Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07USEUBRUSSELS1879
2007-06-07 15:34:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
USEU Brussels
Cable title:
U.S. AND EU FIND COMMON GROUND IN ANNUAL
VZCZCXYZ0000 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHBS #1879/01 1581534 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 071534Z JUN 07 FM USEU BRUSSELS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC INFO RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA
UNCLAS USEU BRUSSELS 001879
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL EAID EUN
SUBJECT: U.S. AND EU FIND COMMON GROUND IN ANNUAL
HUMANITARIAN DIALOGUE
UNCLAS USEU BRUSSELS 001879
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL EAID EUN
SUBJECT: U.S. AND EU FIND COMMON GROUND IN ANNUAL
HUMANITARIAN DIALOGUE
1. (U) The U.S. and the European Union (EU) held their annual
Strategic Dialogue on humanitarian issues May 3 in Brussels,
discussing common concerns and programming in Africa and
Asia, as well as thematic issues including the United Nations
humanitarian reform process, protection of international
humanitarian space, and whether to put the U.S. and EU
"brand" name on items distributed in humanitarian crises
worldwide. The U.S. was represented by a team from the
Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM),led by
A/S Ellen Sauerbrey, and a team from USAID's Democracy,
Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) office, led by
Assistant Administrator Michael Hess. Antonio Cavaco,
Director General of the European Commission Humanitarian
Office (ECHO),hosted the day-long consultations.
Iraq
--------------
2. (U) Providing assistance to Iraqi refugees, most of whom
fled to Jordan and Syria, has proven challenging for both PRM
and ECHO, because refugees live on their own or with host
families rather than in easily identifiable camps. A/S
Sauerbrey said there are 14,000 Iraqi refugee children in
school out of a total Iraqi refugee school-aged population of
200,000, as estimated by NGOs. UNHCR operates in Syria and
the U.S. has given most of its assistance through UNHCR.
Jordan, however, has resisted creating parallel services for
refugees and asks that donors give money through the
Jordanian ministries of health and education. ECHO faces
regulatory constraints that prohibit it from giving money
directly through government ministries because of the
difficulty of tracking and monitoring funds that go into a
common pool that provides services to both refugee and
non-refugee populations. ECHO has earmarked 6.2 million
euros to assist refugees in Jordan and Syria. A/S Sauerbrey
said the U.S. this year will give $20 million to NGOs, $12
million to the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC),and will fund 30 percent of UNHCR's appeals for
Jordan and Syria. She also noted that resettlement to the
United States will be a small but important solution for the
most vulnerable refugees and for those to whom the U.S. has a
moral commitment because of their work with the USG. She
said there is no cap on the number of Iraqi refugees who may
ultimately be resettled in the U.S.
3. (U) Similar difficulties face both ECHO and USAID in
helping Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) within Iraq.
UNHCR does not operate within Iraq, nor do most NGOs and
international organizations, and the IDPs live with host
families rather than in camps. ECHO plans to give 4 million
euros this year, all to ICRC. USAID's funding has increased
from $7 million last year to $63 million this year, but
finding additional partners has been challenging. "We have
the money," Hess said. "But we need partners and capacity."
He said the oft-cited figure of 2 million IDPs is much higher
than the Iraqi Red Crescent's estimate of 600,000-700,000.
Africa: Sudan
--------------
4. (U) ECHO, PRM, and DCHA shared similar concerns about
conditions in Darfur, including direct attacks on
humanitarian workers as well as civilians, bureaucratic
hurdles imposed by the Government of Sudan, little visible
sign of implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement, and a
continued spreading of the crisis to neighboring Chad and
Central African Republic. In Southern Sudan, ECHO noted that
the return process has been challenging and that donor
coordination could be better. ECHO opened an office in Juba
in late April. Greg Gottlieb, Deputy Director of OFDA, said
some programs, including health, are moving from humanitarian
assistance to development assistance. Cees Wittebrood, ECHO
Head of Unit for Africa, said ECHO has replaced general food
distribution with targeted food-for-work and
food-for-education exchanges.
Horn of Africa - Somalia and Kenya
--------------
5. (U) Both the DCHA and ECHO noted the difficulty of serving
an estimated 300,000-400,000 IDPs in Somalia given the
challenges of security and humanitarian access. ECHO
questioned the political wisdom of the EU and the U.S.
backing the TFG, given its inability to protect the
humanitarian space as well as other weaknesses. ECHO said
that it has not supported UN programs in Somalia extensively
because of a perceived lack of productivity, but Hess
encouraged ECHO to look again, praising the current UN
leadership and its plan for Somalia. On Kenya, A/S Sauerbrey
noted that some 3,000 Somalis have gotten across an
officially closed border into the Dadaab refugee camp.
