REFCOORD REPORTING FORM RESPONSE JORDAN, SYRIA, AND LEBANON

UNCLAS AMMAN 000859 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/ANE, AND NEA/ELA, GENEVA FOR RMA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF EAID UNHCR IZ JO SY LE SUBJECT: REFCOORD REPORTING FORM RESPONSE JORDAN, SYRIA, AND LEBANON PART 1 OF 2 REF: STATE 12654 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Reftel tasked RefCoords to open a dialogue with UNHCR in the field as they prepare their biannual program/budget planning document, the Country Operational Plan (COP). Initial conversations with UNHCR Country representatives and staff in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon on the COP revealed common planning areas, challenges, and approaches. UNHCR offices in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon share a caseload and a political context for their work in the three countries. The three offices worked closely in developing the 2009 Combined Appeals Process budget documents and will continue that cooperation for the 2010-2011 COPs. Budgets in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria reflect the results of local analysis of both the needs of registered Iraqi refugees and the cost of providing assistance in the region. Protection is a challenge in all three countries, as Iraqis do not enjoy host government recognition as refugees. The offices also completed joint training on management initiatives and planning software. This regional approach is good preparation for the cooperation that would be critical during the eventual repatriation of Iraqis from the three countries. End Summary. BUDGET -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The 2009 budget for UNHCR Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon was governed by the Combined Appeals Process, which formed the basis for the overall UN Iraq appeal in 2009. The process led by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) created a two-pillar appeal based on input from a needs assessment from all UN organizations working on Iraqi Displacement. Pillar I was an appeal for activities inside Iraq, and Pillar II was for operations outside Iraq. UNHCR local offices are following up with donors regionally. However all current budgeting is done through the 2009 CAP process. Looking forward to 2010-2011, UNHCR Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon share key assumptions: that a stable number of vulnerable Iraqis will continue to need assistance, that Iraqis are unlikely to return in large numbers given continued security concerns, and that UNHCR will maintain a policy based on the notion that conditions inside Iraqi are not suitable to support large scale refugee returns. PROTECTION -------------- ¶3. (SBU) All three UNHCR offices planned to use diplomatic efforts to encourage host countries to adhere to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocols. None of the hosting countries have signed the accords, and they are unlikely to do so in the near term. Given the political difficulties of this goal, UNHCR has planned to increase protection efforts for the most vulnerable Iraqis. UNHCR in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon will be looking at special protection needs of women who head households in the coming years. The growing number of adolescents out of school will require attention, including obtaining access to higher education for qualified and vulnerable youth. The UNHCR offices hope to expand rights granted to Iraqis in the three countries so that they can work legally and attend professional/vocational training programs designed to ease their repatriation. REFUGEE REGISTRATION -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Refugee registration in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon is current and regularly updated. Registration gives refuges access to food and cash distributions, as well as medical services. In Syria and Jordan, UNHCR completed a verification exercise in February 2009 which resulted in the elimination of 2000 names from the registration roster in Syria. Project Profile, the refugee registration and data collection project, is used in all three countries but is not used by the host governments. UNHCR documents provide some measure of basic protection for refugees. Law enforcement officials recognize UNHCR as responsible for Iraqis in the three countries. Protection officers work closely with host governments to educate law enforcement and judicial authorities as to refugee rights. In Jordan, UNHCR conducted well-attended workshops for police and internal security officers on refugee protection. The workshops were too recent at the time of the report to have shown results. However the governments' willingness to participate in training was an indicator of positive relations between the governments and UNHCR. COMPREHENSIVE NEEDS ASSESSMENT--PARTICIPATORY PLANNING -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) UNHCR in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon designed the COP process in a way that allowed for the participation of all interested parties. Coordination and information sharing meetings included the members of the UN country team, implementing and operational partners, and interested humanitarian organizations. In Syria, the host government, although invited, did not fully participate in the COP process. Security authorities within the SARG also discouraged Iraqi participation in UNHCR planning activities. However, the semi-independent Syrian Arab Red Crescent took part in UNHCR planning and training workshops. In Lebanon, only the local Ministry of Health and General Intelligence Service represented the host government at UNHCR planning meetings. UNHCR Jordan invited the Ministries of Education, Health, and Planning and International Cooperation to take part in the COP planning meetings. Government attendance at meetings was infrequent. ¶6. (SBU) UNHCR staff is trained on the use of UNHCR's new budget/planning software FOCUS. The staff of all three offices attended a three-day seminar on FOCUS in Jordan in March 2009. All three country directors and their protection, program and operational staff attended the sessions. Responsible staff said they believed FOCUS would effectively assist them in developing a needs assessment that can influence budget requests. UNHCR program officers praised focus and said the software would ease accounting and management decision-making by linking requests for resources directly to the identified needs of programs. ¶7. (SBU) UNHCR country offices use a combination of tools to inform donors and partners of unmet needs. UNHCR field offices hold regular donor briefings during which the current budget is reviewed with an eye to identifying unfunded activities. Partners take part in regular sector working groups, which feed into the needs assessment process. Iraqis are underrepresented in these meetings, and Iraqi views are only expressed through international NGOs. ¶8. (U) Recommendations: In future COP processes, UNHCR should find a locally acceptable method to ensure that Iraqi voices are heard, either through partners or through direct Iraqi participation in planning meetings. ¶9. (U) This cable was cleared by Embassies Beirut and Damascus Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman BEECROFT