HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE FOR NEW CONGOLESE REFUGEES

UNCLAS STATE 114736 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CD CG CT PHUM PREF PREL SU SUBJECT: HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE FOR NEW CONGOLESE REFUGEES IN THE CAR REF: A. BANGUI 236 ¶B. AMBASSADOR COOK AND REFCOORD ZORICK EMAILS OF NOVEMBER 2-4 Sensitive but Unclassified. GENEVA FOR RMA ADDIS-KAMPALA-NDJAMENA-NAIROBI FOR REFCOORDS USEU FOR THOMAS ROME FOR FODAG ¶1. (U) This is an action request. See paras 4 and 5. ¶2. (SBU) Department greatly appreciates Embassy Bangui,s forward thinking and analysis with regard to arrival of the newest Congolese refugees in southeastern CAR (Refs). It has been helpful to get an initial impression of the number of beneficiaries, their assistance needs, the projected duration of their displacement, and the initial response being organized by the humanitarian community. Given that the impact of LRA depredations is being felt by victims across a widening swath of territory (in the CAR, DRC, and southern Sudan) as the military operations to destroy the LRA break it into small groups, the Department will appreciate additional updates as the situation develops and by septel will be sending addressee posts a suggested outline of information that would be helpful to have in hand. ¶3. (U) The USG response at this point would be from State/PRM, principally via the UNHCR, responding to appeals for funds should UNHCR's emergency reserve fund -- to which PRM has already contributed for 2009 -- be exhausted. Thanks to the alert from Embassy Bangui sources about the arrival of the new refugees, UNHCR Bangui, along with other UN agencies and non-governmental humanitarian organizations, has already led an assessment mission to the affected area in and around the town of Zemio. The next step will be for these agencies to articulate the identified assistance needs, including the food aid needs to be addressed by WFP, and determine the required budget to address these. Should internal UN funding mechanisms not be sufficient, UNHCR would then turn to outside donors for support. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) may also be called upon to address assistance for the refugees, though ICRC generally does not intervene in refugee situations if the assistance available to them is sufficient through the UN system. At the moment, ICRC,s interventions in southeastern CAR focus mostly on assisting Central African internally displaced persons (IDPs) - also displaced due to LRA activity - around the town of Obo. ¶4. (U) For Bangui: From Ref B e-mails, it seems that WFP is in need of cash contributions at this point in order to provide for the new refugees. Please confirm and advise whether local purchase is an option. ¶5. (U) For Geneva: PRM would appreciate UNHCR/Africa Bureau's urgent assessment of the situation in the CAR and an update on its regional planning and preparedness as well as information on how UNHCR will cover the costs of the emergency response (operational reserve or a new funding appeal?). CLINTON