Wittebrood said ECHO was ready to close its Kenya operations
a year ago, but the flows of Somali refugees coupled with
flooding in Dadaab have caused ECHO to keep its programs in
place.
Zimbabwe
--------------
6. (U) The former breadbasket of southern Africa is expected
to fall about 50 percent short of its food needs this year,
participants said. The EU and U.S. had similar estimates of
the need, with ECHO estimating 700,000 tons of food, and DCHA
estimating 600,000 tons. Hess attributed the pending
shortfall to rising prices, lack of production (exacerbated
by labor lost to HIV/AIDS),and crops being diverted to
ethanol production. Wittebrood said the EU recently voted to
extend humanitarian assistance to the Zimbabwean people and
tighten sanctions on government officials.
Great Lakes
--------------
7. (U) A/S Sauerbrey said PRM is pleased with the pace of
repatriation from Burundi, but had hoped to see more refugees
return from Uganda and Rwanda to the DRC by now. PRM, she
said, is particularly concerned about the Tanzanian
government's expulsion of Burundian and Rwandan migrants, and
will continue to work with the Tanzanian government to end
that practice. ECHO DRC Desk Officer Philippe Maughan said
ECHO is transitioning many of its programs to the development
portfolio and has already handed over three-fourths of its
health programs to the European Commission's Directorate
General for Development.
Getting the EU and U.S. brand name out
--------------
8. (SBU) ECHO raised the difficulty it is having with ICRC
refusing to allow ECHO to put its name and logo on
ECHO-funded items it delivers. Simon Horner, ECHO's head of
public relations, said European taxpayers should see what
their tax money is buying. A/S Sauerbrey noted that PRM does
not brand its items, but Hess said USAID puts its name and
logo on almost everything. Exceptions have been made in
Iraq, Lebanon, and other places where it was deemed
counterproductive to have the U.S. name on goods, he said.
USAID does not use ICRC to distribute goods, except in very
difficult situations, so branding has not been an issue, Hess
said. Gottlieb said that ICRC should be seen differently
from many other humanitarian partners because of its unique
role in accessing detainees and enforcing the Geneva
convention.
Joint missions
--------------
9. (U) Based on the success of this year's trip to the DRC,
as well as previous joint ventures, both PRM and ECHO
enthusiastically agreed to continue conducting joint
assessment field missions in humanitarian areas of common
interest. Several potential locales were discussed for the
next mission, and the three with the most widespread support
were Burma/Thailand, Nepal/Bhutan, and Eastern Chad.
UN Humanitarian Reform
--------------
10. (U) PRM, DCHA, and ECHO expressed support for the Cluster
approach, saying it improves coordination. All sides noted
the effectiveness of each cluster is highly dependent on the
personality of its leader, and that the concept has had some
growing pains since it was implemented in many countries
simultaneously instead of only in pilot countries as
originally envisioned.
Humanitarian Space: Civil Protection concerns
--------------
11. (U) Johannes Luchner, ECHO's Head of Unit for policy
affairs, raised ECHO's serious concern about the image put
forth by the numerous civil protection workers (fire, police,
rescue, etc.) from EU member states who often assist in
humanitarian disasters. He fears they are politicizing
humanitarian assistance because they often have military
backgrounds, wear uniforms, and are seen as agents of the
state. Gottlieb said the U.S. does not face the same issue
since it does not have a national civil protection force.
The U.S. local civil protection workers who assist in
international emergencies do not wear uniforms and operate
under civilian humanitarian leadership, he said.
Humanitarian Space: Afghanistan
--------------
12. (U) Esko Kentrschynskyj, ECHO's Head of Unit for Asia,
described the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan as grim,
with 3.4 million Afghans without sufficient food security and
a third of the population suffering from chronic
malnutrition. One quarter of the population of Kabul, which
has grown from 1 million to 4 million people since the start
of the war, lives on less than $1 a day, he said. A/S
Sauerbrey expressed concern over the fate of 225,000 refugees
who will be affected by planned camp closures, and expressed
optimism that a scheduled conference on land distribution in
the fall could help address some of the key issues facing
returning refugees. ECHO officials said they are very
concerned about the lack of coordination between the
international civilian workers and military forces on the
PRTs. Kentrschynskyj said the PRTs often give political
strategies priority over development assistance. Because of
the integrated nature of the mission, humanitarian
coordination is not working well and is often subsumed by
military policy, he said. Hess encouraged ECHO to look at
the military not as a hindrance, but as a fact of life that
is larger and more well-funded and equipped than the
humanitarian community. "We have to work with the military
in combat situations because they are in control. We can
ignore them or engage them, but we ignore them at our peril,"
he said.
