ETHIOPIA: (C-AL7-01035) UNOCHA REPORTS EMERGENCY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ADDIS ABABA 002439 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/E, INR/AA, AND PRM/AFR LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER CJTF-HOA AND USCENTCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PGOV PINS PHUM EAID EAGR ET SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: (C-AL7-01035) UNOCHA REPORTS EMERGENCY FOOD STILL NOT DELIVERED TO OGADEN REF: A. ADDIS ABABA 2413 (AND PREVIOUS) ¶B. ADDIS ABABA 2415 ¶C. ADDIS ABABA 2376 ¶D. STATE 83346 (NOTAL) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. An August 2 briefing by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reports that despite the recent decision by Somali Region officials to allow emergency food relief to the Ogaden area---where military operations against suspected Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) insurgents are continuing--no such food delivery has been undertaken yet. Moreover, GOE restrictions on commercial food remain in effect and are being strictly enforced by the military. UN agencies and NGOs, including WFP, concur that the resumption of commercial food deliveries to the area is key, especially as the emergency allocation represents only one-eighth of the food needed by the population. UN officials report incidents of alleged forced displacement and extrajudicial killings (including the alleged hanging by the military of 13 villagers),but note that abuses have also been attributed to the ONLF. While the foreign ministry asserts that ICRC was expelled from the Ogaden because it was collaborating with the ONLF, the GOE's acceptance of UN agencies and NGOs working on health issues (such as cholera) may provide an opening for expanding humanitarian access to the Ogaden. END SUMMARY. -------------- ETHIOPIAN MILITARY TO ESCORT FOOD RELIEF -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On August 2, UNOCHA Head of Office and Deputy to the Humanitarian Coordinator Paul Hebert briefed humanitarian NGOs, UN agencies, and donor representatives on his consultations with Somali Region officials during a visit to Jijiga, capital of Ethiopia's Somali Region. -- EMERGENCY FOOD STILL NOT DELIVERED TO OGADEN: Hebert underscored that the GOE had not banned humanitarian relief, but noted that no allocation had been made. The WFP, federal-level Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) and the regional state-level Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau (DPPB) were still in the process of working out "modalities" to deliver emergency food to the 5 conflict zones. The GOE was supposed to have delivered food to the 5 zones in the previous zone, but had not. -- MILITARY ESCORT TO ZONES: WFP reported that military escort of food convoys was "unavoidable." The Ethiopian military would escort emergency food convoys at the zonal level, but that distribution would be under the DPPB, not under military escort. It was not yet clear whether 40 distribution points identified by the DPPA, DPPB, and WFP would be used. "With the consent of the military," trucks were expected to depart Dire Dawa on August 3 for delivery in the following week to 2 woredas (out of 4) in Warder; the 2 woredas were outside the area of current military operations. -- BAN OF COMMERCIAL FOOD CONTINUES: GOE restrictions on commercial food in the Ogaden were still in effect and strictly enforced, according to Hebert. GOE officials (including the head of the regional justice bureau) justified the ban on "contraband" as being "essential" and one that would last for several more weeks. Officials asserted that food trucks had been used previously to smuggle arms to the ONLF. While some food had been trucked to the towns of Kebridehar (Korahe Zone),Fik, and Warder (i.e., in three of the five zones where military operations against the ONLF are continuing),Hebert said both NGOs and local officials reported that the military was not allowing food to leave the towns but was confiscating it at checkpoints. -- COMMERCIAL FOOD IS WHAT IS NEEDED: A key finding of an UNOCHA report to UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes was that restrictions on the transport and delivery of commercial food were "the most important impediment" to food security in the Ogaden, as 90 percent of food availability depended on commercial--not emergency--food. Thus, the ADDIS ABAB 00002439 002 OF 004 delivery of humanitarian food relief was not key; if commercial food were allowed, the Somali Region would not be experiencing a "food crisis." WFP Officer-in-Charge Sonali Wickrema noted that the current emergency food allocation totaled only 4,000 metric tons, whereas WFP assessed some 30,000 metric tons were needed for the Ogaden per month. -- ADDITIONAL FOOD ASSESSMENTS NEEDED: While joint assessments for the current "Gu" (rainy) season had been done for all zones of the Somali Region, and showed that good rain and other factors had led to "very little need" for humanitarian food assistance, the methodology of such assessments did not/not take into account the lack of commercial food, the closure of borders, or population displacement. (NOTE: In fact, the partner-funded assessment teams were unable to travel to large areas of 4 of the 5 conflict zones; see REF A. END NOTE.) Additional assessments would thus be required in the future. -------------- -------------- GOE ACCUSES ICRC OF COLLABORATING WITH ONLF REBELS -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Military operations against suspected insurgents continued. While the foreign ministry asserted that ICRC's expulsion from the Somali Region was a local, not federal, decision, the foreign ministry had accused the ICRC of collaborating with the ONLF: -- There was "no apparent relaxation" of military activities in the Ogaden. Hebert reported that the regional government had increased the Somali Region security budget from 15 to 53 million birr (USD 5.8 million),the bulk of which would go to government militia. No one had the ability to move freely in the Ogaden without dealing with "cumbersome procedures"; GOE