofan/Abyei, and to a
fishing village along the White Nile in the oil fields to
visit a group of fishermen who are benefiting from USAID
funding. The delegation held meetings with GoSS
authorities, traditional leaders, and community-based
organizations as well as the UN agencies and NGOs
operating in the area.


4. Unity State comprises an estimated population of
587,639 based on the WFP Annual Needs Assessment of 2005.
Approximately 75 percent of the population is Nuer, and
the remaining part Dinka and other tribes. There are 9
counties under the current administrative system, with
the Governor (Taban Deng) based in Bentiu along with his
state cabinet. A tributary of the nearby White Nile, the
Bahr el Ghazal River, flows through the town, dividing
Rubkona (where NGOs live and work and the location of the
airport) and Bentiu town (seat of government). A new
bridge has recently been constructed by one of the oil
companies linking the two cities.
The tributary as well as the Nile are heavily clogged by
papyrus and water lily in this area and have been
unnavigable since 2004. Unity State is rich in oil and
fertile land, but the population depends heavily on
humanitarian assistance due to the insecurity endured
during the war.

--------------
Rubkona/Bentiu Transformed by Peace
--------------


5. The peace accord has brought about a level of
security unknown by the population of the state during

KHARTOUM 00000491 002.2 OF 004


the war. The South Sudan Independence Movement (SSIM)
and South Sudan Unity Movement(SSUM) SSIM and SSUM
militia have been absorbed into the SPLA, guns are no
longer evident on the streets, and gunshots no longer
interrupt the night. Random taxation by armed groups is
a thing of the past, although government-imposed taxes
remain. The curfew is lifted and the population is free
to move around between the two cities throughout the day
and night. The market in Rubkona is filled with goods,
including furniture, clothing, watches, and sunglasses,
in addition to food items. Although expensive, and not
much evidence of wide-scale purchasing by the local
population, the mere presence of so many merchants and
goods shows there was some confidence within the private
sector. (Note: As a security measure, the GoSS is
staffing security posts at the market edges following a
spike of violence that included destruction of some
stalls in the market, after the death of John Garang in
late July. A significant number of traders in the market
are Zaghawa from Darfur. End note.) During the team's
visit, a huge dredger was cutting away the papyrus and
water lily to open up the river. According to the
governor, the rivers, both the White Nile and the
tributary, will be clear by the end of the month,
permitting a resumption of water traffic into the state.

--------------
Sources of Fragility
--------------


6. The most pressing issue threatening stability in
Unity State is the row over the northern border with
South Kordofan/Abyei. At stake is the siting of the well-
head of the lucrative Heglig oil field. The state owning
the well would receive 2 percent of the revenues.
According to the local authorities, the border of Unity
State per the 1956 maps that are the guide for the CPA
puts Heglig well into Unity State. They are very upset
with the UN, which has issued maps showing Heglig outside
of Unity State and as a "contested area" reflecting
claims by Khartoum that Heglig is part of Abyei (and for
the time being, South Kordofan due to the lack of
administration in Abyei). The Sudanese Armed Forces
(SAF),which relied on the southern militia to protect
the oil fields during the war, has recently deployed
about 500 troops to the area to maintain a counterbalance
to the militia who are now SPLA. Recent pronouncements
from the Presidency indicate that any decision on the
Unity State border will await the review of the Boundary
Commission that will be looking at other border issues
throughout the south. Meanwhile, the stand off continues
on the ground.


7. Throughout the war, militia aligned to the government
and the SPLA battled for control of the area and
disrupted the population through banditry, harassment,
and violence. As a result, the northern part of Unity
State was in a persistent state of emergency throughout
the war, and the few NGOs who operated in the area were
often forced to evacuate or reduce staff. Keeping the
militia under control will be critical to consolidating
the peace. The Governor told USAID that his priority is
to use any financial resource coming to the state to pay
the army.


8. More worrying to local authorities is what they
describe as a deliberate arming of Missirya nomads by the
SAF. The annual migration is one time when the encounter
of Arab nomads and Nuer farmers/herders can result in
tensions. Traditional conflict resolution mechanisms
were employed to negotiate migration routes and access to
water. This time, there is concern that the Missirya are
trying to lay claim to land in the area and to take over
economic activities, including charcoal production, sale
of poles, and forest products. The governor told USAID
that a meeting between Dinka, Nuer, and Missirya was
reportedly held recently near Heglig to calm tensions and
that further discussions are planned.


9. The UN estimates that over 45,000 internally
displaced persons have returned to Unity State, with most

KHARTOUM 00000491 003.2 OF 004


of them passing through a northern point at Kharasana in
Pariang country and then moving on to Rubkona/Bentieu and
points south or to Warrap to the west or Upper Nile and
Jonglei to the east. Tracking and monitoring of returnee
flows has been marred by irregular payments to
enumerators, and the fact that Kharasana is in a
"contested area," means that IOM has opted not to put a
way station there, instead convincing the governor it
should be in Bentiu town.


