EC RESPONSE TO PAKISTAN IDP CRISIS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000723 SIPDIS PRM FOR NHASTINGS AND AWENDT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PHUM PK PREF SOCI SUBJECT: EC RESPONSE TO PAKISTAN IDP CRISIS REF: A. SECSTATE 50276 ¶B. BRUSSELS 651 AND 547 BRUSSELS 00000723 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. USEU Brussels delivered reftel demarche to European Commission officials the week of May 18, including EC Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) Director General Zangl. EC officials share USG concerns regarding number of IDPs; strain on existing camps and families hosting IDPs, and need to provide health services, shelter, and food. ECHO officials referenced an IDP figure of roughly 1.5 million, which they will use as their point of reference. They cited great pressure on families hosting IDPs as an on-going concern. ECHO finds General Nadeem to be well placed to lead Pakistan's efforts and noted an overall positive performance reaching remote areas following the 2005 earthquake. The EU has established a Pakistan task force on the ground through its delegation in Islamabad. Its task force will request a meeting with General Nadeem. ¶2. ECHO recently released USD 50.5 million in annual funding for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. UN agencies and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) will receive the bulk of the funding. Assistance will target protection activities; water and sanitation; shelter; food assistance; response to small-scale natural disasters; provision of air transport (for aid workers and aid); and security information and advice for humanitarian organizations. Specific objectives: --Objective 1 (USD 29 M): To provide protection, relief and assistance to vulnerable people affected by the consequences of the conflicts and natural disasters in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. --Objective 2 (USD 7 M): To provide essential support services to humanitarian organizations, with a focus on coordination and advocacy, the provision of air transport and security information/advice. --Objective 3 (USD 10.6 M): To provide food assistance for highly food insecure populations in Afghanistan. ¶3. This week, ECHO provided an additional USD 7.7 M for humanitarian assistance covering only Pakistan. Although it has not finalized specific numbers, most of the funds will go to ICRC. There will also be some level of support for UNHCR, WFP, and OCHA for coordination. ECHO is considering sending a needs assessment mission to Pakistan from their Kabul office (ECHO/Kabul follows Pakistan at field level). Their mission will seek to clarify and paint a more comprehensive picture of who is doing what and where, particularly regarding NGOs. Ultimately, for ECHO, access and monitoring are most important along with coordination among stakeholders. ECHO is currently preparing a situation report and they will share that with us. ¶4. The European Union will host the first EU-Pakistan Summit on June 17 in Brussels. Internal EU discussions are underway about possible deliverables. The EU is looking at short, medium, and long-term options for increasing trade. In the BRUSSELS 00000723 002.2 OF 002 short term, they will focus on technical assistance, in the medium term on GSP-plus, and in the long run on a Free Trade Agreement. The EU also hopes to use the Summit to get Pakistan on board with implementing the recommendations of the EU's 2008 Election Observation Mission to Pakistan. In the counter-terrorism arena, the EU's focus will be institutional - including technical assistance to improve the judiciary, police, and rule of law. The Summit will likely also conclude side agreements on aviation, fisheries, and anti-dumping. An EU contact noted that a number of EU member states (including Denmark and Sweden) cannot by law provide direct budget support to Pakistan, which was requested at a recent Democratic Friends of Pakistan meeting in Abu Dhabi. These countries would prefer to work through a trust fund, such as the proposed World Bank-led Frontier Trust Fund. The Czechs, holders of the current EU Presidency, have not decided who will represent them at the summit and Pakistan will not decide whom to send until they know who will represent the Czechs, according to an EU contact. MURRAY .