OCHA MEETS WITH IDP DONORS IN ISLAMABAD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 001180 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2019 TAGS: PREL PREF PHUM PGOV EAID PTER PK SUBJECT: OCHA MEETS WITH IDP DONORS IN ISLAMABAD REF: A. ISLAMABAD 1151 ¶B. ISLAMABAD 1143 ¶C. ISLAMABAD 1120 ¶D. ISLAMABAD 1079 ¶E. ISLAMABAD 1042 ¶F. ISLAMABAD 1033 ¶G. ISLAMABAD 1031 Classified By: Anne W. Patterson for reasons 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) Summary: In an informal meeting with donors, Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) officials Rashid Khalkov and Manuel Bessler, expressed concern that Bajaur and Buner are not yet ready to support IDP return. UN contingency planning for a Waziristan displacement may be misperceived and is not likely to be well funded, but lack of preparedness would permit generation of spontaneous camps and extremism. A Waziristan displacement will require funding beyond that requested in the UN's May Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan appeal. OCHA reported security risks to those IDPs returning home or thinking about it. The Government of Pakistan has made clear to the UN that it wants no IDP camps in Punjab. End summary. ¶2. (C) At a May 27, Swiss-hosted, informal meeting with donors in Islamabad, Rashid Khalikov, Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York, and Manuel Bessler,head of OCHA's Pakistan office, provided donors with a frank update on the humanitarian situation, assistance constraints and increased funding needs. The UN will undertake a security assessment of Bajaur on May 30 to determine conditions for both returnees and those who have remained in the district. The team hopes to determine services available, the extent of destruction, and the presence of unexploded ordinance. Khalikov and Bessler expressed concern that while self-described Special Support Group Officer-in-Charge Lt.General Nadeem is describing Bajaur as safe, he also is offering to send a protective detail with the assessment team, While Nadeem has also described Buner as "clean", there are no services (such as telephone, water, and law enforcement) to facilitate IDP return. OCHA said that people are not returning to Buner any more and that others are starting to come out of Shangla. With regard to the Waziristans, OCHA expects that up to 80 percent of the 900,000 population will be displaced (with likely only 10 percent going to camps),and OCHA estimates that 37,000 have already been displaced. ¶3. (SBU) OCHA reported that to contain the IDPs in the southern part of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP),the Pakistani authorities have made clear to the UN that no IDP camps are to be erected in Punjab and that force (police and Frontier Corps) will be used, if necessary, to keep the IDPs out of Balochistan and Punjab. The UN is now working on a Contingency Plan for displacement from the Waziristans. It was very clear at the donors' meeting that while the GOP, UN, and donors all want to avoid the formation of "spontaneous camps" and the risk of extremism they entail, the UN faces serious challenges in getting sufficient funding for its current appeal, let alone any contingency needs. Khalikov noted that on the day of the announcement of the UN's revised Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan and appeal, the UN learned that it was already out of date. The May appeal, based on an average planning figure of 1.5 million 1DPs over seven months, may, if fully funded, be sufficient to meet needs of the current Swat, Buner and Dir displacements. However, the appeal does not take into consideration contingency planning for displacement from Waziristan. OCHA noted the difficulty in fund-raising for a contingency. There is also the risk that launching an appeal before the military operation will be perceived as inducing some of the civilian casualties from displacement and that it will cause additional panic. ¶4. (C) OCHA stressed that while IDPs have reasons to return home, their return must be informed and secure if it is to be durable. IDPs are supposed to receive 25,000 rupees while displaced, will receive compensation for destroyed homes in situ, can take home their NFI kits home with them, and should receive a two-three-month food package upon return. IDPs ISLAMABAD 00001180 002 OF 002 tend to go on visits home to assess the situation on the ground before returning permanently. While there are reports of 30 truckloads of IDPs returning home, OCHA also reported specific evidence of the security risks, including the recent capture by militants of 300 returnees and known threats to IDPs intending to return because of their acceptance of assistance from the Government and humanitarian community. OCHA described some camps in Mardan as infiltrated. ¶5. (U) OCHA described the Pakistan IDP crisis as one of the largest, fastest and most-underfunded displacement crises. He noted that if the international community does not take care of this problem, "it will blow up in our faces." Khalikov noted that the Minister of Foreign Affairs continues to pose a problem by insisting that the situation in Swat and NWFP is not a conflict. While indicating that IDP camps are "on track", he stressed the need to improve our ability to reach IDPs in hosted communities and noted that people do not "know their rights" and hence do not have sufficient access to food and non-food items. (Note: We see and hear everywhere about the real void that a radio station would fill in getting out critical information to IDPs. End note.) OCHA reps also highlighted the problem of lack of access to civilians in conflict areas. ¶6. (U) While WFP has a solid food pipeline for the next three months, and UNHCR has a sufficient pipeline of tents and NFI kits for the moment, assistance in the sector of water, sanitiation and hygiene is an urgent need, and health services is also "a bottleneck." PATTERSON