ESTABLISHING SCHOOLS FOR IRAQI CHILDREN IN JORDAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001069 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2017 TAGS: PREL PREF IZ JO SY SUBJECT: ESTABLISHING SCHOOLS FOR IRAQI CHILDREN IN JORDAN AND SYRIA REF: AMMAN 1067 Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Bob Gilchrist. Reason 1.4 (b ) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Minister of Displacement and Migration would like to establish schools for Iraqi children in Jordan and Syria and will appeal to international donors to support the idea. While the Government of Iraq has not discussed the issue with the governments of Syria or Jordan, the Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MODM) is optimistic about their possible reaction. The Minister looks forward to the upcoming UNHCR ministerial conference on Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons and to meet with the leaders of the US delegation to the conference. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Embassy Baghdad Refugee Coordinator (RefCoord) met on March 25 with the Minister of Displacement and Migration, Dr. Abdul Rahman Sultan, to discuss the conditions of Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, in anticipation of the April 17-18 UNHCR conference in Geneva on Iraqi refugees and internally displace persons. Sultan stated that he had approached the Iraqi Ministry of Education (MOE) with the idea of establishing schools in Syria and Jordan that Iraqi children there could attend. He thought that these host countries would not oppose the idea, although the GOI had not formally approached the GOJ or the SARG on the issue yet. He hoped that donors would provide funding. RefCoord commented that the GOI should also consider spending its own resources to support this initiative. Sultan responded that MODM has no money for it, and nor does MOE. He recalled that he had asked for USD 20 million for MODM's in 2007, but that the Prime Minister and the Council of Representatives (CoR) only approved USD 6 million. RefCoord encouraged the Minister to lobby the PM and the CoR to make financial resources available, and to ensure that the GOI engaged the Government of Jordan (GOJ) and the government of Syria (SARG) to facilitate access to health and education for Iraqis in these two countries (Note: UNHCR estimates that there are 600,000 Iraqis in Jordan, and up to 1 million in Syria. See reftel). ¶3. (C) Sultan stated that he had requested the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to have MODM personnel attached to Iraqi Embassies in Jordan, Syria, and other countries. He added that he understood the sensibilities of Jordan and Syria towards recognition of Iraqis as refugees. For Jordan, he said, Iraqis are "guests", while for Baathist Syria the Iraqis are "Arab brothers". Sultan was not concerned about the terminology used, as long as externally displaced Iraqis could maintain their dignity and a minimum standard of living. He added that he would lead the Iraqi delegation to UNHCR's conference and look forward to the opportunity of meeting U/S Dobriansky and PRM A/S Sauerbrey in Geneva. When asked what he expected out of the conference, Sultan responded that he hoped there would be a recognition that the displacement of Iraqis is not only an Iraqi problem, but a regional and international problem. ¶4. (C) In a separate meeting on March 22, MODM's Director General for Planning, Ali Shalan, told RefCoord that the GOI should not have problems opening schools for Iraqis in Syria and Jordan. He recalled that such schools had existed in the past, and that cultural officers at Iraqi Embassies were involved in their management. RefCoord noted that NGOs in Jordan sometimes find it difficult to obtain GOJ permission to provide services to Iraqis there, and that NGOs can hardly operate in Syria. Ali Shalan reiterated that the GOJ and the SARG would not oppose an Iraqi initiative to establish these schools. The challenge, he added, would be to secure funding. RefCoord asked if he thought the GOI would consider compensating the GOJ and the SARG if they would allow Iraqi children to attend public schools. Ali Shalan responded that the GOI would not give money to the SARG "because they are Baathists", and was unlikely to transfer funds to the GOJ either. The GOI would prefer to direct money for the education of externally displaced Iraqi children to the establishment of schools specifically for Iraqis. Ali Shalan was dismissive of any notion of working with organizations representing Iraqis in Jordan and Syria, which he viewed with suspicion, but was receptive to working with international organizations, adding that he had already mentioned the idea of the schools to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) representatives in Amman. ¶5. (U) Comment: We welcome MODM's idea to open schools for Iraqi children in Syria and Jordan. We will encourage MODM to develop the idea into a plan that can be implemented, and to work with the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to engage the GOJ and the SARG on the issue. End comment SPECKHARD