Humanitarian Space: Sri Lanka
--------------
13. (U) Kentrschynskyj said the Government of Sri Lanka seems
immune to pleas from the international community to halt
violations of human rights and humanitarian law. Hess noted
that the international actors on the ground try to coordinate
their messages but wonder if anyone is really listening.
Dawn Adie-Baird, ECHO Desk Officer for Sri Lanka, had a
somewhat more hopeful view, saying she believed the
Government of Sri Lanka was more susceptible to pressure from
the international community than it was willing to
acknowledge. The issue will be discussed further at an
international meeting in November on civil-military issues
under the Oslo Accords.
Asia: Bhutan
--------------
14. (U) A/S Sauerbrey said the USG expects to begin
processing Bhutanese refugees in Nepal within two months for
permanent resettlement to the United States. The announced
figure of 60,000 is not a cap, she said. The USG would like
to see some of the refugees return to Bhutan, but the
Government of Bhutan has steadfastly refused, and the U.S.
has no leverage to encourage a change in policy, she said.
Sauerbrey asked for ECHO's assistance in providing additional
food aid and in reconstructing a damaged causeway.
Kentrschynskyj said ECHO would not be able to assist with the
causeway, but is considering additional food assistance and
has been pleased with the performance of the WFP.
Asia: Burma
--------------
15. (U) Kentrschynskyj said the situation of Burmese refugees
in Thailand is more complex than that of the Bhutanese
refugees in Nepal. Each time a refugee camp in Thailand
clears out because of resettlement to the U.S., it quickly
fills up again, though the newcomers are more likely illegal
migrants than new refugees, he said. He noted that ECHO
would like to diversify its partners beyond the TBBC, which
is currently ECHO's largest NGO partner in the world. A/S
Sauerbrey noted concerns about conditions for refugees, in
particular one detention center that was so crowded that
occupants couldn't lie down. Both PRM and ECHO expressed
concern about Hmong refugees from Laos that Thailand
continually threatens to expel.
Conclusion
--------------
16. (U) The annual strategic dialogues are useful for the
parties to meet face-to-face to discuss approaches and
understand nuances in policy where they exist. PRM, USAID
and DG ECHO are well aligned in our respective approaches to
humanitarian assistance, and see additional opportunities for
future cooperation.
17. (U) A/S Sauerbrey and A/A Hess have cleared on this
report.
MCKINLEY
.
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL EAID EUN
SUBJECT: U.S. AND EU FIND COMMON GROUND IN ANNUAL
HUMANITARIAN DIALOGUE
1. (U) The U.S. and the European Union (EU) held their annual
Strategic Dialogue on humanitarian issues May 3 in Brussels,
discussing common concerns and programming in Africa and
Asia, as well as thematic issues including the United Nations
humanitarian reform process, protection of international
humanitarian space, and whether to put the U.S. and EU
"brand" name on items distributed in humanitarian crises
worldwide. The U.S. was represented by a team from the
Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM),led by
A/S Ellen Sauerbrey, and a team from USAID's Democracy,
Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) office, led by
Assistant Administrator Michael Hess. Antonio Cavaco,
Director General of the European Commission Humanitarian
Office (ECHO),hosted the day-long consultations.
Iraq
--------------
2. (U) Providing assistance to Iraqi refugees, most of whom
fled to Jordan and Syria, has proven challenging for both PRM
and ECHO, because refugees live on their own or with host
families rather than in easily identifiable camps. A/S
Sauerbrey said there are 14,000 Iraqi refugee children in
school out of a total Iraqi refugee school-aged population of
200,000, as estimated by NGOs. UNHCR operates in Syria and
the U.S. has given most of its assistance through UNHCR.
Jordan, however, has resisted creating parallel services for
refugees and asks that donors give money through the
Jordanian ministries of health and education. ECHO faces
regulatory constraints that prohibit it from giving money
directly through government ministries because of the
difficulty of tracking and monitoring funds that go into a
common pool that provides services to both refugee and
non-refugee populations. ECHO has earmarked 6.2 million
euros to assist refugees in Jordan and Syria. A/S Sauerbrey
said the U.S. this year will give $20 million to NGOs, $12
million to the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC),and will fund 30 percent of UNHCR's appeals for
Jordan and Syria. She also noted that resettlement to the
United States will be a small but important solution for the
most vulnerable refugees and for those to whom the U.S. has a
moral commitment because of their work with the USG. She
said there is no cap on the number of Iraqi refugees who may
ultimately be resettled in the U.S.
