FEBRUARY PRM VISIT TO SYRIA AND JORDAN FOCUSED ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 001067 SIPDIS SIPDIS NOFORN STATE ALSO FOR PRM, CA AND NEA C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARAGRAPH MARKINGS) E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2017 TAGS: PREF PREL SY IZ JO SUBJECT: FEBRUARY PRM VISIT TO SYRIA AND JORDAN FOCUSED ON IRAQI REFUGEE SITUATION AND ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION REF: AMMAN 786 AMMAN 00001067 001.2 OF 004 Classified By: CDA Daniel Rubinstein for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). U) This trip report was cleared by PRM/ANE Director Richard Albright and Embassy Damascus. 1.(SBU) SUMMARY: Many Iraqi families displaced to Syria and Jordan lack access to health care, and most Iraqi children in these countries are not going to school, according to international and non-governmental organizations in the region. Hard or reliable data on the number of Iraqis accessing social services is limited, and estimates vary widely. While completion of comprehensive assessments on the needs of externally displaced Iraqis is still pending, UNHCR and NGOs agree that there is a need to engage the SARG and the GOJ on the issue now. END SUMMARY. VERIFY BUT ASSIST -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) Office Director for Assistance to Asia and the Near East Richard Albright and Baghdad RefCoord visited Amman February 21 to 28 and met, together with Amman RefCoord, with UNHCR representatives from Jordan, Iraq and Syria and with NGOs currently assisting Iraqis in the region to discuss the needs of Iraqis in Jordan, Syria and beyond. UN and NGO estimates of Iraqis in Jordan ranged from 400,000 to 800,000. For Syria, the estimated range is 600,000 to more than one million. While all of their interlocutors agreed there is a need to conduct comprehensive assessments on externally displaced Iraqis, they also underscored that interventions on behalf of the most vulnerable should not wait for the completion of the reports the Norwegian NGO FAFO is expected to prepare for the GOJ and possibly also for the SARG (see septel for anticipated start dates). Provision of health and education is of special concern to UNHCR and NGOs. UNHCR is starting to direct assistance to these two areas, while its protection activities will continue to focus on registration, and increasing the number of referrals for third country resettlement. NOTE: The Government of Jordan asked UNHCR on March 4 to suspend registration, pending further consultations on the issue. See septel for update on this and other protection issues. Embassy Amman believes the March 4 decision was not fully coordinated within the senior levels of the GOJ and is aware that UNHCR will be engaging the GOJ in coming days to clarify the situation. END NOTE. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE TO IRAQIS IN SYRIA -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Albright and Amman and Baghdad RefCoords met Laurens Jolles, UNHCR's Syria representative, in Amman February 24. Jolles estimated that an average of 1,000 Iraqis cross the border into Syria every day and do not return. The SARG, Jolles said, does not register Iraqis at the border, and is not organized well enough to track them once they enter Syria. Most Iraqis are concentrated in Damascus, according to Jolles. As of February 24, UNHCR had registered 53,000 Iraqis in Syria. UNHCR expects this figure to increase, as hundreds of Iraqis continue to approach UNHCR every week for protection letters and consideration for third-country resettlement. Jolles stated that some in the SARG would like to tighten up the border, and also make it more difficult for Iraqis to remain in Syria, as they are concerned about the criminal behavior of some Iraqis. Many Syrians resent the Iraqis, whom they view as a social and economic burden. Already, Jolles said, there were reports of Iraqis kidnapping other Iraqis on Syrian territory. Jolles added that the SARG had already deported some Iraqis suspected of engaging in this or other criminal activities. Child labor, prostitution, and human trafficking among Iraqis in Syria are also a matter of concern for both UNHCR and the SARG. ¶4. (SBU) The SARG allows Iraqi children to attend public schools, but many do not. The SARG has reported to UNHCR that there are 28,000 Iraqi children in Syrian schools. While UNHCR does not have figures on the number of school-age Iraqi children in Syria, they may represent between 25% and 40% of all Iraqis in the country. If the 28,000 enrollment figure is correct, and if estimates that between 600,000 to more than 1 million Iraqis are in Syria are correct, only a small percentage of Iraqi children are receiving an education. While the SARG is not deporting Iraqis who are overstaying their visas in Syria, many Iraqi families are nevertheless afraid that it might, and are fear enrollment could lead to the family's deportation. Jolles cited other AMMAN 00001067 002.2 OF 004 impediments