U.S-EU CONSULTATIONS ON HUMANITRIAN ASSISTANCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BRUSSELS 000769 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PREL EAID EUN SUBJECT: U.S-EU CONSULTATIONS ON HUMANITRIAN ASSISTANCE ¶1. (U) Summary: Acting Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Mgration Samuel Witten led a U.S. delegation of PRM and USAID officials in Brussels May 19 or the annual humanitarian Strategic Policy Dialogue (SPD) between the U.S. and the European Commission, the world's two largest humanitarian donors. The consultations with the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) reflected broad agreement on many humanitarian issues between ECHO and the U.S. agencies represented. The group noted that a series of joint U.S.-EU field assessment missions in Africa have strengthened relationships and led to improvements in the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Common areas of concern discussed at the SPD included civil-military relations, budgets and mandates of UN agencies, and the politicization of humanitarian assistance in Sudan, Sri Lanka, and North Korea. End summary. Assisting Iraqi refugees and IDPs -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Acting A/S Samuel Witten explained that, in addition to its long-standing support for Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan and elsewhere, the U.S. is becoming increasingly focused on helping Iraq and international agencies and NGOs create and maintain conditions within Iraq that could facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Efforts of the Government of Iraq have generally been lackluster on this issue, participants said. Witten said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates 280,000-300,000 displaced Iraqis already have returned home (an estimated 90 percent are IDPs, 10 percent refugees) and IOM estimates that more than 60 percent of IDPs hope to return home. Describing the current moment as a "window of opportunity" to assist voluntary returns, Witten encouraged the EU and its member states to increase funding for UNHCR and other actors so that those Iraqis returning home voluntarily find adequate services which, in turn, will encourage future returns. While the U.S. has been the largest funder of international appeals for Iraqi refugees and will continue funding the appeals, he said the U.S. seeks to make it more of an international effort shared with all major donors. He added that the U.S. cannot sustain the current percentages of UNHCR funding for Iraq. ECHO officials noted their particular interest in stability in the Middle East and returns of displaced persons given Europe's geographical proximity to the Middle East and the fact that thousands of Iraqi refugees make their way to Europe to request asylum. ¶3. (SBU) ECHO Head of Unit Jean-Claude Heyraud said the main reasons ECHO has not given more money are lack of access for ECHO's NGO partners inside Iraq and an overall EU approach centered on increasing the capacity of Iraqi ministries and institutions. "If there is a massive return with a massive need, we will look again" at further funding, he said. ECHO spent 18 million euros in 2007 for Iraqi refugees and IDPs, 30 million in 2008, and has allocated 20 million for 2009. The European Commission's Directorate General for External Relations (RELEX) has allocated 66 million euro for Iraq for 2009-2010, Heyraud said. The amount of Commission funding going to UNHCR this year includes 5.5 million euros from ECHO and 6 million euros from RELEX. ECHO Director of Operations Steffen Stenberg said he believed resettlement programs in the U.S. and Europe for Iraqi refugees could dampen refugees' willingness to return to Iraq, but Witten said the number of people signing up for resettlement from Syria has not increased dramatically, the number of new registrants in Jordan is not increasing, and most Iraqis are not pushing to resettle in a third country. ¶4. (SBU) In a separate meeting, Swedish government officials reflected a willingness to highlight the Iraqi refugee and IDP issue when Sweden assumes the EU Presidency for six months on July 1. Ola Henrikson, Director General for Migration and Asylum at Sweden's Ministry of Justice, said Sweden contributes 50-60 million euros in unearmarked funds to UNHCR each year, and will encourage other EU member states BRUSSELS 00000769 002 OF 004 to contribute to the Iraqi funding appeals. "It is in the interest of EU member states to alleviate pressure on Syria and Jordan," he said, citing the thousands of Iraqis who make their way to Europe each year to request political asylum. In 2007, Sweden had 18,000 Iraqi asylum seekers, half of all asylum seekers in Europe. Since then, Sweden has tightened its criteria for asylum, and numbers are down, but they are rising in Finland, Norway and other countries. Sweden offers Iraqi's 7000 euros per family to return to Iraq, and so far approximately 1,000 have returned, Henrikson said. Sri Lanka: Military victory only partial solution -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) ECHO Head of Unit Esko Kentrschynskyj said the Government of Sri Lanka's recently declared military victory over the LTTE solved only 80 percent of the humanitarian problem. ECHO is concerned about the military's strong presence and control in civilian areas and the lack of information about the fate of many civilians trapped during the fighting. ECHO said local authorities planned to ban vehicle traffic from humanitarian agencies into IDP camps, and the government banned UNICEF from working through international NGOs, limiting it to only local NGOs. The International Committee of the Red Cross was trying to gain access to the former conflict zone to register the dead. A recent visit to the field by EU troika representatives was heavily stage-managed by the Government of Sri Lanka and allowed for little real investigation, Kentrschynskyj said. Witten agreed that the current end to fighting "is not the end of the story" and may only be a pause in tensions in Sri Lanka absent a long-term political solution. USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator (DAA) Jon Brause noted an "unparalleled level of cooperation" between EU and U.S. field offices in Sri Lanka. Shared concerns over Sudan, Horn of Africa and Zimbabwe -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) ECHO Director General Peter Zangl said reports from the field in Sudan regarding capacity to deliver humanitarian assistance are "not reassuring." ECHO Director Stenberg said the Sudanese bureaucracy continues to stifle progress with an average 28-week wait for expatriate work permits. USAID DAA Brause said 75 percent of humanitarian capacity was re-established quickly following the Government of Sudan's expulsion of 13 international NGOs. Three or four of the expelled U.S.-based NGOs will return to Sudan through affiliates while others will be permanently banned, he said. ¶7. (SBU) Turning to Ethiopia, ECHO Head of Unit Cees Wittebrood described the situation as precarious and said protecting humanitarian space is a constant challenge. The fact that the Government of Ethiopia, rather than UNHCR and the World Food Program (WFP),runs refugee/IDP camps and distributes food results in a failure of food aid to reach all beneficiaries, he said. Wittebrood welcomed joining forces with the U.S. in approaching the Government of Ethiopia, saying the U.S. has leverage while the EU is merely tolerated. On Somalia, he said the focus on piracy should not divert the international community from needed reforms on the mainland. If the food gets safely to the port cities of Mogadishu and Mombasa (Kenya),but then cannot be distributed inland, it has not reached the right people, he said. Witten expressed continuing frustration over the Government of Kenya's failure to find a solution to overcrowding in the Dadaab camps, saying both he and the UNHCR High Commissioner had had what appeared to be successful talks in Nairobi in 2008 only to see the problems continue. ¶8. (SBU) On Zimbabwe, Wittebrood said ECHO believes WFP is exaggerating the scope of food needs and should target only vulnerable households. ECHO's focus this year will move from food assistance to developing long-term food security. Stenberg said ECHO believes OCHA is less effective than it should be in Zimbabwe and the Resident Coordinator is not a BRUSSELS 00000769 003 OF 004 strong advocate for the humanitarian community. But, he added, "On the whole, we are not pessimistic about Zimbabwe because it has the basis to recover" provided the government is stable and allows the international community to assist. Wittebrood said he will participate in a joint field mission to Zimbabwe with DG-Development officials in June. Palestinian refugees -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Stenberg expressed frustration that although donors pledged 4.7 billion dollars for Gaza reconstruction, Israeli restrictions on border crossings mean "we still can hardly get 10 sacks of cement in." He said Israeli claims of being under attack from Palestinians do not hold up to scrutiny. Witten said the U.S. has been making efforts to persuade Israel to increase access into Gaza consistent with Israel's legitimate security needs. He praised UNRWA as the "lifeblood" of the Palestinian refugees in need of assistance. Stenberg said ECHO is following President Obama's Middle East initiatives with anticipation. "The best thing we can do now is to see what the new administration will do." Politicization of Humanitarian Assistance -------------- ¶10. (SBU) USAID DAA Brause raised the question of what the U.S. and EU should do when non-political hmanitarian assistance becomes politicized by host-country governments such as Sudan, Sri Lanka and North Korea. "I'm not sure the international community agrees on standards," he said. "If the environment makes it (humanitarian assistance) into political assistance, should we be there?" The UN, he suggested, could play a larger role in defending impartial humanitarian assistance. After the Sudanese government expelled international