MODEST PROGRESS ACHIEVED AT JULY 26 RWG IN AMMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 003208 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA, PRM, AND S/I E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2017 TAGS: PREL PREF SOCI EAID IZ JO SY EG IR TU SUBJECT: MODEST PROGRESS ACHIEVED AT JULY 26 RWG IN AMMAN REF: A. GREENE-RANA EMAIL 7/25/07 ¶B. BAGHDAD 2451 ¶C. DAMASCUS 750 ¶D. STATE 98635 ¶E. AMMAN 2964 Classified By: Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Modest progress was achieved during the July 26 Jordanian-Iraqi co-chaired Refugee Working Group (RWG) in Amman. In a significant breakthrough, the Government of Jordan announced the opening of its public and private schools to displaced Iraqis living in Jordan, regardless of their residency status. Although the meeting offered countries hosting large populations of displaced Iraqis a forum to delineate the myriad and costly problems they face, significant disagreements remain over Iraqi plans to disperse its $25 million pledge of assistance announced in Geneva in April. The Iraqi Delegation incorporated thorny residence and entry issues into the agenda against Jordanian wishes, though ultimately agreed to address them bilaterally. The Iraqi delegation head found the Jordanians greedy and unresponsive to Iraqi needs. Text of the co-chairs' summary can be found in paragraph 12 below. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) On July 26, the Governments of Jordan and Iraq co-chaired a day-long meeting for countries hosting Iraqis, international organizations, and several bilateral donors as a follow-up to previous neighbors' meetings in Sharm el-Sheikh and Ankara. Jordanian Ministry of Interior Secretary General Mukhaimar Abu Jammous and Iraqi Deputy SIPDIS Foreign Minister Mohammad Al Hmoud headed their respective delegations. Syria, Egypt, the UN, the EU, the Arab League and the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement were invited to participate. Iran, Turkey, Russia, the UK, the U.S. and Japan were invited as observers. NOTE: The GOJ controlled the invitation process, and invited Iraq and Turkey as observers rather than participants to focus the meeting, and presumably, any forthcoming assistance, on those countries hosting large numbers of displaced Iraqis. END NOTE. ¶3. (U) In his opening remarks, Abu Jammous said countries hosting Iraqis face immense pressures on their infrastructure, natural resources, security, health and education sectors resulting from the high number of displaced Iraqis living in Jordan. He repeated the oft-heard Jordanian refrain that Iraqi guests cost Jordan $1 billion per year, and highlighted the mounting pressure on his country's meager resources, especially in the areas of water and security. Other hosting nations, namely Syria and Egypt, echoed these sentiments during their public statements. ¶4. (SBU) Despite repeated Jordanian entreaties in the run-up to the meeting to focus on health and education, Hmoud opened by focusing on the issues of residency for displaced Iraqis and Iraqis' entry into neighboring countries. Hmoud called for host governments to permit residency for Iraqis until suitable circumstances allow for their return, and to waive penalties related to overstays. He also called upon countries to develop a mechanism to clear Iraqis for admission prior to departing Iraq to avoid the detention, interrogation, and deportation that he considered humiliating. NOTE: Iraqis do not require visas to enter Jordan or other neighboring countries, and therefore are not screened until their arrival at a port of entry. On July 25, Hmoud told the Ambassador that several members of his delegation traveling to Jordan for this conference were detained and delayed by Jordanian immigration officials at the airport in Amman for one hour. During his July 25 meeting and again at the conference, the Ambassador encouraged Hmoud to tackle these issues bilaterally and assured him of USG support for raising the status and entry issues (ref A). END NOTE. ¶5. (U) During their opening statements, the Syrian and Iranian representatives declared that the United States, as "occupiers," created the Iraqis' hardships, and therefore should bear the responsibility and the costs in providing support to those countries hosting Iraqis. The Ambassador responded during his subsequent intervention that the displacement of Iraqis results from terror, random violence, and insecurity now plaguing parts of Iraq, and that all parties present bore a responsibility to work towards restoring stability and security. ¶6. (U) The Arab League representative sought solutions to a number of outstanding issues, including the internally displaced Iraqis living in border camps such as Ruweishid near the Jordan-Iraq border. He recalled previous Arab League statements calling for the protection of Palestinian AMMAN 00003208 002 OF 003 refugees living in harsh conditions in these border camps, and cooperative efforts with UNHCR to find permanent homes for these refugees. He praised Brazil's initiative of accepting these persons for resettlement, and expressed hope that other countries would follow. He also praised UNHCR's efforts, and asserted Arab League interest in a continued dialogue with UNHCR to coordinate solutions. FULFILLING IRAQ'S GENEVA PLEDGE -------------- ¶7. (U) Deputy FM Hmoud acknowledged Iraq's responsibility to assist neighboring governments that are hosting and providing services to displaced Iraqis. In reference to its Geneva pledge, Hmoud said that the Government of Iraq is prepared to meet its commitment. ¶8. (C) During his formal remarks, Hmoud restated the Government of Iraq's previous pledge of $25 million made in Geneva, and hinted that this was merely the beginning of the assistance Iraq was willing to provide for its displaced citizens. In private conversations with the Ambassador, Hmoud indicated that the GOI might agree to transfer funds through a UN mechanism, but in public, Hmoud offered only in-kind assistance - offering textbooks and Iraqi teachers for education assistance and medical supplies, drugs, doctors and nurses for health needs. The Ambassador encouraged Hmoud to expeditiously announce either in Amman or upon his