ETHIOPIA: ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRAZER MEETS WITH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ADDIS ABABA 002749 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: PGOV PREF PHUM MOPS EAID EAGR ET SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRAZER MEETS WITH NGOS, UN AND AMBASSADORS ON THE OGADEN (C-AL7-10135) REF: A. ADDIS ABABA 2445 ¶B. ADDIS ABABA 2439 ¶C. ADDIS ABABA 2415 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Assistant Secretary Jendayi Frazer met with NGOs, UN agencies, and Ambassadors from major donor countries and interested parties on the Ogaden. In the fourth such meeting convened recently by Ambassador Yamamoto to consider the humanitarian and security situation in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Region, discussion centered on continued concern about humanitarian food deliveries and commercial food trade, the main vehicle for food access by people in the Ogaden, due to insecurity from the ongoing insurgency operation in the Ogaden. A UN assessment team charged with examining access, health, and protection issues had departed for the Ogaden on August 30, but had not yet returned as of the morning of September 6. Some international NGOs, like MSF, highlighted de facto restrictions on NGO activities in some areas of the Ogaden, despite assurances from Ethiopian authorities that no official restrictions existed. Underscoring local authorities' lack of capacity, UN officials stressed that the GOE had to work with international NGOs; donor country ambassadors concurred that engaging federal and local authorities to reaffirm guidelines under which international humanitarian NGOs could operate in the Ogaden was a priority. The meeting also confirmed that there was still a lack of information on the Ogaden, making it difficult to assess the problems in the Ogaden and what specific measures were needed to alieviate such problems. The group did recommend actions to be pursued by the group in addressing concerns in the Ogaden. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) On September 6, AF A/S Jendayi Frazer attended a chief of mission-level meeting of nearly 60 representatives of UN agencies, humanitarian NGOs, and donor countries convened by Ambassador Yamamoto to discuss the current situation in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Region. -------------- - RESULTS OF UN ASSESSMENT TEAM NOT YET RELEASED -------------- - ¶3. (SBU) UNDP Resident Coordinator Fidele Sarassoro noted that a UN assessment team had traveled to the Ogaden for one week (beginning August 30) and had received "good cooperation" from local authorities. While required to be escorted by the Ethiopian military, the team had been "mostly free" to travel where desired; for "security reasons," the team had not gone to certain areas recommended by the Foreign Ministry. While seeking to assess access issues, health, and "the protection of special groups," Sarassoro underscored that the UN team was conducting a preliminary five-day assessment, not "an investigation." He said access to trade and commercial goods was "still an issue," but did not publicly elaborate on the team's findings. ¶4. (SBU) World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director Mohamed Diab asserted that there was "no food blockade," as some 5,000 metric tons (out of 9,000 allocated) was being delivered into restricted areas in the Ogaden. He noted that flooding and drought were among the additional factors exacerbating "security-related constraints" in the region. UNICEF Senior Operations Officer Sonja Leighton-Kone added only that UNICEF staff were "operating without problems." ¶5. (SBU) UN Department of Safety and Security (NDSS) Security Advisor for Ethiopia, Sorrien Scott, observed that the situation in Jijiga (i.e., immediately north of the Ogaden) remained "tense." He reported the detention of local elders, and harassment of some UN local staff by local authorities. Scott highlighted the increased military presence in the Ogaden, noting that there were "more troops in Degehabur than people". Noting the lack of access to the Ogaden for the past three months, Scott stressed the urgency of pressing for access, even if military escort were required. -------------- - NGOS HIGHLIGHT LACK OF ACCESS; CONTROL OF FOOD ADDIS ABAB 00002749 002 OF 004 -------------- - ¶6. (SBU) Some humanitarian NGOs stated that despite the GOE's assertion that access to the Ogaden was not restricted, de facto restrictions barred NGO presence. The Netherlands charge said that the Netherlands would favor a public statement expressing concern that NGOs were not being granted access to the Ogaden. -- Medecins Sans Frontieres-Holland (Doctors Without Borders) Head of Mission Will Robertson confirmed press reports that MSF had been barred from the Ogaden. While talks with the GOE had been "inconclusive," MSF-Holland hoped to regain access, as the GOE maintained that there had been no formal denial of access. (NOTE: MSF-Holland had previously operated mobile health clinics in the Ogaden, as well as a maternal health clinic in the garrison town of Warder. MSF-Holland vacated its clinic in Warder in early August, following an attack on Warder by suspected ONLF forces; see ref B. END NOTE.) -- MSF-Belgium Country Director Francois Calas said the GOE had expelled all MSF-Belgium staff from the Somali Region, even though MSF-Belgium's project had been located outside the Ogaden area. "All of our assets have been seized by local authorities," he added. Both Calas and Robertson noted that despite restrictions on activities in the Somali Region, MSF was not/not being expelled from Ethiopia as a whole. -- Save the Children-U.S. said its ethnic Somali staff in Jijiga had received warnings, and that the regional government was suspicious of international NGOs. -- Action Contre le Faim (ACF)-Ethiopia (Action Against Hunger) Head of Mission Florence Kadir noted that her NGO had access to the Ogaden, but that gaining acccess was "complex." ACF was concerned about the continued de facto ban on commercial