including overcrowding in some schools, economic pressure for children to work illegally (children are also more easily employed because they earn lower wages),cost of school uniforms and materials, the lack of Iraqi school records and lack of property lease agreements, which some school administrators are now requiring. Since 2005, Jolles said, the SARG has made it more difficult for Iraqis to access government health services in Syria. ¶5. (C) UNHCR has committed USD 15 million to assist Iraqis in Syria. Approximately USD 7.4 million will fund cooperative agreements to provide social services to Iraqis through the ministries of health, education, and higher education (for specialized treatment at university hospitals) and another USD 600,000 will go the governorate of Hassakeh to support Palestinians housed at its El-Hol camp. Another six million will be provided to NGOs and to programs directly implemented by UNHCR. The balance will cover UNHCR administrative expenses and salaries. ¶6. (C) NGOs operating in Syria face many obstacles. Some international NGOs may succeed in getting registered in Syria or working out arrangements that allow them to operate within Syrian law, but the SARG appears unlikely to allow them to work independently. International NGOs, Jolles added, would need to work with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society (SARC). The SARC, Jolles thought, would try to control implementation of any international NGO program, but would respect the humanitarian character of the interventions. In a separate February 22 roundtable with NGOs, NGO representatives currently operating in Jordan who had traveled to Damascus recently stated that the SARG had made it very clear it would not allow any training programs (which the SARG inherently distrusts as potentially subversive) but would accept humanitarian goods for distribution. ¶7. (C) Jolles said that UNHCR was relieved that the SARG continued to allow the presence and entry of large numbers of Iraqis, and had abstained from any mass deportations. He added that the SARG longs for international recognition that it is playing a positive role in this regard, and feels that it should not carry this burden by itself. Jolles said that the SARG would also like recognition that the USG has a political responsibility for the Iraq crisis, and would welcome a senior level political dialogue beyond humanitarian issues. Finally, Jolles thought the SARG would welcome a large-scale third-country resettlement program for Iraqi refugees in Syria. ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND HEALTH SERVICES IN JORDAN -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Visiting PRM officers and Amman and Baghdad RefCoords met UNHCR's outgoing Jordan representative Robert Breen February 25. Breen stressed that there is no hard data -- official or unofficial -- on the number of Iraqis in Jordan. According to figures the GOJ had cited in meetings with HC Guterres during his visit to Jordan in February, as many as 150,000 Iraqis in Jordan are legal residents, out of the 400,000 to 800,000 Iraqis estimated by UNHCR in Jordan. ¶9. (SBU) Jordan limits access to most public and private schools to children who are legal residents. Breen stated that the GOJ told Guterres that 3,000 Iraqi children are registered in Jordanian public schools and an additional 9,000 in private schools. Some public schools have permitted out-of-status Iraqis to enroll their children on parents' promises that they would obtain legal residence. NOTE: During February 22 house visits to beneficiaries of the USG-funded ICMC program assisting extremely vulnerable Iraqis in Jordan, Albright met families whose children were recently forced out of schools when they were unable to produce residency papers, as well as families who had been in Jordan two-three years but whose children had never enrolled. END NOTE. ¶10. (SBU) Breen acknowledged that there are political and resource impediments to making education accessible to refugee children. According to Breen, on the political level, the GOJ remains extremely reluctant to recognize that Iraqis are refugees and to take on any obligation to protect and assist them. As such, the GOJ considers Iraqis to be visitors, not refugees. Breen added that Jordan's history as the largest host to Palestinian refugees makes any discussion of accommodating another large refugee population extremely sensitive politically. While some Jordanian officials have expressed concerns to UNHCR about the needs of Iraqis, Breen commented that they need senior level GOJ approval to start AMMAN 00001067 003.2 OF 004 addressing the problem and this has not been forthcoming. ¶11. (SBU) From a resource perspective, Breen noted that the capacity of the health and education sectors in Jordan is also very limited. In a separate February 22 meeting, a representative of the Jordanian Red Crescent Society who was formerly a senior official in the Ministry of Education explained that the MOE does not have the resources