approval was required to leave major towns. -- There were 4 non-Ogadeni woredas where there were no military operations ongoing: Misrak Gashamo (Degehabur Zone) -- A July 29 landmine incident--involving a vehicle belonging to the Ogaden Welfare and Development Association (OWDA) traveling east from Degehamedo to Degehabur Woredas (in Degehabur Zone)--killed three individuals (ref B). The incident raised concerns about the safety of UN and NGO personnel, should they be allowed to travel to the Ogaden. UNOCHA Information and Advocacy Officer Greg Beals said that UNOCHA assumed the ONLF were using landmines to target ENDF military vehicles, as they were the only ones on the roads; the ONLF had not previously used landmines against civilian vehicles. -- Hebert noted that an August 1 foreign ministry statement asserts that the ICRC had been asked to leave at the request of the regional government, and that the ICRC was collaborating with the ONLF. He said there were "indications" of a government committee being formed to examine activities of other NGOs, but noted that no other NGOs had been asked to depart the Somali Region. Hebert said the UN may issue a statement calling for the return of the ICRC, as the ICRC's presence was "crucial." -------------- -------------- UN MAY REQUEST GOE TO INVESTIGATE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) UNOCHA's report recommended that the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes request--through the GOE PermRep to the UN in New York--that the GOE conduct an investigation of allegations of instances of violations of international humanitarian law, such as allegations of burnt villages and extrajudicial killings. UN officials noted the GOE's obligations to observe international humanitarian law, which applied to civil wars. The ICRC had declared the situation in the Ogaden to be a "non-international conflict," requiring both the ENDF and ONLF to observe international norms. ¶5. (SBU) Hebert said the UN had "corroboration," but not ADDIS ABAB 00002439 003 OF 004 confirmation, of villages being burnt, villagers being harassed or killed extrajudiciously, and denial of access to water. Several alleged incidents of forced displacement and alleged extrajudicial killings included: -- In Kebridehar, a military commander had told local elders to assembly villages into 4 specific villages; all other areas were considered "off-limits." -- In Warder),non-ethnic Ogadeni villagers were reportedly told to "help the government" or else they would be "treated like Ogadeni." -- In an unspecified village, the military had allegedly rounded up 13 villages by name, removed them to another location, and then killed them by hanging them from the side of the road. Hebert said this incident had been reported by multiple UN and ONLF sources. -- Hebert hastened to add that there were "similar reports" of abuses attributed to the ONLF, as well as the Ethiopian military; "all sides" were committing "human rights violations." ¶6. (SBU) The UN was reviewing whether it should seek a "semi-permanent presence" in the 5 conflict zones of the Ogaden, in order to enhance its ability to provide protection and monitoring. Currently, UN agencies were based only in Jijiga (outside the Ogaden) and Gode. -------------- HEALTH A CONCERN--AND POTENTIAL ENTRY POINT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) UNOCHA Head of Office Hebert highlighted the GOE's acceptance of UN agencies and NGOs working on health issues, such as acute watery diarrhea (AWD) or cholera, to note that this could provide an "entry point" in an incremental approach to expanding humanitarian access to the Ogaden. The head of the Somali Region health bureau had called for "as many health NGOs as possible" to come to the Region. The UN would therefore push for a joint assessment, via the WHO and the GOE Ministry of Health; discussions on "modalities" were underway. -- WHO representative, noting that WHO was based in Jijiga, said WHO lacked the capacity to monitor health conditions in the Somali Region, and appealed for information from NGOs. -- According to Hebert, the Somali Region health bureau reported "severe malnutrition" in 5 specific woredas: Segeg, Gerbo, and Dihun (in Fik Zone); Degehamedo (in neighboring Degehabur Zone); and Denan (in Gode Zone). Deaths from AWD/cholera were also reported in Fik. AWD had previously been reported throughout the Ogaden, but no detailed information had been received on the situation since (the launch of the counterinsurgency) in May. Local health officials were appealing for international and NGO assistance. -- MSF-Holland representative noted that MSF did not observe a health crisis in Warder Zone. When conducting 5 mobile clinics in the Ogaden, MSF-Holland had been able to access villages. MSF was reassessing security in Warder, which it vacated following an ONLF attack on the ENDF garrison town, but MSF would not accept military escort. MSF-Belgium was pushing to open a project in Fik. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT. To exchange further information on the situation in the Somali Region, and to consider alternatives for future action, Ambassador will convene a meeting of UN agencies, USAID-funded NGOs operating in the Ogaden, and key donor embassies, on August 3--following up on a similar meeting held July 3. The UN publicly calling for the return of the ICRC to the Somali Region could further strain GOE relations with the ICRC, which so far has maintained a low-key approach to its expulsion, and which has not been asked to curtail its other operations throughout Ethiopia. The ICRC was likely expelled because of its sensitive work on human rights: in May, it had presented a report on the Ethiopian military's activities in the Ogaden, and its effect on the civilian population, to a senior ENDF principal (ref C). If so, then any potential USG interventions on behalf of the ICRC should highlight the ICRC's work on health and water issues, rather than the ICRC's equally important--but more politically sensitive--work on international humanitarian law. END COMMENT. ADDIS ABAB 00002439 004 OF 004 YAMAMOTO