PRM DAS Robinson Visit to Quito and Ecuador's Northern

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 001005

SIPDIS
NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/30
TAGS: PHUM PREF PGOV PTER KCRM SMIG SNAR SOCI EC CO
SUBJECT: PRM DAS Robinson Visit to Quito and Ecuador's Northern
Border

REF: QUITO 883

CLASSIFIED BY: Heather M. Hodges, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) SUMMARY. Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
(PRM) DAS David Robinson visited Ecuador on November 5-6 to discuss
refugee programs and conditions. During meetings with the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Government and Police, and the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees, Robinson expressed U.S. Government
appreciation for efforts to assist refugees and provided
information about reports of possible abuse of refugee registration
and humanitarian assistance programs by the FARC in Ecuador
(reftel). The GOE and UNHCR responded that they shared his
concern, and promised to look into specific cases of abuse and to
improve controls. A field visit to the northern border revealed
how the porous border allowed for heavy licit and illicit
cross-border activity, as well as UNHCR vulnerability. END
SUMMARY.



Reports of Possible FARC Abuse of Refugee Programs

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2. (C) On November 5, PRM DAS David Robinson, PRM Office Director
for Assistance to Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Eleanor
Nagy, Embassy Bogota Regional Refugee Coordinator, and Embassy
Quito PolOff met with Ecuadorian Government (GOE) officials,
including Alfonso Morales of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
Directorate General for Refugees, Deborah Salgado of the MFA Under
Secretariat for Multilateral Affairs, and Daniel Ponton of the
Under Secretariat for Internal Security in the Ministry of
Government and Police, to express USG appreciation for GOE efforts
to provide protection to refugees under its Enhanced Registration
Program. DAS Robinson also provided information on reports about
possible manipulation of the Enhanced Registration Program and
diversion of humanitarian assistance by the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Ecuador. He emphasized that U.S. law
requires due diligence on USG funding to such programs to ensure
terrorist organizations, such as the FARC, do not benefit.




3. (C) Based on cleared language from the Bureau of Intelligence
and Research, DAS Robinson provided a non-paper to the MFA and
Ministry of Government with information about the reports and
several specific questions regarding the implementation of Enhanced
Registration Program and humanitarian assistance programs. He also
discussed this issue with Franco Sanchez, the Under Secretary of
the Ministry of Government, and Debbie Elizondo, the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Country Representative. He asked
that the GOE and UNHCR follow up to ensure that rigorous procedural
safeguards are in place to prevent any such abuse. DAS Robinson
also stressed that it was imperative that all parties have open and
frank communication in order to maintain the integrity of the
programs which are imperative to meeting the humanitarian needs of
the vulnerable refugee population.



GOE Shares Concern - Considering Additional Controls

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4. (C) The MFA and Ministry of Government officials responded that
the GOE took very seriously the reports and would investigate and
respond to the issue immediately. MFA Director General Morales


explained that the Enhanced Registration Program was implemented
within international norms and included several filters to keep out
those who do not deserve refugee status, including members of
illegal armed groups. To improve these controls, the MFA is
developing a database to collect information on possible grounds
for exclusion, but the effort is currently focused on criminal
cases. DAS Robinson pointed out that when applying the exclusion
criteria under the refugee status determination, the process did
not require a determination of guilt in the criminal justice sense,
but considering reliable, credible and convincing evidence that
goes beyond mere suspicion or allegation is permissible.




5. (C) Ministry of Government Under Secretary Sanchez recognized
that the GOE had refused refugee status to a very small percentage
of applicants due to the exclusion of those with ties to armed
conflict, and that still others who should have been excluded may
have slipped through. He told us that the Enhanced Registration
Program contributed to security by collecting data on undocumented
persons within Ecuador's territory. He added that the GOE was
considering additional mechanisms to strengthen migratory
procedures, such as providing the Immigration Police the authority
to deport intending migrants attempting to enter Ecuador as
tourists and those who have exceeded their approved tourist stay in
Ecuador, as well as providing judicial and police authorities with
information on refused refugee cases for further action.
Additionally, the GOE was considering gathering more biodata, such
as fingerprints, from refugees during the renewal process.
Regarding potential consequences for FARC membership or ties,
Morales and Sanchez both stressed that the GOE may withdraw refugee
status at any time based on exclusion grounds, including if a
person is later determined to be a member of an illegal armed group
or if a person commits a serious crime in Ecuador or is the subject
of an international arrest warrant.



UNHCR Will Follow Up with GOE - Plans for Additional Training

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6. (C) UNHCR Country Representative Debbie Elizondo responded that
UNHCR shared our concern about the reports and would look into the
matter with the GOE. Elizondo said the Enhanced Registration
Program recognition rate (as refugees) was high (97.5%) because
most of the applicants to date had come from high-conflict areas in
Colombia, especially the departments of Narino and Putumayo. She
added that since the start of the Enhanced Registration Program in
March, the GOE had recognized 18,723 refugees and referred 435
cases to the regular asylum process for further analysis. Most
referred cases were potential economic migrants or those determined
not to be staying in the country. Approximately 35 cases were
referred for possible links to an illegal armed group. UNHCR was
not aware of the final outcome on these cases. UNHCR plans to
provide additional training in December to Enhanced Registration
Program staff and the Eligibility Commission on applying the
exclusion clause.




