PRESSING THE UN ON IMPROVING ITS PRESENCE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000640

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM UN PTER PREF PK
SUBJECT: PRESSING THE UN ON IMPROVING ITS PRESENCE IN
PAKISTAN

REF: A. ISLAMABAD 78

B. SECSTATE 4353

C. USUN NEW YORK 29

Classified By: Anne W. Patterson for reasons 1.4 (b),(d).


1. (C) Summary: The UN system needs to appoint a
humanitarian coordinator in Pakistan and fill its positions
with permanent staff. These are urgent requirements
necessary to respond to the problems of Pakistan,s
internally displaced. The UN's ability to meet these
requirements will be affected by the disappointing response
to its appeal, and we recommend humanitarian funding be
discussed in Abu Dhabi and in Tokyo. Perhaps more
importantly, the UN (and member states) should start now to
build a broad UN structure in Pakistan that can meet some of
the longer-term challenges, such as improving donor
coordination or supporting an eventual disarmament,
demobilization, and reconciliation process. We are certain
Jean Arnault is up to the task, but he will need a strong UN
structure to assist him. Post is highly appreciative of the
efforts undertaken so far by colleagues, especially PRM and
USUN, to provide support for Pakistan's internally displaced
people. We recommend high level intervention with UNSYG Ban
Ki-Moon on the issue. End summary.


2. (C) Pakistan is experiencing a growing humanitarian crisis
in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the
Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP),but to date the UN
response has been slow and dysfunctional. The number of
internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled combat
between militants and the GOP has grown to over 500,000
victims, who are living either in IDP camps or with often
impoverished relatives. We expect this situation to continue
and probably grow over the next year or more. UN agencies in
country are unable to cope and have asked New York to appoint
a senior humanitarian aid coordinator to supplement an as-yet
unfilled increase in mid-level workers from the Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA). The UN,
however, apparently has refused to appoint this senior
humanitarian coordinator, arguing that it has already
approved one senior advisor, Jean Arnault, to coordinate the
political/donor work of the Friends of Pakistan. We welcome
Arnault's appointment, but he is not a humanitarian aid
specialist and his mission, as we understand it and as the
situation requires, is not to coordinate this kind of aid.


3. (C) The UN has been unable to fill the needed mid-grade
positions in the humanitarian agencies or to provide
coordination through OCHA. In a conversation in Washington
on March 18 with Rashid Khalikov, he argued that: 1) the
unaccompanied nature of the posting; 2) the kidnapping of
UNHCR official John Solecki; and, 3) the failure of the
government to speed the import of armored cars and the GOP's
general incompetence have made it difficult to fill the OCHA
positions. We agree that these are considerations, but
surely no worse than the UN faces in staffing its posts in
other crisis and conflict-ridden posts around the world. But
it is hard to imagine a more strategically important place
for the United States.


4. (C) Post also shares Washington's concerns about the
anemic response by donors to the appeal from UN agencies and
the ICRC. Donor coordination is extremely weak in Islamabad
-- in some cases because the Pakistanis believe they can work
the seams among and between donors -- but also because there
is no central point of contact. For this reason alone, we
need a senior humanitarian coordinator from the UN who has
good relations with Arnault, good reach back into the UN
system, and effective contacts with the GOP and other
agencies, like the ICRC.


5. (C) Mission strongly appreciates the efforts of
colleagues, particularly USUN's and PRM's efforts with the
Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and in
obtaining funding. To find us the resources we recommend
high-level intervention with UNSYG Ban Ki-Moon on this issue.
We must assure him that we are doing all we can to effect
the release of kidnapped UNHCR Coordinator John Solecki, and
we appreciate the difficulties of implementing humanitarian

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assistance in Pakistan. But the UN is our only conduit into
many of these at-risk areas and the only method of delivering
services. The IDP situation is creating suffering and is
undermining the government's efforts to evict terrorists and
stabilize this volatile region.


6. (C) A longer-term issue is the build-up of UN structures
in Pakistan to address the humanitarian crisis, support Jean
Arnault's mission, and provide a staff to support the Friends
of Democratic Pakistan. We understand that the UN process
across the border has taken some time to get its act
together, particularly for staffing. While Pakistan does not
want a UNAMA-type structure or the attention of the UN
Security Council, there are still many needs that require an
enhanced UN role. We urge the UN to increase its staffing
here. We need this for improved donor coordination, to
support any possibility of a DDR process with insurgents who
can be reconciled, and to be another, credible voice with the
government.
PATTERSON