3. (U) Similar difficulties face both ECHO and USAID in
helping Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) within Iraq.
UNHCR does not operate within Iraq, nor do most NGOs and
international organizations, and the IDPs live with host
families rather than in camps. ECHO plans to give 4 million
euros this year, all to ICRC. USAID's funding has increased
from $7 million last year to $63 million this year, but
finding additional partners has been challenging. "We have
the money," Hess said. "But we need partners and capacity."
He said the oft-cited figure of 2 million IDPs is much higher
than the Iraqi Red Crescent's estimate of 600,000-700,000.
Africa: Sudan
--------------
4. (U) ECHO, PRM, and DCHA shared similar concerns about
conditions in Darfur, including direct attacks on
humanitarian workers as well as civilians, bureaucratic
hurdles imposed by the Government of Sudan, little visible
sign of implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement, and a
continued spreading of the crisis to neighboring Chad and
Central African Republic. In Southern Sudan, ECHO noted that
the return process has been challenging and that donor
coordination could be better. ECHO opened an office in Juba
in late April. Greg Gottlieb, Deputy Director of OFDA, said
some programs, including health, are moving from humanitarian
assistance to development assistance. Cees Wittebrood, ECHO
Head of Unit for Africa, said ECHO has replaced general food
distribution with targeted food-for-work and
food-for-education exchanges.
Horn of Africa - Somalia and Kenya
--------------
5. (U) Both the DCHA and ECHO noted the difficulty of serving
an estimated 300,000-400,000 IDPs in Somalia given the
challenges of security and humanitarian access. ECHO
questioned the political wisdom of the EU and the U.S.
backing the TFG, given its inability to protect the
humanitarian space as well as other weaknesses. ECHO said
that it has not supported UN programs in Somalia extensively
because of a perceived lack of productivity, but Hess
encouraged ECHO to look again, praising the current UN
leadership and its plan for Somalia. On Kenya, A/S Sauerbrey
noted that some 3,000 Somalis have gotten across an
officially closed border into the Dadaab refugee camp.
Wittebrood said ECHO was ready to close its Kenya operations
a year ago, but the flows of Somali refugees coupled with
flooding in Dadaab have caused ECHO to keep its programs in
place.
Zimbabwe
--------------
6. (U) The former breadbasket of southern Africa is expected
to fall about 50 percent short of its food needs this year,
participants said. The EU and U.S. had similar estimates of
the need, with ECHO estimating 700,000 tons of food, and DCHA
estimating 600,000 tons. Hess attributed the pending
shortfall to rising prices, lack of production (exacerbated
by labor lost to HIV/AIDS),and crops being diverted to
ethanol production. Wittebrood said the EU recently voted to
extend humanitarian assistance to the Zimbabwean people and
tighten sanctions on government officials.
Great Lakes
--------------
7. (U) A/S Sauerbrey said PRM is pleased with the pace of
repatriation from Burundi, but had hoped to see more refugees
return from Uganda and Rwanda to the DRC by now. PRM, she
said, is particularly concerned about the Tanzanian
government's expulsion of Burundian and Rwandan migrants, and
will continue to work with the Tanzanian government to end
that practice. ECHO DRC Desk Officer Philippe Maughan said
ECHO is transitioning many of its programs to the development
portfolio and has already handed over three-fourths of its
health programs to the European Commission's Directorate
General for Development.
Getting the EU and U.S. brand name out
--------------
8. (SBU) ECHO raised the difficulty it is having with ICRC
refusing to allow ECHO to put its name and logo on
ECHO-funded items it delivers. Simon Horner, ECHO's head of
public relations, said European taxpayers should see what
their tax money is buying. A/S Sauerbrey noted that PRM does
not brand its items, but Hess said USAID puts its name and
logo on almost everything. Exceptions have been made in
Iraq, Lebanon, and other places where it was deemed
counterproductive to have the U.S. name on goods, he said.
USAID does not use ICRC to distribute goods, except in very
difficult situations, so branding has not been an issue, Hess
said. Gottlieb said that ICRC should be seen differently
from many other humanitarian partners because of its unique
role in accessing detainees and enforcing the Geneva
convention.
Joint missions
--------------
9. (U) Based on the success of this year's trip to the DRC,
as well as previous joint ventures, both PRM and ECHO
enthusiastically agreed to continue conducting joint
assessment field missions in humanitarian areas of common
interest. Several potential locales were discussed for the
next mission, and the three with the most widespread support
were Burma/Thailand, Nepal/Bhutan, and Eastern Chad.
