UPDATE ON IRAQIS IN JORDAN - MAY 31

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002341 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREF IZ JO SUBJECT: UPDATE ON IRAQIS IN JORDAN - MAY 31 REF: AMMAN 2178 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) FAFO Study -------------- ¶1. (C) On May 29, Poloff met with a counterpart from the Norwegian Embassy, which is funding the FAFO study to assess the numbers and conditions of Iraqis currently living in Jordan. The Norwegian Embassy expects FAFO to be ready to brief at least preliminary findings to interested governments in mid-June, and anticipates that FAFO will estimate approximately 450,000 Iraqis in Jordan, significantly less than the 750,000 and higher estimates often used by international organizations and in the media. ¶2. (C) New UNHCR Jordan Representative Imran Riza and UNHCR Middle East/North Africa Director Radhouane Nouicer suggested during a May 28 meeting with CODEL Leahy (septel) that assistance for Iraqis might be provided most effectively through bilateral mechanisms. According to Riza and Nouicer, Jordan would be more likely to benefit than Syria from bilateral contributions in the current political climate. Education -------------- ¶3. (U) At a UNICEF press conference in Amman May 23, Queen Rania co-launched a $42 million UNICEF funding request for displaced Iraqi children in Jordan and Syria. The GOJ press release noted that "UNICEF will also help the Jordanian and Syrian governments in providing quality social services for the growing population of Iraqi children. Initial priorities in these countries include ensuring that Iraqi children have full access to the classroom, health care, and protection from exploitation." ¶4. (C) According to UNHCR's Riza and International Catholic Migration Committee (ICMC) Project Director Margarita Tileva, Queen Rania's visible involvement and support of the education funding request creates an opportunity for more potential donors to propose solutions to the education question. ¶5. (C) Riza claimed that that the GOJ must assure Iraqis that the act of registering for school will not subject Iraqis to deportation, even if they are living in Jordan without a valid residence permit. He acknowledged to Polcouns that UNHCR could point to no single case of an Iraqi having been deported from Jordan because a family member had approached a school. Riza also acknowledged that other reports of Iraqis being turned away from some schools suggested that the alleged fear of deportation in such situations was not universal. He expressed his hope that the GOJ would continue to "look the other way," but believes that his agency and donors will need to encourage the GOJ to publicly reassure Iraqis that they will not be penalized if their children seek to take advantage of any new education opportunities created over the coming summer. ¶6. (SBU) Embassy Amman's internal working group for Iraqi education met on May 31 to discuss the USAID proposal for assistance to the Jordanian Ministry of Education as outlined reftel, and will meet with the MOE SecGen upon his return to Jordan in coming days. USG Referral Processing Begins -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Polcouns and TDY Refcoord called on Dr. Khalid Takhayneh, the MFA's POC on displaced Iraqis, May 28. They briefed Takhayneh on USG plans to use the Amman office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to process potential refugees of special interest to the USG in a track separate from those being processed by UNHCR. Takhayneh said the GOJ was comfortable with the concept, but hoped it could count on the USG and IOM to coordinate closely and keep in mind the GOJ's serious concerns about maintaining security and crowd control, and avoiding publicity that could act as a pull factor for new Iraqi migrants. TDY RefCoord reassured Takhayneh that the USG shared Jordan's concerns, and would take a "softly-softly" approach to processing Iraqis through this track. ¶8. (SBU) TDY RefCoord expects the IOM office in Amman to begin the first processing of Iraqis through the Direct Access special referral program on June 3. IOM will process four cases currently ready for interviews during the week of June 3 to test the system before the caseload builds up more rapidly. AMMAN 00002341 002 OF 002 ¶9. (SBU) UNHCR Rep Riza also expressed to Polcouns his concern that word of refugee processing would spread quickly through the Iraqi community in Jordan and might trigger a rush to IOM and UNHCR offices. TDY RefCoord (currently in Damascus) and IOM will update UNHCR on arrangements for rumor control and for managing crowd concerns in close coordination with the GOJ. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Hale