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 -------------- -------------- ¶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 -------------- -------------- ¶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 -------------- -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- -- ¶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 -------------- ¶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