UNHCR UPDATES ON REFUGEE SITUATION IN CAIRO

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 000267

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/SPG, AF/E, PRM FOR LANGE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2019
TAGS: PREF PREL PHUM PGOV ECON ELAB SU ER ET SO
IS, EG
SUBJECT: UNHCR UPDATES ON REFUGEE SITUATION IN CAIRO

REF: A. 08 CAIRO 1332

B. 08 CAIRO 1231

C. 08 CAIRO 1258

D. 08 CAIRO 2583

E. CAIRO 36

F. 08 CAIRO 1762


1. (C) Summary: We attended the Cairo Office of the United
Nations High Commission for Refugees' (UNHCR) multilateral
meeting on February 4 to discuss refugee developments and
UNHCR's plans for 2009. UNHCR partners, NGO's, and western
embassies also participated. Following the meeting, UNHCR
Regional Representative Saad Al Attar told us that UNHCR's
relationship with the Government of Egypt (GOE) has worsened
in the past year. UNHCR no longer has unfettered access to
potential refugees and asylum seekers, and is prohibited from
working with Palestinians. UNHCR summarized its operations
for 2008, and addressed the major factors that impinge on its
ability to assist refugees including budgetary constraints, a
sharp increase in irregular transitory movement, and GOE
pressure to limit refugee programs. Cairo is home to one of
the largest urban refugee populations in the world.
Estimates of the unofficial refugee population vary between
1-2 million. The large refugee population presents UNHCR
with logistical challenges to providing assistance, and
budgetary constraints limit UNHCR to providing a minimum of
services. Refugees are dissatisfied with the quantity and
quality of service. There is no program to provide medical
procedures and refugees either go without needed services or
negotiate cheap operations that only complicate their medical
conditions. End Summary.

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UNHCR-GOE Relations: From Bad to Worse
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2. (SBU) Al Attar told the group that since February 2008
there has been a significant change in UNHCR's relationship
with the GOE. UNHCR no longer has "automatic" access to
potential refugees and asylum seekers. Al Attar stated that
UNHCR sent 82 letters to the GOE on this situation without
receiving a single response. The only group to which UNHCR
was granted access was a group of 149 Eritreans and
Ethiopians held in Aswan (reftel A). He said 118 Eritreans
were determined to be refugees and were accepted by Canada.
However, these refugees were still being held in Aswan as
there was no agreement on the part of the GOE to release them.


3. (C) Al Attar told us privately that the High
Commissioner's (HC) call to open the Gaza border crossings
during the Gaza conflict had infuriated the GOE. As a
result, the GOE will not allow UNHCR to attend any meetings
on aid to Palestinians. The GOE told Al Attar on February 3
that "UNHCR is with the Doha group" (Note: This is reference
to the GOE's view of the current political division in the
Middle East with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan on one side
and Qatar (Doha),Syria, and Iran on the other side.) and it
is prohibited from working with Palestinians in Egypt, or on
Gaza. He stated that despite UNHCR's two memoranda of
understanding with the Egyptian Red Crescent, and its
provision of USD 80,000 in basic emergency needs assistance,
blankets and medicine for Gaza, the GOE even prohibited UNHCR
from working with a Palestinian/Iraqi family that was to be
resettled in Europe. The case was turned over to
International Organization for Migration. Al Attar assessed
that as a result of the HC's comment, the GOE no longer
appears to be committed to adhering to the refugee
conventions. He no longer has the ability to raise refugee
issues with the GOE, and for the first time in his 27-year
career, he feels "suffocated." Al Attar told us that he is
contemplating putting in for a transfer.

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Increase in Irregular Migration
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4. (SBU) Al-Attar told the group that the most significant
change in refugee patterns over the past year was the
irregular movement of Eritreans and Ethiopians to the Israeli
border. The GOE arrested and imprisoned approximately 2,000
trying to cross the border. Egypt forcibly deported many of
these migrants back to Eritrea (reftels B-E). (note:
According to human rights groups, Egypt forcibly repatriated
approximately 1,200 Eritrean in June 2008. Amnesty
International reported that between December 23, 2008 and
January 18, 2009 Egypt forcibly repatriated about 100
Eritreans. End Note). Al Attar thanked Ambassador Scobey for
her help with Eritreans detained by Egypt and scheduled for
deportation (reftels D, E).


5. (C) Privately, Al Attar stated that in the past two
months, Egypt has not shot any African migrants at the
border. According to Amnesty International however at least
28 African migrants, in 2008, were shot by Egyptian police
while attempting to smuggle across the border. Al Attar said
he was not aware of any Egyptian policy change on border
procedures. He told us that Israeli troops recently shot and
killed two African migrants after they successfully crossed
the border (NFI). Al Attar said the Israeli Head of
Immigration told him that approximately 6,000 Africans
crossed in Israeli in the past year. Despite a change in
Israeli Employment Law, preventing African migrants from
obtaining work (NFI),UNHCR expects the irregular migration
to continue because of the terrible human rights situation in
the Horn of Africa, especially in Eritrea. According to Al
Attar, Human smuggling in the Sinai thrives because it pays
more than drugs. Although Israel is the most popular
destination, other routes through Egypt and Libya to Europe
and to Europe through Jordan, Syria, and Turkey are growing
in popularity. Al Attar told us that refugees say "it is
better to be a beggar in Europe, than a teacher in Asmara or
Addis Ababa."