humanitarian NGOs, the international community adapted to the government-imposed conditions with little resistance, he said. "We dropped the standards that we claim are so important to our operation. If we don't stand behind our standards, they (foreign governments) will use our rules against us." ECHO DG Zangl said he was disappointed the U.S. and EU did not send a joint letter of protest to the Sudanese government. "Sometimes you have to make your mark" for what you believe in, Zangl said. Reforming the UN -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Witten noted that UNHCR's new decentralized and needs-based budgeting approach has many details that need to be worked out leading up to the UNHCR Executive Committee meetings in Geneva. Stenberg said the UN's system in the field of having both Resident Coordinators (RCs) and Humanitarian Coordinators (HCs) is often problematic since those who come from a development background are used to cooperating closely with government ministries while Humanitarian Coordinators generally ask the host government "to get out of the way." USAID DAA Brause said the UN should consider applicants outside the UN system to broaden the pool of potential HCs. ECHO DG Zangl said his experience in the EU made him wary of hiring outsiders as mid- and senior managers in large organizations with complex structures and unique organizational cultures. Civil-Military Relations in Af/Pak -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Zangl said the balance between international humanitarian workers (civilians) and the military was disproportionately skewed toward the military in Afghanistan and Pakistan from the outset of international military involvement. Kentrschynskyj said the civ-mil liaison structure is not working optimally in Afghanistan. While individual ISAF generals are superb, the high turnover rate results in lack of continuity, he said. The establishment of an OCHA office is a positive step, he said, as is NATO's BRUSSELS 00000769 004 OF 004 commitment to repaint its white vehicles so they are not confused with humanitarian vehicles. Brause said limited civilian capacity is problematic. ECHO Head of Unit Johannes Luchner, however, said a recent study by consultants showed no gap in humanitarian capacity except in extraordinary circumstances like a devastating tsunami. "The problem is that the military is doing things that civilians should be doing," he said. On Pakistan, Kentrschynskyj said the Pakistani military has played a largely positive role in helping humanitarian providers safely access affected areas. Food Aid -------------- ¶13. (SBU) ECHO expressed strong skepticism about WFP's funding needs and mandate. Stenberg said the Consolidated Appeal (CAP) for food was inflated and added, "We don't trust it." Zangl said WFP raised alarm bells over rising food prices last year, but failed to readjust its strategy when food prices then dropped. He suggested WFP stay within its core mandate of delivering food and not expand into other areas. Stenberg and Luchner said WFP and other UN agencies need to lower their funding expectations. "These big agencies need to know up front they're not going to get full funding, and they are not going to go public and say, 'People are dying because of you (the donors),'" Stenberg said. Brause said USAID has asked WFP to clarify the beneficiaries it is trying to reach, but said the U.S. remains a strong supporter of WFP. Joint U.S.-EU field assessment missions -------------- ¶14. (U) Stenberg and Wittebrood emphasized the importance of joint U.S.-EU field missions, including the most recent one in January to Chad. USAID/DCHA Humanitarian Policy Adviser Mia Beers suggested Zimbabwe as a potential site for the next joint mission. Stenberg agreed that it could be useful, especially if DG-Development officials participated. Both the U.S. and ECHO agreed to brainstorm further about potential locations for future missions with the understanding that they should continue. Possible troika format for future SPDs -------------- ¶15. (SBU) Comment: In January, ECHO formalized an institutional relationship with the European Council for the first time and has begun having regular meetings with a Council Working Group, the Committee on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid (COHAFA). That institutional change may present an opportunity for the U.S. to transition its SPD format to a troika format for formal consultations (most troikas take place twice a year, once in Washington and once in Brussels or the EU Presidency capital). The troika format would bring in the European Council Secretariat and the EU Presidency as opposed to the SPD format which includes only the European Commission. The idea has been discussed at the working level in Brussels, and USEU recommends that senior officials in PRM and USAID/OFDA consider it as a potentially useful forum for broadening the discussion on humanitarian affairs to the EU member states. End Comment. ¶16. (U) PRM Acting A/S Witten and USAID DAA Brause have cleared this report. MURRAY .