RETURNING IDPS TO ABU GHRAIB - PLAN OR PUBLICITY?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001558

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2019
TAGS: PREF PGOV PREL PHUM IZ
SUBJECT: RETURNING IDPS TO ABU GHRAIB - PLAN OR PUBLICITY?

REF: 08 BAGHDAD 3942

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Robert S. Ford for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d)


1. (SBU) Summary: On June 4, the Ministry of Displacement
and Migration (MODM) presented its plan for large-scale
returns to Abu Ghraib. The MODM wants to facilitate the
return of 11,600 displaced families from Abu Ghraib.
According to the MODM, most of Abu Ghraib,s displaced are
squatters in Hurriya, Chicook and Kerbala. MODM wishes to
organize a coordinated effort, supported by the
Implementation and Follow-up Committee for National
Reconciliation (IFCNR),Iraqi Security Forces (ISF),U.S.
military, Office of IDP and Refugee Affairs (REF),
international organizations (IO) and international
non-governmental organizations (NGO). MODM,s initial step
will be to establish two teams: one to assess the extent of
property and infrastructure damage in Abu Ghraib; the second
team will identify families interested in returning to Abu
Ghraib and assess their needs. The Government of Iraq has
yet to make a decision whether to proceed, as preliminary
meetings about the MODM initiative have raised concerns over
the security implications and the ability of Abu Ghraib to
absorb mass returns. End Summary.


2. (SBU) June 4, MODM Director General (DG) for Humanitarian
Affairs Samir Nahi told representatives of IFCNR, ISF Baghdad
Operations Command (BOC),REF, USAID Office of Foreign
Disaster Assistance (OFDA),UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR),International Organization of Migration (IOM) and
International Medical Corps (IMC) of the Ministry,s plan for
mass returns to Abu Ghraib. MODM DG Samir explained that the
Ministry had chosen to focus on Abu Ghraib because the area
had suffered considerable displacement, but to date had very
few returns. MODM has registered 11,600 displaced families
from Abu Ghraib. (Note: MODM registered a total of 92,936
IDP families from Baghdad, including Abu Ghraib. End note.)
According to Samir, the majority of Abu Ghraib,s displaced
are scattered throughout western Baghdad. Some have
illegally occupied homes in Hurriya or apartments in state
owned buildings, while others live in makeshift shelters on
government land in IDP clusters such as Chicook. MODM
acknowledged that it could not facilitate returns on its own
and requested that IFCNR be responsible for securing support
from Government of Iraq (GOI) line ministries, while the BOC
would coordinate efforts with local ISF. The DG hopes that
focusing on a specific neighborhood and pooling the efforts
of various stakeholders will generate more immediate and
tangible results.


3. (U) Bordering Anbar, Abu Ghraib is the western most qada
(rural district) of Baghdad Province. After 2006, Abu Ghraib
became an Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) stronghold and subsequent
sectarian violence, resulted in the displacement of its Shia
population. The violence also inflicted extensive property
damage and decimated the local economy. On May 25, OFDA and
REF visited Abu Ghraib with the U.S. Army 2-1 Combat Brigade
Team to discuss the community,s needs with the Kandari Nahia
(rural neighborhood) Council, a local women,s community
group, a sheikh council and Sunni IDPs from Baghdad who had
moved to the area. Most said that Abu Ghraib was relatively
safe and no one cited the security situation as an impediment
to potential progress. The lack of economic opportunity and
damaged property were the community,s chief concerns. The
women,s community group, headed by a nahia (neighborhood)
council member, expressed a need for micro-grants, vocational
Qcouncil member, expressed a need for micro-grants, vocational
training and funding for a center. Many of the IDPs who had
relocated to Abu Ghraib wished to stay, but complained of the
lack of employment opportunities and of government services.
A sense of abandonment by the Shia dominated central and
provincial government was a common sentiment among Abu
Ghraib,s predominantly Sunni population. In 2008, a GOI
initiative to return IDPs to Abu Ghraib as seen as
politically motivated and favoring Shia, and resulted in a
temporary surge of violence (REF).


4. (C) According to the MODM's DG Samir, most of the
residents of the Chicook IDP cluster (a shantytown adjacent
to Hurriya in west Baghdad) are from Abu Ghraib and, with
better employment prospects, would return home. At the June
4 meeting, Samir stated that many of Abu Ghraib,s displaced
were squatting on government property. He added that under
Prime Minister Order 101, the State was entitled to evict
them immediately. However, the DG denied allegations that
the MODM or the GOI had plans to forcibly remove IDPs from
government property and relocate them to Abu Ghraib, but,
without mention of a time frame, said that the government was
interested in reclaiming its property.


5. (SBU) On May 24, OFDA and REF visited an IDP cluster in
western Ghazaliya. Located on the urban outskirts of Baghdad,
the Ghazaliya IDP cluster is a shantytown - home to

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approximately 200 families, consisting of one room homes,
approximately 100 square feet in size, constructed from clay
blocks with no running water and only intermittent
electricity from generators. Local ISF informed REFOFF that
the homes had been illegally built on government land, but
the ISF did not know which ministry owned the land.
Children from the shantytown do not attend school because it
is too far and families cannot afford the school lunches.
One woman informed us that she pays 75,000 Iraqi dinars ($64;
1USD = 1170 IQD) in rent for her home. The woman did not
have a job, but earned money by selling half of her food
rations provided through the Public Distribution System (PDS)
and using the other half to make baked goods for sale. The
woman said she could not afford to move back to her original
neighborhood and hoped that she could stay where she was, but
wished improved living conditions. (Note: While discussions
with the Ghazaliya IDP cluster residents revealed that many
are economically displaced from Taji and Shula, not Abu
Ghraib, the conditions there are comparable to other
clusters, including Chicook. End note.)


6. (C) Comment: The MODM,s efforts to facilitate returns
to Abu Ghraib is a welcome initiative that may warrant USG,
IO and NGO support. The risk is that a poorly administered
return process would have a destabilizing effect and increase
human suffering. Most importantly, returns must be
voluntary; the manner in which MODM identifies possible
returns and addresses the needs of those who do not wish to
move to Abu Ghraib will serve as indicator to the MODM's true
intentions. The MODM,s attempt to include GOI line
ministries could be an acknowledgement that sustainable
returns is beyond its purview of humanitarian assistance and
may clear the way for a phased approach to returns that
focuses on community development. We will keep discussing
with the MODM and support GOI efforts that facilitate
voluntary returns through policies that improve security,
rehabilitate shelter, expand economic opportunities and
provide greater access to basic services. End Comment.

FORD