UNMIS DONOR PRINCIPALS' MEETING, JANUARY 15

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000063 DEPT FOR AF A A/S CARTER, AF/SPG, AF/E ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU SUBJECT: UNMIS DONOR PRINCIPALS' MEETING, JANUARY 15 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: UN Humanitarian officials told donor principals that they hope to focus less on relief and more on early recovery efforts in Darfur in 2009, though relief efforts will remain predominant and access and insecurity continue to be major concerns, they said. In the South, cuts in the GOSS budget mean the international community will have to work harder to maintain a social safety net, especially with regard to health issues, while at the same time working to enhance capacity and institution building. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On January 15, CDA Fernandez attended the monthly UN Donor Principals' Meeting chaired by UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator (DSRSG/RC/HC) Ameerah Haq. Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Coordinator Toby Lanzer briefed the principals on the outlook for UN activities in Darfur in 2009, stating that he hoped that 2009 would see the UN focusing less on relief and more on early recovery activities. (Note: DSRSG/RC/HC Haq later clarified that relief work will still likely account for 90% of humanitarian work in 2009, but that slow steps were being made towards recovery when appropriate without prejudicing the formal DJAM process which will guide eventual reconstruction and development efforts. End Note.) Lanzer noted that the UN is committed to reaching out to a broader range of stakeholders, particularly rural communities, Arab tribes and nomads, in the conduct of relief and recovery activities. He also noted that the UN was putting a new focus on natural resource management and environmental concerns going forward. He concluded by stating that there were three key needs to the mission's continued success: money, access, and collaboration. Lanzer also emphasized that contingency planning for the issuance of an arrest warrant against President Bashir was not detracting from humanitarian operations. "We're not planning on leaving; we're planning on working," he said. ¶3. (SBU) Daniel Augstburger, the Head of UNAMID's Humanitarian Recovery, Development and Liaison Section (HRDLS) told the donors the peacekeeping force now has 12,000 troops on the ground and over 700 policemen with Formed Police Units (FPUs). He stated that UNAMID deployment was progressing and was aided by the ongoing USG direct airlift of Rwandan troops to Darfur. He also noted that UNAMID would receive five light attack helicopters from the Government of Ethiopia, but stated there is still no timeline yet for putting them into service. He stated that UNAMID has increased its number of patrols tremendously and now has Community Policing Centers (CPCs) in both Kalma and Abu Shouk camps with plans for more in other IDP camps. In 2009 UNAMID will pay more attention to the environmental impact of its deployment, including the use of natural resources and waste disposal, he said. ¶4. (SBU) UNMIS Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Coordinator Lise Grande briefed the principals on UN priorities in South Sudan. She asserted that implementation of the CPA, predictably, continues to override everything else. Other areas of particular concern in the South include the process of civil disarmament and establishing community security, which she said was "not going smoothly." She also cited the creation of building blocks for a basic public administration as a key priority for 2009, including decentralization, the delivery of basic services and the fight against corruption. Of particular concern, she said, was that significant government payrolls (including that of the police force) were scheduled to be decentralized to the state levels, but as of right now, no state in the South had any payroll function whatsoever or infrastructure to carry out this task. Massive cuts in the GOSS budget due to sharply declining oil revenues mean that the international community will have to work harder to maintain the precarious "safety net" in the South, especially with regard to health issues, she said, citing some of the abysmal health indicators in South Sudan which are still among the worst anywhere in the world. The challenge is to maintain this safety net while at the same time working to enhance capacity and institution building, she said. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Issues of access and insecurity will continue to be problematic for humanitarian activity in Darfur, and could be further exacerbated by the potential fallout of an ICC indictment. The South faces a different set of problems, and while the safety net must be maintained, a strong emphasis on capacity and institution building is needed if the South decides to move on a path toward independence (and self-reliance) in 2011. End comment. FERNANDEZ