LACK OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO UN APPEAL FOR PAKISTAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000468 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PK PREF PREL PTER SUBJECT: LACK OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO UN APPEAL FOR PAKISTAN REF: ISLAMABAD 377 ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraphs 8-9. ¶2. (SBU) Summary. On February 26, representatives from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP) called on Charge d'Affaires to discuss their operations within Pakistan. Both organizations committed to continue their work to address the growing internally displaced persons (IDPs) situation in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA); however, they also reported that the USG was the only nation to contribute to the recent UN appeal and looked to the USG to motivate other donors. Additionally, they said that they were reexamining their security posture in country to determine how closely the UN organizations plan to work with the Pakistani military to deliver assistance. UNHCR and WFP noted that Geneva is considering the idea of creating a Humanitarian Envoy for the FATA and Balochistan to better manage UN operations in country and to work with the GOP. Embassy strongly supports the Humanitarian Envoy and asks the Department and USUN to weigh in with UN Headquarters. End summary. CURRENT OPERATIONS -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On February 26, Charge d'Affaires met with the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations and the Deputy Chief Operating Officer for WFP to discuss their current operations in Pakistan. Both agencies noted that they have been able to get into Swat District within the NWFP with humanitarian assistance, and WFP has established a distribution hub in Malakand, south of Swat, to deliver food and nonfood items to the affected populations. They also got twenty-three relief trucks into Mingora the week of February 22 with more expected. ¶4. (SBU) Both agencies report that they are continuing to have difficulties with the GOP at both the provincial and federal levels in that they will be granted access to an area by the federal government and then subsequently denied access to the same area by the provincial or district governments. (Note. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reported the same problem; however, while ICRC had been able to get past most of the local problems, it is now receiving pushback from the NWFP Government and Swat district government based on Pakistani fear that another attack on international staff in Swat would be another "black-eye" for both governments. End note.) ¶5. (SBU) UNHCR and WFP are discussing with Geneva how their agencies plan to work with the Pakistan military to deliver assistance. As noted, the UN prefers to distance themselves from the host country military, but they realize that in order to deliver assistance in the conflict-affected areas of Pakistan, a working relationship with the military will be required. POSSIBLE HUMANITARIAN ENVOY -------------- ¶6. (SBU) UNHCR reported that the UN is considering the idea of creating a Humanitarian Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan to better manage the UN operations in country, to work with the GOP at all levels, and to work on better donor coordination. Additionally, this envoy would focus primarily on the FATA and Balochistan, the IDP situation, and the possible development of UN provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs). ACTION REQUEST: FUNDING THE UN APPEAL -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Earlier the same day, UNHCR and WFP had held a donors' conference, which they termed "disappointing." The agency representatives reported to Charge that only the USG had contributed to the UN's USD 129 million appeal for Pakistan, and the other diplomatic missions in Pakistan had ISLAMABAD 00000468 002 OF 002 remained silent as to whether they planned to contribute. (Note. To date, the USG has contributed over USD 10 million to this appeal and is currently considering more funding. End note.) They asked for USG help in encouraging contributions from other donors. ¶8. (SBU) Comment and Action Request: There may be several reasons other donors are hesitant to contribute to this appeal. Some tell us they think the plan has been "padded" with money for development and other activities that go beyond straight humanitarian relief. Some seem to feel that the USG should bear most of the burden, as we have been pushing Pakistan the hardest to act against the militants. Still others question UN management of the IDP crisis to date. For example, the British High Commission is convening a meeting of donors this week to discuss concerns about "management of humanitarian aid in NWFP, given the conflict and potential political profile." ¶9. (U) Post requests that the Department demarche key capitals on extending support to the UN Appeal for Pakistan. This appeal is crucial to UN operations within Pakistan for humanitarian assistance in the FATA and NWFP. Given that the UN and international organizations have responded positively to our call for better organization of the relief effort, it is now time for the other donor nations to contribute to their work. (reftel) PATTERSON