UNHCR DISCUSSES IRAQ SECURITY CONCERNS

C O N F I D E N T I A L GENEVA 001095 SIPDIS BAGHDAD FOR RALBRIGHT AMMAN FOR REFCOORD STATE FOR PRM/MCE AND PRM/ANE E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2018 TAGS: PREF PHUM IR SUBJECT: UNHCR DISCUSSES IRAQ SECURITY CONCERNS Classified By: RMA COUNSELOR PETER MULREAN FOR REASONS 1.4 B & D. ¶1. (C) Summary: Radhouane Nouicer, UNHCR MENA Director, expressed concern to U.S. Mission officers that the UN was not moving aggressively to ensure logistical security inside Iraq for UNHCR and other UN agencies. Nouicer feared the UN may decide to withdraw again to Amman and coordinate its Iraq operations remotely, a move he said would be "devastating" to UNHCR's activities. We would appreciate information/guidance on the status of discussions on future UN security arrangements. End Summary. UNHCR CONCERNED UN SECURITY PLANS NOT IN PLACE -------------- - ¶2. (C) RMA Counselor and RMA Officer met with Radhouane Nouicer, UNHCR Director of the Bureau for North Africa and the Middle East December 16. In a read-out of his recent trip to Iraq with High Commissioner Guterres, Nouicer was fairly upbeat on UNHCR's current efforts to expand its activities inside Iraq. People are being assigned to international staff positions for Iraq and should be arriving in the coming months. LikewiQ, UNHCR is beefing-up national (Iraqi) staff. Nouicer expressed concern, however, about the UN's overall plan to provide security for UNHCR and other UN agencies once the SOFA agreement comes into effect. Nouicer said this is "a major issue" for UNHCR, which is anxious to move back to Iraq, but they do not have the impression that the UN is moving quickly to address it. In any case, he stressed, the decision rests with the "security people in New York" who will make the call that all the UN agencies will have to live with. Until now, he noted, UNHCR has not been invited to any UN meetings on the subject of Iraq security. ¶3. (C) Nouicer's main concern is that in the absence of a clear plan, the UN will take the easy solution of simply withdrawing its operations to Amman and operate in Iraq remotely. This, he said, would be "devastating" to UNHCR's operations. Nouicer echoed the views of other UNHCR staff that the UN has come to depend too much on MNF-I forces for transport and ground security in Iraq and stated that UNHCR is exposed now that it is the only UN agency with permanent international staff in the country. He underscored that UNHCR will move ahead with its current plans to deploy additional international staff in Baghdad and elsewhere, but lamented that it is not clear what they will do as of June. COMMENT -------------- ¶4. (C) UNHCR staff expressed similar frustration during a recent US-CENTCOM interagency visit to Geneva. Having taken the lead for the UN in Iraq in setting up its operations to assist returning displaced populations, UNHCR is now worried that a potential withdrawal of international staff not only would make management of returns more difficult, but would also send a signal to vulnerable Iraqi populations that Iraqi forces cannot ensure security. We would appreciate information/guidance on the status of discussions regarding future UN security arrangements in Iraq. TICHENOR