CARE-Jordan Hits Temporary Snag in PRM Project Proposal

UNCLAS AMMAN 002974

SIPDIS

Department for NEA/ELA and PRM/ANE

E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A
TAGS: PREF EAID JO
SUBJECT: CARE-Jordan Hits Temporary Snag in PRM Project Proposal


1. (SBU) Summary: At CareQs Request, RefCoord intervened with the

GOJ to appeal the GOJ rejection of the USG-funded psychosocial
project. The GOJ agreed to review the decision after discussing the

journalism component of the project with CARE-Jordan. The GOJ
continues to be leery of any project designed to publicize the
conditions of Iraqi refugees in Jordan. End summary.

GOJ to CARE--A Refusal Without Explanation
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2. (SBU) On October 23, 2008, CARE International-Jordan Director
Harriet Dodd called RefCoord and explained that the GOJ had rejected

the PRM-Funded psychosocial program, "Dignity," which was part of a

larger CARE project with multiple donor support. All of the other
aspects of the program passed the GOJ screening process. Word of
the refusal had reached CARE by back channels from the Ministry of
Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC). The refusal
followed written approval for the project from the Ministry for
Social Affairs, the government office responsible for NGO activity
in Jordan. CAREQs attorney investigated and discovered that MOPIC
had instructed Social Affairs to rescind its letter of approval,
without providing a reason.

GOJ To USG--We will Take Another Look
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3. (SBU) The afternoon of October 23, RefCoord met to discuss the
refusal with the Secretary General of the Ministry, Nasser Shraideh,

who served as the chair of the inter-ministerial committee that
approved assistance projects for Iraqis, and Feda Gharaibeh,
responsible officer for Iraqi reconstruction. Initially, Shraideh
said the CARE proposal duplicated other ongoing projects in the
psychosocial sector. RefCoord explained that the CARE proposal was

designed to compliment projects already underway and to take
advantage of the experience and expertise that CARE offered in
Jordan. Shraideh then changed his objection, saying that the CARE
proposal included a component in which journalism trainees
interviewed Iraqis and published their stories. Feda Gharaibeh
joined the SecGen in objecting to this aspect of the proposal,
saying that journalism had no place in Iraqi assistance.


4. (SBU) Shraideh agreed to review the committee decision and
discuss the proposal with CARE. He instructed Gharaibeh to meet
with CARE and RefCoord later to discuss how the project might be
resubmitted to the inter-ministerial committee. In a subsequent
meeting, Dodd told RefCoord that CARE had already removed the
journalism component of the original project at the insistence of
PRM. The document CARE submitted to the GOJ did not represent the
project in its most current form. She said that she would resubmit

the proposal and report the outcome to RefCoord.

Comment--Concerns About Publicity
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5. (SBU) Refusals of USG projects here are rare, and we do not
believe the rejection of CARE's proposal was a swipe at the USG.
The committee has held up any program that hints of a refugee
census or raises the public profile of refugee programming. In
Jordan, NGO and IO projects were screened by an inter-ministerial
committee chaired by MOPIC, and attended regularly by the ministries

of social affairs, health, education, and interior. We will monitor

the situation closely to ensure that the GOJ gives proper and fair
consideration to the PRM-funded project. End comment.

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