URGENT NEED TO IMPROVE IDP SERVICES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000078 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PK PREF PREL PTER SUBJECT: URGENT NEED TO IMPROVE IDP SERVICES ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 10. ¶2. (U) Summary. President Asif Zardari and Chief of Army Staff General Kayani raised with Ambassador the urgent need to provide the internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with adequate food and shelter. While efforts to assist this population are ongoing, they have been stymied by a noticeable lack of coordination between the UN organizations within Pakistan and, then, with their headquarters in Geneva and inadequate food distribution mechanisms through the UN's World Food Program (WFP) to assist the over 200,000 displaced in these areas. End Summary. CURRENT SITUATION OF IDP CAMPS -------------- ¶3. (SBU) As of January 5, the official figure of IDPs living in the eleven camps within the NWFP was 8,008 families, or approximately 50,500 individuals. The NWFP Department of Social Welfare (DSW) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have registered approximately 19,127 families and 116,949 individuals. According to UNHCR, approximately another 100,000 will be registered in the southern NWFP districts once registration commences there. Further, the number of IDPs in cities outside the NWFP, such as Rawalpindi and Karachi, are unknown but appear to be over 100,000. ¶4. (SBU) From the registration exercise, UNHCR and DSW have determined that approximately 75 percent of the IDP population is currently living in rented accommodations instead of with host families, as was originally assumed. As the conflict and military operations have been ongoing for over five months, the financial resources of the IDPs are dwindling, as is the absorptive capacity of host communities. As a result, an increasing number of IDPs are living outside the various IDP camps, wanting to move into the camps, with approximately 3,000 families currently on a wait list for camp entry. ¶5. (SBU) Space in and around the camps is severely limited, and there is not enough space to meet the demand from those living outside the camps. In response, the DSW is trying to improve the delivery of services and assistance. UNHCR, WFP, and other organizations are concentrating on the affected families. UNHCR is accelerating site development at the camps, notably at the Jalozai camp, creating approximately �00A;200 new available living spaces per day, and the WFP continues to provide food rations to families while trying to keep up with the growing demand. Additionally, partners through USAID have distributed non-food item (NFI) kits to the 2,234 registered IDPs in Nowshera and Swabi Districts, and are completing NFI distributions to the IDP populations in Mardan, Lower Dir, Charsadda, Nowshera, and Peshawar Districts, along with rent subsidies in Lower Dir. DISCONNECT BETWEEN UN MISSION AND NEEDS OF PAKISTAN -------------- ¶6. (SBU) According to many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN offices, the UN system is stymied by several factors, including the recent increase in security restrictions. Rather than having both a Resident Coordinator (RC) and Humanitarian Coordinator (HC),the RC has been given both roles in Pakistan. This has led to a disjointed response, and key humanitarian issues remain unaddressed, including provisions of cooking and heating facilities. ¶7. (SBU) A lack of coordination between the UN offices within Pakistan and then with their respective headquarters in Geneva is adding to the difficulty of fully assisting the IDPs. The UNHCR office in Islamabad contacted Embassy officials, alerting them to the "strong possibility" that due to a lack of funds, UNHCR would be forced to close its operations in the FATA and NWFP on January 9. The reason for the sudden lack of money, as explained, was because of a ISLAMABAD 00000078 002 OF 002 funding appeal that was floundering in Geneva. However, the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration reported that UNHCR Pakistan had received $13.6 million against the $15 million from its Supplemental Budget, of which $900,000 was for overhead. ¶8. (SBU) Food distributions by the UN World Food Program (WFP) in the camps have been marred by chaos and riots. Criticisms of the WFP food distribution include the following: (1) a limited range of food rations (which only include wheat, pulses, and oil); (2) the rations are considered by most to be too small and do not take the size of the receiving family into account at distribution; and (3) the food distribution is inconsistent and unreliable because of breaks in the food pipeline (the entire ration does not arrive at the same time). ¶9. (SBU) Similar problems have emerged as WFP expanded to provide food to the IDPs outside the camps. The Provincial Relief Commissioner has levied these complaints publicly at the WFP at the last two Provincial Coordination meetings, and in response, the WFP has said that it has revised its distribution strategy, including the establishment of Extended Delivery Points that will operate seven days a week. These efforts have done nothing to alleviate these issues, however. ACTION REQUEST -------------- ¶10. (U) Action: Post requests that the Department work with the U.S. Missions in Geneva and New York to improve coordination within the UN organizations internally and externally, to improve UN WFP food distribution, and to press for issuance of any appeals to sustain funding for IDPs in Pakistan. PATTERSON