10. The team visited Abiemnon in Mayom County in the
northwest of the state. The area was completely
abandoned during the war and counted only 15 huts a few
months ago when CARE conducted an initial assessment.
Today, the small village is now a town, with a market,
several thousand residents, and a local administration. A
busload of returnees from Khartoum had just arrived,
offering the opportunity of interviews by the USAID and
CARE team. Overwhelmingly, everyone asked why he or she
had returned to Unity State said it was because security
had been restored. However, returnees also said that
they had expected to find services in the area and were
concerned to be learning that there was little to be
found (Note: CARE does have a clinic and has been
providing a food rations to the returnees. End note.)
Because in Abiemnon and in other places there is no
genuine "host population," the entire population of
returnees is dependent on international assistance until
the first crops can be grown.


11. One of the first challenges to returnees is to
reclaim their original villages. Many of the villages no
longer exist having been taken over by the oil companies,
whose presence is significant in this area. Formal
compensation plans are not yet in place, but the subject
is heavily discussed by officials and the local
population. The northern part of the state is heavily
criss-crossed with oil roads, many of which the governor
said are damaging to the environment as they were
constructed without consideration for the drainage that
is needed in this heavily swampy area.


12. Villages have also been reclaimed by heavy forest
and will require extensive clearing by the population to
open areas for habitation and cultivation. Some UNMIS
officials believe that the GoSS is deliberately
encouraging resettlement in the northern part of the
state to protect the oil fields. If the past is prologue
in the South (i.e., the "Bor Wars") an aid-receiving
population can be a source of sustenance for a fighting
army.

--------------
Humanitarian Response Behind the Curve
--------------


13. The organization of the humanitarian community in
Unity is not yet fully consistent with the new situation
in the south. OCHA pointed out to USAID that NGOs who
worked from the "southern sector" for the most part have
still not established a presence in the capital of the
state, a former garrison city under then-GOS control.
Likewise, NGOs who served Bentiu and other GOS-controlled
areas from Khartoum continue to do so largely for
logistics reasons and have not yet moved their center of
operations to Juba. There is a monthly coordination
meeting, but OCHA indicated that not all NGOs are
actively participating as yet. The small UN team in
Rubkona/Bentiu needs to be reinforced to handle the
growing returnee situation and the potential crises that
could erupt in the area over oil and/or inter-ethnic
tensions.


14. USAID partner CARE is off to a slow start in
implementing a community based livelihoods and capacity
building program for returnees that was funded in 2005.
It has started a carpentry workshop, obtained land, and
provided seeds for women's communal gardening, and is
supporting groups of fishermen along the White Nile. The
need for community organization and grass-roots driven
development is high, but the implementing capacity of

KHARTOUM 00000491 004.2 OF 004


local NGOs is very weak, slowing down delivery of
urgently needed skills building.


15. CARE has been WFP's partner in the distribution of
full rations to the returnees and half rations to
vulnerable groups. CARE also has a separate pipeline
from USAID/FFP that it will use to target a specific
community before handing over all distributions to German
Agro Action. The WFP program targets a total of 103,304
food aid beneficiaries in Unity State. State health care
services are weak, and CARE serves former GOS areas of
the State with a network of 5 clinics (Note: NGOs who
work from Nairobi service many of the rural areas that
have been consistently under SPLM control. End note.)
MSF/F is focusing their medical work on specialized
tuberculosis and Kala Azar clinics, while ACF/F is
handling the nutrition sector with a small wat/san and
food security component in Rubkona/Bentiu. World Relief,
operating from Nairobi, is one of several NGOs providing
health support in the rural parts of the northern
counties and plans under new funding from USAID to move
some of their activities to the towns that are hosting
large numbers of returnees.


16. An oil-company constructed hospital opened in Bentiu
in late 2005, but is staffed and equipped very poorly
according to the NGOs and UN. Nonetheless, the one
doctor is able to deal with difficult obstetric cases,
saving the long trip to the next closest hospital at
Heglig.



17. Provision of potable water is the most critical task
facing the state now that the displaced are returning in
droves. The problem is particularly acute in the
Rubkona/Bentiu urban zone, where water near the surface
is too salty and further down has been tested as too
contaminated for human consumption. Wells must be
drilled to at least 200 meters to obtain "sweet water."
In the case of the Rubkona/Bentiu, filtering water from
the Nile is the most logical intervention over the long
term, but at present there is only a small system that
provides a fraction of the town's needs. As with Juba,
if potable water issues are not addressed, larger-scale
outbreaks of diarrheal disease could be anticipated in
the near future, leading to a large-scale emergency.
Various partners, including USAID partner PACT and ACF/F,
are engaged in the water sector, but the pace of drilling
is not keeping up with the needs of the population.

HUME