6. (C) Al Attar said that Egypt's solution to this phenomenon
of irregular migration is to deport the migrants back to
their countries of origin. He told us that those caught by
Egyptian police transiting the border who possess UNHCR
identification will be imprisoned for one-year and released
back to UNHCR. However, if the migrants possess no refugee
documentation the GOE will imprison them and then repatriate
them to their home countries. Al Attar is concerned because
many Eritreans are going by boat straight from Eritrea to the
Sinai Peninsula without bothering to register as refugees.
He added that the GOE is especially keen to make sure that
those avoiding military service be sent back and not given
asylum. Al Attar claimed that there is "an agreement in
principle between Egypt and Sudan" to return Eritrean and
Ethiopian refugees, registered in Sudan, to Sudan vice their
countries of origin. He said that UNHCR's Assistant High
Commissioner Erika Feller will come to Cairo to follow up on
this agreement and will seek a meeting with the U.S. Embassy.

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Refugee Services Impacted by Fixed Budget, Higher Prices
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7. (U) Al Attar asked what effect the financial crisis would
have on future USG funding for UNHCR. He told us that UNHCR
Cairo's budget has remained unchanged since 2002, while the
registered refugee population has grown by four times to
43,000. In 2008, UNHCR Cairo's budget was USD 5.5 million and
Al Attar hopes to increase this to USD 6 million for 2009.
However, Al Attar added that this budgetary increase will not
account for the 30% increase in the prices of basic
necessities in Cairo over the last year, which further
reduces the ability of UNHCR and its partner organization to
provide for refugee needs. In 2008, UNHCR provided USD 48
per year/per capita for financial and basic medical
assistance. This is down from USD 648 in 2000, and Al Attar
acknowledges that this amount "does not begin to cover the
basic expenses that refugees incur."


8. (U) Despite the challenges, UNHCR and Caritas in 2008
provided pharmaceutical support for 700 chronically ill
patients, and supplied medical care for 350 pregnant women,
and incubation for 30 infants. UNHCR and Catholic Relief
Services provided 6,500 education grants ranging from LE
850-1550 (USD 155-280),which helped defray some costs for
enrollment in private, public and refugee schools. UNHCR also
funded programs to care for 180 unaccompanied minors and
reduce youth violence among Sudanese refugees. Due to the
lack of basic funds, UNHCR and its partners also provide
self-reliance and vocational training for the refugees. In
2008, partner organizations provided vocational training for
900 refugees, and placed 73 trainees in local jobs.

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GOE Discouraging Refugee Self-Reliance Training
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9. (C) Al Attar stated that the GOE on February 3 expressed
concern that UNHCR's self-reliance/vocational training
programs enable refugees to take "Egyptian jobs." The GOE
told UNHCR that it should not offer refugees vocational
training programs unless the refugees have agreed to
participate in the voluntary repatriation programs. UNHCR is
working with International Labor Organization to conduct a
survey on its self-reliance training activities. The survey
results will be released in April. UNHCR and its partners
will use the survey to provide targeted training
opportunities for refugees, but Al Attar noted that the
training will be linked to voluntary return.

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Some Progress on Voluntary Repatriation
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10. (SBU) Al Attar said that the "positive development" for
2008 was the success of UNHCR's voluntary repatriation
programs. He said that 1,800 Iraqis voluntarily returned in
2008 (reftel F). This constitutes 18 percent of the
registered Iraqi refugees in Egypt. (Note: The numbers of
Iraqi refugees registered with UNHCR only declined by 500,
which probably means that many Iraqis, already living in
Cairo, registered with UNHCR to obtain assistance. End Note).
Al Attar stated that the repatriation of Iraqis has slowed,
but he expects it to pick up after the end of the current
school year. He also told us that the UNHCR Cairo office
repatriated 900 South Sudanese last year, down from 1,250 in

2007. Al Attar blames the reduction on the situation in South
Sudan, where he says there is "no development and no jobs."
He expects that the number repatriated to Sudan will decrease
again this year.

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Resettlement is not the Solution
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11. (SBU) Al Attar assessed that resettlement is not the
solution to the refugee situation in Cairo. He is concerned
that an emphasis on resettlement will create a "pull factor"
encouraging more refugees to come to Egypt. Last year, UNHCR
resettled 925 refugees from Egypt to third countries, of
which 425 were from Sub-Saharan Africa and the remainder
mostly Iraqis. Currently, UNHCR only processes resettlement
for those considered "at risk." This includes refugees that
have been tortured, suffer from life-threatening medical
conditions, or those "in need of protection." UNHCR plans to
resettle 900 refugees out of Egypt in 2009.


12. (C) Comment: Egyptian concerns about repatriation or
resettlement options, economic competition between refugees
and Egyptians for limited job opportunities, and discussions
over UNHCR's access to potential asylum seekers in Egyptian
prisons creates tension between the GOE and UNHCR. High
Commissioner Guterres' call on January 5 to open Gaza border
crossing exacerbated an already tense relationship. However,
the GOE does not believe the relationship is a bad as what
UNHCR believes (details coming septel). UNHCR feels pressure
from the GOE and regularly approaches us about our inability
to take emergency resettlement cases, the length of our
resettlement process, and the absence of a DHS official with
whom to coordinate on resettlement. Both Saad Al Attar and
Deputy Director Katharina Lumpp are exhausted by the
bureaucracy, and new faces and a new approach may help to
reinvigorate UNHCR and it relationship with the GOE.
SCOBEY