7. (C) Elizondo added that UNHCR had provided training on asylum
procedures and refugee rights to military and police on the
northern border, but discrimination and a general lack of
understanding persisted. In response to the reports of possible
diversion of humanitarian assistance, Elizondo pointed out that
UNHCR assistance was limited to 90 days of emergency food and
non-food aid provided to recently arrived persons that fit a


refugee profile. The assistance was targeted to the most
vulnerable and not all applicants receive it. Elizondo admitted
that a small amount of the aid might be sold or go back across the
border as with any humanitarian assistance program, but said the
vast majority of the recipients were in desperate need of the
assistance and use it immediately.



The Porous Northern Border

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9. (C) On November 6, DAS Robinson and accompanying officers
visited the northern border city of Tulcan and the surrounding area
in Carchi Province. The Ecuadorian Army (ECAR) 39th Motorized
Infantry Battalion provided a briefing on the challenging
conditions in the area. The border is porous with 21 identified
illegal crossing points in Carchi. There is a 20 kilometer buffer
zone along the border in which Colombians can enter Ecuador freely.
This allows for a heavy mix of cross-border activity, including
cross-border trading, trafficking in contraband goods (gasoline,
cement, food, etc),and back-and-forth travel by local residents on
a daily basis. The battalion sets up mobile checkpoints to look
for contraband, but lookouts on both sides of the border alert the
contraband traffickers and others to the location of the
checkpoints. Battalion Intelligence Chief Major Luis Bolivar
Narvaez took us on a tour of four illegal crossing points where we
saw numerous trucks and other vehicles easily crossing the border
in both directions. The GOE does not do more to stop this
back-and-forth flow because the people would "riot" and complain
that their human rights were violated.




10. (C) Major Narvaez reported that the northern border area had an
active presence of the FARC, other illegal armed groups, criminal
gangs, and narco-traffickers. These groups frequently use the
roadways on the Ecuadorian side of the border because the Colombia
side of the border lacks infrastructure. Major Narvaez said the
FARC also uses Ecuador (primarily the northeastern province of
Sucumbios) for rest and recuperation and resupply. Despite having
arrest powers (including for migration violations) within 20
kilometers of the border, provided under a security decree, the
39th Battalion said it did not arrest individuals in the border
area, leaving those responsibilities to the National Police.
Coronel Luis Lara, the battalion Commander, told us that he
considered migration and customs as not the responsibility of ECAR,
and that the ECAR was focused on defending the Constitution and
sovereignty of the country.




11. (C) The porous border allows Colombians in search of
international protection to enter easily into Ecuador. According
to the battalion briefing, some Colombians are crossing into
Ecuador and staying one to two days to get refugee status and
humanitarian assistance before returning home, only to return again
temporarily to Ecuador to claim food rations. The briefing said
other Colombians were coming to Carchi in anticipation of the
Enhanced Registration Program, which is scheduled to arrive in
December.




12. (C) We also visited the Regional Anti-Narcotics Police Center
in Tulcan where the Director LT COL Fernando Correa showed us a
list of 12 individuals (11 Colombians and one Brazilian) with


refugee status that had been arrested for illicit activities since
2003 (including three individuals arrested in 2009 and four in
2008). The Anti-Narcotics Police expressed concern that refugee
status provided attractive benefits to Colombians, including the
right to work and the ability to eventually adjust to legal
permanent resident status. (Comment: Both the Army's 39th
battalion and Anti-Narcotics Police admitted that many Colombians
entered Ecuador with legitimate reasons for seeking refuge.
However, despite some UNHCR training on asylum procedures and
refugee rights, the military and police showed tepid support of
Colombian refugees, viewing them more as a problem than as persons
in need of protection and humanitarian assistance. End Comment.)



UNHCR Feeling Vulnerable and Alone in the Field

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13. (SBU) UNHCR Deputy Representative Varese told us that a steady
flow of Colombians in search of international protection continued
to cross the border into Ecuador. Requests for assistance at
UNHCR's Ibarra field office have tripled in 2009. UNHCR is seeing
similar trends in its other field offices in Esmeraldas and
Sucumbios Provinces as well. UNHCR Representative Elizondo
lamented that UNHCR was the only international organization
providing humanitarian assistance in the northern border area.
Given the difficult security conditions and presence of the FARC
and other illegal groups, UNHCR staff often feel vulnerable
operating in some of the more precarious areas. Elizondo said a
permanent presence of the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) in Ecuador would be helpful.



Comment

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14. (C) The GOE's refugee registration process clearly does not yet
have effective controls implemented, possibly resulting in
suspected members or supporters of illegal armed groups such as the
FARC being registered as refugees within Ecuador or benefitting
from refugee status to obtain emergency food rations. Promises by
MFA and Ministry of Government officials that they will implement
better controls in the future, and the Immigration Police's plan to
create a database of individuals who have been refused refugee
status, need to be followed by concrete action. The Embassy and
RefCoord will continue to press the GOE to follow-up and respond to
reports of specific abuses and will monitor progress by the GOE in
improving its migratory and refugee program controls.




15. (U) This cable has been cleared by PRM DAS David Robinson.
HODGES