food and economic trade. In addition, while food aid had arrived, its distribution was "controlled." ¶7. (SBU) UNDP Coordinator Sarassoro said the issue of NGO access to the Ogaden had been raised with the Somali Region president, who had responded that the GOE was concerned that local staff of international NGOs were often supporters of the ONLF who provided the ONLF assistance. ¶8. (SBU) Citing the local government's lack of capacity, UNDP Resident Coordinator Sarassoro asserted that the GOE needed to work with NGOs. Ambassador Yamamoto concluded that a possible action item might working with the GOE to clarify or reaffirm the guidelines under which international NGOs were to operate in the Somali Region. Japan's Ambassador added that international NGOs should collaborate, noting the presence of NGOs from Japan and China. UK and Norway Ambassadors recommended facilitating dialogue between the federal government and NGOs. ¶9. (SBU) Save the Children-UK acting country director Kimberly Smith observed that as the vulnerable population in the Ogaden required 40,000 metric tons of emergency food aid, the 5,000 tons cited by WFP was insufficient. Furthermore, the local population's lack of access to markets for the past three months led to their lacking the means to purchase commodities. -------------- RISK FROM LANDMINES ALSO IMPEDES ACCESS -------------- ¶10. (SBU) International Rescue Committee (IRC) Country Director David Murphy said that IRC had not had access to the Ogaden for several months, but that this was due to being stopped by both the Ethiopian military and the ONLF alike. He noted that the ONLF had consistently opposed NGOs using staff from the "highlands" (i.e., from Tigray or Amhara Regions, as opposed to ethnic Somalis). While the GOE maintained that there was no "official" restriction on access to the Ogaden, in reality there was no access. Citing the July 29 landmine incident in Degehabur Zone that killed three ADDIS ABAB 00002749 003 OF 004 local workers of a USAID-funded NGO (ref C),Murphy said that six additional landmines had been discovered on the same road. The landmines had been laid recently; the mine in the July 29 incident had not been present 24 hours earlier. Responsibility for laying the mines remained unclear, with the GOE blaming the ONLF, and the ONLF blaming the GOE. (Note: UN sponsored deminers noted to the Embassy privately that most of the landmines uncovered in the region were recently laid, most likely by the ONLF and insurgents targeting the ENDF. End Note.) -------------- HEADS OF MISSION ADVOCATE FURTHER ENGAGEMENT -------------- ¶11. (SBU) MSF-Holland's Will Robertson said that while MSF had not had any staff in Warder for one month now, MSF had seen burnt and empty villages in the Ogaden. MSF had also received second-hand information of local populations being moved by government trucks, and of Ogadenis fleeing Warder for Somalia. French Ambassador noted reports of ethnic Ogadeni being arrested in Addis Ababa, although this may be related to security preparations for the upcoming Ethiopian Millennium celebrations. UNDP Coordinator Sarassoro acknowledged that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission may be considering a trip to the Ogaden, but only to conduct training, not to investigate alleged human rights abuses. ¶12. (SBU) Canadian Ambassador stated that it was "premature" for donors to issue any public statements, without having received the results of the UN assessment team to the Ogaden. ¶13. (SBU) Portugal's Ambassador agreed that public statements could be counterproductive, so long as the GOE was cooperating with the UN; the MFA had acknowledged a "humanitarian problem" in the Ogaden, she said, but had also highlighted the role of insurgents and their alleged support by Eritrea, Somalia's former Council of Islamic Courts (CIC), and the diaspora. The MFA did not support a visit now to the area by all EU heads of mission, she added, although visits by smaller groups may be possible. France's Ambassador recommended that heads of donor embassies each visit the development projects they supported in the Somali Region, in order to obtain further first-hand information. ¶14. (SBU) Ambassador Yamamoto highlighted the need to engage Ogadeni elders, and cited reports of executions being carried out by both government and insurgent forces. As GOE officials downplayed the severity of the situation in the Ogaden, and denied reports of killings, it was important to work with authorities to obtain additional information. ¶15. (SBU) COMMENT. Observations from UN agencies were generally restrained, as the UN assessment mission to the Ogaden had not yet returned nor released its findings. Preliminary indications, however (septel),are that the team's findings are not encouraging. Promoting access by humanitarian NGOs and others to the Ogaden remains a priority: the departure of MSF from the Ogaden follows the GOE's expulsion of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from the Somali Region, and few humanitarian actors remain to either provide humanitarian assistance or monitoring of health or food needs. ¶15. (SBU) The group did agree on several course of action, following up on the last meetings hosted by the U.S. Embassy. Due to lack of concrete information, it was agreed that no statement would be issued; all Ambassadors will continue to work wtih the GOE to encourage opening corridors for commercial food trade as well as opening new cooridors for humanitarian food relief; encourage the GOE to provide more information, working with the press and international community to address specific concerns; encourage the GOE to dispatch the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to investigate human rights abuse charges; and work with the OGE on upcoming visit to the Ogaden being arranged for the diplomatic corps. A/S Frazer's subsequent September 8 visit to Gode (in the Ogaden),with Ambassador Yamamoto and other U.S. officials, will be reported septel. END COMMENT. ADDIS ABAB 00002749 004 OF 004 ¶16. (U) AF A/S Frazer cleared this cable. YAMAMOTO