UN Humanitarian Reform
--------------
10. (U) PRM, DCHA, and ECHO expressed support for the Cluster
approach, saying it improves coordination. All sides noted
the effectiveness of each cluster is highly dependent on the
personality of its leader, and that the concept has had some
growing pains since it was implemented in many countries
simultaneously instead of only in pilot countries as
originally envisioned.
Humanitarian Space: Civil Protection concerns
--------------
11. (U) Johannes Luchner, ECHO's Head of Unit for policy
affairs, raised ECHO's serious concern about the image put
forth by the numerous civil protection workers (fire, police,
rescue, etc.) from EU member states who often assist in
humanitarian disasters. He fears they are politicizing
humanitarian assistance because they often have military
backgrounds, wear uniforms, and are seen as agents of the
state. Gottlieb said the U.S. does not face the same issue
since it does not have a national civil protection force.
The U.S. local civil protection workers who assist in
international emergencies do not wear uniforms and operate
under civilian humanitarian leadership, he said.
Humanitarian Space: Afghanistan
--------------
12. (U) Esko Kentrschynskyj, ECHO's Head of Unit for Asia,
described the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan as grim,
with 3.4 million Afghans without sufficient food security and
a third of the population suffering from chronic
malnutrition. One quarter of the population of Kabul, which
has grown from 1 million to 4 million people since the start
of the war, lives on less than $1 a day, he said. A/S
Sauerbrey expressed concern over the fate of 225,000 refugees
who will be affected by planned camp closures, and expressed
optimism that a scheduled conference on land distribution in
the fall could help address some of the key issues facing
returning refugees. ECHO officials said they are very
concerned about the lack of coordination between the
international civilian workers and military forces on the
PRTs. Kentrschynskyj said the PRTs often give political
strategies priority over development assistance. Because of
the integrated nature of the mission, humanitarian
coordination is not working well and is often subsumed by
military policy, he said. Hess encouraged ECHO to look at
the military not as a hindrance, but as a fact of life that
is larger and more well-funded and equipped than the
humanitarian community. "We have to work with the military
in combat situations because they are in control. We can
ignore them or engage them, but we ignore them at our peril,"
he said.
Humanitarian Space: Sri Lanka
--------------
13. (U) Kentrschynskyj said the Government of Sri Lanka seems
immune to pleas from the international community to halt
violations of human rights and humanitarian law. Hess noted
that the international actors on the ground try to coordinate
their messages but wonder if anyone is really listening.
Dawn Adie-Baird, ECHO Desk Officer for Sri Lanka, had a
somewhat more hopeful view, saying she believed the
Government of Sri Lanka was more susceptible to pressure from
the international community than it was willing to
acknowledge. The issue will be discussed further at an
international meeting in November on civil-military issues
under the Oslo Accords.
Asia: Bhutan
--------------
14. (U) A/S Sauerbrey said the USG expects to begin
processing Bhutanese refugees in Nepal within two months for
permanent resettlement to the United States. The announced
figure of 60,000 is not a cap, she said. The USG would like
to see some of the refugees return to Bhutan, but the
Government of Bhutan has steadfastly refused, and the U.S.
has no leverage to encourage a change in policy, she said.
Sauerbrey asked for ECHO's assistance in providing additional
food aid and in reconstructing a damaged causeway.
Kentrschynskyj said ECHO would not be able to assist with the
causeway, but is considering additional food assistance and
has been pleased with the performance of the WFP.
Asia: Burma
--------------
15. (U) Kentrschynskyj said the situation of Burmese refugees
in Thailand is more complex than that of the Bhutanese
refugees in Nepal. Each time a refugee camp in Thailand
clears out because of resettlement to the U.S., it quickly
fills up again, though the newcomers are more likely illegal
migrants than new refugees, he said. He noted that ECHO
would like to diversify its partners beyond the TBBC, which
is currently ECHO's largest NGO partner in the world. A/S
Sauerbrey noted concerns about conditions for refugees, in
particular one detention center that was so crowded that
occupants couldn't lie down. Both PRM and ECHO expressed
concern about Hmong refugees from Laos that Thailand
continually threatens to expel.
Conclusion
--------------
16. (U) The annual strategic dialogues are useful for the
parties to meet face-to-face to discuss approaches and
understand nuances in policy where they exist. PRM, USAID
and DG ECHO are well aligned in our respective approaches to
humanitarian assistance, and see additional opportunities for
future cooperation.
17. (U) A/S Sauerbrey and A/A Hess have cleared on this
report.
MCKINLEY
.