ICRC CLAIMS IT CONVINCED GOJ TO ALLOW TWO IRANIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 003657 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/I, NEA/ELA, S/I AND PRM/ANE E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREF IZ JO SUBJECT: ICRC CLAIMS IT CONVINCED GOJ TO ALLOW TWO IRANIAN KURDS ACCESS TO MEDICAL TREATMENT IN JORDAN; SEEKS DURABLE SOLUTION Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) ICRC Deputy Director Kim Gordon-Bates told poloff and PRM Project Management Specialist on August 16 that ICRC succeeded in convincing the Jordanian Ministry of Interior to permit two Iranian Kurds to transit Jordan to receive medical treatment: a critically-ill woman in her 40's and her 18-month son. Gordon-Bates said that ICRC Jordan pushed this case, in part, to test the GOJ's responsiveness to urgent humanitarian concerns. In a follow-up conversation on August 20, ICRC protection officer Muna Sadeq explained that after treatment was completed at a Red Crescent clinic in Amman, the two patients would be returned to the border camp. ¶2. (C) ICRC also reported it is working behind the scenes to develop a permanent solution to the Iranian Kurds in what ICRC claimed is "no-mans land" between the Iraqi and Jordanian border posts at the Karameh-Trebil crossing. ICRC's approach differs substantially from that of UNHCR, which continues to advocate that the Iranian Kurds relocate to Irbil where UNHCR has established a functional camp. UNHCR would then conduct interviews at Irbil in a safer environment and determine eligibility for resettlement. Gordon-Bates explained that, in ICRC's view, the Iranian Kurds on the border have lost trust in UNHCR because of unfulfilled promises made to other Kurds who relocated to Irbil but have not yet been resettled. He said this culminated in a UNHCR staff member recently being beaten by Iranian Kurds. In the wake of recent attacks against Yazidis, Gordon-Bates doubted that the Iranian Kurds would be amenable to moving to Irbil in the near future. He also reported that ICRC efforts to broker a deal with the Swedes fell apart, and accused UNHCR Jordan of sabotaging these proposed arrangements in order to maintain pressure on the Iranian Kurds to move to Irbil. Nonetheless, Gordon-Bates would like to realize a permanent solution for the majority of these 194 people by the end of ¶2007. He acknowledged that those aged 18-24 would be unacceptable for resettlement to most countries because of security concerns. ¶3. (C) Gordon-Bates also claimed that during his last visit to the camp, he located the actual border markers and estimated that 80 percent of the camp is in Jordanian territory, despite GOJ claims that it is situated in Iraq. Gordon-Bates argued that this raises the possibility of greater legal responsibility on the part of the GOJ. ICRC has not raised this claim to the GOJ, however, for fear that Jordanian border guards would then force the camp into an even smaller space abutting what he termed an MNF-I firing range. ¶4. (SBU) ICRC Jordan plans to organize a roundtable of interested embassies (he cited the U.S., U.K., Canada, Sweden, Norway, Australia, and the EU as examples) in September with UNHCR and possibly the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior to discuss resettlement options. He noted that the SecGen from the MOI has previously promised him that should these individuals have onward destinations, they would be allowed to transit Jordan (directly from the border to the airport). Gordon-Bates appeared to be looking for guidance on timing for such a meeting. Poloff reiterated USG policy, in support of UNHCR's approach, that these individuals should relocate to Irbil where conditions are more hospitable and where the environment would be more conducive to determining issues of status. Poloff cautioned that unfounded expectations for resettlement in Western Europe might dissuade the Iranian Kurds from following UNHCR guidance to relocate to a safer environment. ¶5. (C) Comment: Post finds some of Gordon-Bates' claims peculiar. In USG, GOI, and GOJ views, the Iranian Kurdish camp is not in "no-man's-land" but instead is firmly within the territory of Iraq. Furthermore, the GOJ has previously permitted emergency medical cases from within this community to enter Jordan for medical treatment; we are confident that such access would still be forthcoming. Finally, Post has seen no other reports of any UNHCR employee being assaulted by members of this community. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Hale