SYRIA: VIEWS ON UNICEF COUNTRY PROGRAM DOCUMENTS

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000490

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

USAID/GH FOR DALE GIBB AND JAMILA SQUIRES, IO/EDA FOR
CATHLEEN CAROTHERS, JERUSALEM FOR LIANA BROOKS-RUBIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON PREL UNICEF
SUBJECT: SYRIA: VIEWS ON UNICEF COUNTRY PROGRAM DOCUMENTS

REF: A. SECSTATE 64154

B. DAMASCUS 0077


1. (SBU) In accordance with ref A, Post has reviewed the
relevant country documents. Our only substantive comment is
that the documents do not refer to the phenomenon since late
2005 of Iraqi Palestinians attempting to flee Iraq to Syria.
Currently, an estimated 310 Palestinian Iraqis live in the
El-Hol refugee camp in northeastern Syria, while another
estimated 350 persons are camped out on the Syrian side of
the no-man's-land in the eastern Syria-Iraq border crossing
of al-Tanef. Additionally, as reported in ref B, officials
from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in
the Near East (UNRWA) have told us that they suspect that up
to 7,000 other Iraqi Palestinians may have entered the
country using fake Iraqi documents that do not indicate their
Palestinian background, although only 241 Iraqi Palestinian
children have entered UNRWA schools this year.


2. (SBU) In response to ref A's query about UNICEF's overall
effectiveness in country, Post notes that UNICEF seems to
have a good working relationship with the Syrian government,
despite significant political and security constraints on all
international organizations working here. UNICEF also
cooperates effectively with other international organizations
and the USG in Syria.
CORBIN