return to Baghdad that the existing pledge would be released. ¶9. (C) During ongoing discussions over the course of the day, the Iraqi delegation proposed a follow-up quadpartite mechanism that would have included Jordan, Iraq, Syria and the U.N. that was rebuffed by the Jordanian and Egyptian delegations. Jordanian delegates told Polcouns that the proposal - as well as a subsequent proposal for a tripartite follow-up mechanism consisting of Jordan, Iraq, and the UN - was unacceptable because it allowed the Iraqi government leeway to try to dictate to the Jordanian government how any assistance could be used. The Jordanian delegation insisted that any assistance should come solely through the U.N. COMMMENT: In taking this position, the Jordanians are denying the Iraqis a level of engagement other - trusted - donors receive routinely. END COMMENT. JORDANIAN SCHOOLS OPEN TO IRAQI STUDENTS -------------- ¶10. (U) In a much-anticipated moment, Jordanian MOI SecGen Abu Jammous announced that pursuant to King Abdullah's directive, Jordanian public and private schools would be open for all Iraqi students living in Jordan. Abu Jammous subsequently repeated these statements to the media, noting that Iraqi students could be enrolled regardless of residency status. At a dinner that evening hosted by the Iraqi Ambassador, a Jordanian delegation member told PolCouns that the MFA would send a directive through the Prime Ministry to the Ministry of Education in the coming week endorsing the initiative and permitting the MoE to enroll Iraqis students without requiring residency permits as a precondition. ¶11. (C) COMMENT: The Iraqi and Jordanian delegations kept up, barely, an appearance of cooperation, but private conversations made clear the continued high level of mutual distrust. The Jordanians fear that giving the Iraqis any opening, such as a trilateral forum with the UN, opens the door to Iraqi efforts to trample on Jordanian sovereignty. At the dinner hosted by the Iraqi Ambassador, only one representative of the Jordanian delegation - Nawaf al-Tal, the conference organizer and mid-level MFA employee - attended, and he related to poloff that he was doing so as a sacrificial lamb. Al-Tal also told poloff that he felt that the Iraqis regressed from previous commitments and could not communicate amongst themselves. He expressed frustration that, after Jordanian FM Khatib and Iraqi FM Zebari reached agreement on an agenda during Zebari's June visit to Amman, the Iraqi delegation was bent on rehashing residence and entry issues and obfuscating its Geneva commitments. For its part, the Iraqi delegation made a number of thinly veiled comments reminding "some countries" of policies they consider unacceptable (i.e. residency and entry restrictions) in light of the previous support and assistance rendered by Iraq. Hmoud also said in private that the GOI would not permit the issue of displaced Iraqis to be used for the private benefit of "some countries" - a comment seemingly directed at the perceived greed of any number of its neighbors. END COMMENT. ¶12. (U) An Embassy translation of the co-chair's summary of the working group outcomes follows in its entirety. AMMAN 00003208 003 OF 003 Begin text: ¶1. The participants asserted that the real and effective solution applicable to the Iraqi problem in the host countries is that they should return to their homeland. This implies the provision of security and stability in Iraq through a political process in which all Iraqi sects - political, religious, and racial - participate which will lead to achieving national reconciliation. Any other solution outside of Iraq is only temporary or partial. ¶2. The participants reassured their support for Iraqi government efforts to enhance the humanitarian and living conditions and security inside of Iraq that will allow its citizens residing in other countries to return quickly. Also, this would encourage the Iraqi citizens inside of Iraq to stay inside their country. ¶3. The participants asserted that the host countries have the right to determine the entry of Iraqis into their territories and residence according to their internal laws and regulations. Therefore, any issue related to this subject may be discussed bilaterally. ¶4. The participants asserted the importance of international support for the service sectors (i.e. education, health) in the host countries. Host countries have the authority to ensure the continuity of these sectors in providing a credible level of services for Iraqi citizens residing in their lands. The host countries are able to withstand the pressures on their infrastructure including security and the natural resources. ¶5. The participants encourage the relevant international organizations to continue their cooperation with the host country governments to aid them with the endurance of the burdens resulting to their economy, infrastructure, and energy resources due to hosting these Iraqi citizens. ¶6. The participants agreed on making an effort to support the educational infrastructure for the hosting countries so that Iraqis residing in their lands will have the opportunity for a suitable education and to have the chance to enroll in schools and available educational institutions, thereby respecting the right to education according to the procedures of each country. ¶7. The participants agreed to make an effort to support the health infrastructure in host countries to provide the appropriate medical care for Iraqis residing in host countries and to enable the provision of the appropriate medical care according to the laws and regulations of the respective countries. ¶8. The participants welcomed the Iraqi government announcement of its readiness to contribute to aid Iraqis residing at the host countries. ¶9. The participants thanked the donor countries and the concerned international organizations, especially UNHCR, and the Arab League, and encouraged the rest to provide more support to aid the host countries to meet the Iraqi needs, who reside in those countries. ¶10. The participants thanked the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for hosting the meeting of the countries hosting Iraqis. End text. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Hale