to educate Iraqi children. The Jordanian Ministry of Education's budget, he said, is approximately USD 100 million a year. There are already about 1 million students in Jordanian schools. Opening schools for Iraqis, he estimated, would necessitate expanding capacity by thirty percent or more, with a proportional increase in the ministry's budget. Breen asserted that UNHCR has offered to assist with the required resources, but the GOJ has so far refused to engage with him. Breen also claimed that Ministry of Health officials no longer return UNHCR calls, in what he believes is a clear sign that they lack policy guidance and that it is a very sensitive issue for the GOJ. ¶12. (SBU) Dennis Walto, from the NGO Save the Children USA, told Albright and RefCoords on February 22 that the GOJ had failed to recognize the needs of Iraqis in Jordan, and this was a major impediment to expanding NGO services. Walto noted that the GOJ would like to see resources made available before agreeing to expand services, but also made it difficult for donors, NGOs and international organizations to offer these resources because of its reluctance to discuss the issue and facilitate needs assessments. Other international NGOs at that meeting agreed that due to GOJ sensitivities, it is very difficult to engage the GOJ in discussions relating to the education of Iraqis, and lamented the GOJ's recent closure of a Christian private school, the Grace school, that had been operating for 12 years and where 400 Iraqi children were currently attending classes. NOTE: According to the GOJ, this school had been operating without the required registration. END NOTE. Walto stated that NGOs could bring some resources forward, and that Save the Children would be prepared to open a school in Amman for Iraqis, if the GOJ would allow it. However, Walto and others conceded that NGO programs to provide formal and non-formal education to Iraqi children would only reach a small percentage of those in need. The added value of the NGOs, they thought, would be in areas like special education, addressing the needs of the handicapped, and in assisting other vulnerable groups because NGOs lack the capacity and resources to educate the thousands of Iraqi children who are currently not attending school. In the meantime, many Iraqi children are already two or three years behind academically. Many NGO representatives also complained that registration in Jordan is a cumbersome process. There is no single point of contact that NGOs can refer to (there are several ministries involved) and obtaining tax exemption and other privileges can take months, according to these NGOs. Mercy Corps said it had taken four years for it to obtain registration with the Ministry of Social Affairs, which is a requirement for programs targeting Jordanians. ¶13. (SBU) NGOs could have a greater impact on health than on education. According to NGOs Albright met in Amman, Iraqis in Jordan will only go to public hospitals in case of an emergency. While the GOJ public health system is already overstretched, there is a well-developed private health system that NGOs can tap into (provided funding is available) to address the health needs of Iraqis. ¶14. (SBU) According to Dr. Mohammed Al-Hadid, President of the Jordanian Red Crescent (JRC),many Iraqis have real health needs that are going unmet because the most visible Iraqi presence in Jordan are wealthy Iraqis. In a meeting with PRM on February 21, Al-Hadid also argued that health care must be introduced in the poor communities of Amman that are attracting Iraqis. JRC established a small clinic in the Hashmeh district of Amman last year to target poor Iraqis that now assists over 50 poor Iraqis every day. The clinic provides medication and medical examinations virtually free (the JRC charges a one dollar fee per visit to discourage Iraqis from overusing the services). The program was initially designed to run for only a year, but JRC has now extended it for another year, as many Iraqis depend on it for health services. Dr. Al-Hadid noted that JRC was able to hire Iraqi doctors and staff to operate the clinic, despite initial resistance from the GOJ. Al-Hadid expressed readiness to expand health care services to Iraqis if funding were available. COMMENT AMMAN 00001067 004.3 OF 004 -------------- ¶15. (C) UNHCR in Jordan and Syria, and NGOs operating in the region, see a real need to significantly expand assistance for Iraqis in these two countries. While the GOJ and the SARG have shown a high degree of tolerance for externally displaced Iraqis, they lack the resources to address their needs. NGOs can play a positive role in providing health services to poor, externally displaced Iraqis. They cannot, however, establish a separate educational system for Iraqi children. Establishing an effective working environment in Jordan for UNHCR remains a major challenge. In Syria the challenge is to open space for international NGOs to operate. END COMMENT. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Hale