SPAIN CONTINUES TO LEAD HAITI ASSISTANCE EFFORTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 000203 SIPDIS ALEXANDRA MCKNIGHT AND STACIE ZERDECKI, EUR/WE USEU FOR BARBARA THOMAS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2020 TAGS: PREL PGOV HA MARR EAID ASEC, EFIN, KPKO, SP SUBJECT: SPAIN CONTINUES TO LEAD HAITI ASSISTANCE EFFORTS REF: A. STATE 12558 ¶B. MADRID 195 ¶C. MADRID 87 ¶D. MADRID DAO IIR 6 889 0116 10 ¶E. MADRID 146 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Arnold A. Chacon, for reasons 1. 4(b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Spanish assistance to Haiti in the wake of the January 12 earthquake has been swift and generous. As of February 18, Spain had sent 26 planes bearing humanitarian supplies, and deployed a total of 450 including physicians, nurses, and engineers as well as security forces aboard the amphibious ship Castilla. Spanish Guardia Civil (GC) deployed to MINUSTAH have overcome an initial misunderstanding over their UN credentials. Spain is already providing significant enabling support and assets and, acting in its EU presidency capacity, has offered the EU the use of its humanitarian base in Panama for coordinating further EU assistance. AID Administrator-equivalent Soraya Rodriguez further invited her EU counterparts, gathered in Spain on February 17, to make use of Spain's humanitarian infrastructure in Haiti. Though it is difficult to compare cash vs. in-kind and ongoing vs. post-earthquake aid, Spain's estimated net contributions of 158.861 million Euros (USD 215 million dollars) make it the third largest contributor to the Haiti relief effort. Additional information regarding Spanish contributions to Haiti reconstruction may be found beginning at paragraph 5, and for a discussion of financial contributions, see paragraph 8. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Spain's hospital-equipped ship Castilla departed Cadiz January 22 and anchored off Port Goave the morning of February 4 (ref D). While not a hospital ship, per se, the Castilla has been outfitted to help address medical needs following the earthquake in Haiti, with 68 beds onboard plus surgical equipment, two medical teams, a medical support team with a pharmacy, psychological, dental, veterinary, and preventive medicinal services. In total, 45 medical personnel are available of the total of 425 Spanish personnel deployed. Spain's Congress authorized a maximum deployment of 450 troops the week of February 17. ¶3. (C) The Embassy has engaged with the GOS at all levels about support for Haiti and MINUSTAH on numerous occasions over the past few weeks, including with Second Vice President Fernandez de la Vega (ref D),who represented Spain at donor meetings in Santo Domingo and Montreal. Regarding a reconstituted MINUSTAH, Secretary of State for IberoAmerican Affairs Juan Pablo de Laiglesia told WHA A/S Valenzuela on February 1 that Spain was positively inclined to accept and work within the new structure (ref B). According to Spanish MFA Subdirector General for Security Affairs Manuel Acerete, Spain is currently participating in MINUSTAH with 23 Civil Guards (GC),who arrived onboard the Castilla February 4. Acerete confirmed press reports they were not permitted to disembark for more than a week due to a lack of proper UN authorization, a probable consequence of the improvisational emergency nature of the Defense Ministry's mission plan. (NOTE: Acerete told Pol-Mil officer February 19 that though the GC had been credentialed and were permitted to report to MINUSTAH, they were not yet fully integrated into peacekeeping operations. End note.) These GC represent a specially trained crowd control unit, in response to requests for national contributions of formed police units (FPUs) in coordination with similar units or platoons of French gendarmes and Italian carabinieri. ¶4. (C) In response to reftel A requests for enabling support for other troop contributing countries (TCCs) Acerete reiterated existing Spanish commitments including significant enabling assets deployed: reconstruction engineers as well as the hospital vessel and its four helicopters. He expected EU conversations scheduled for February 22 to include an offer to use Spanish facilities in Haiti for ongoing reconstruction and peacekeeping efforts. ¶5. (SBU) Additional relief contributed by Spain spans a wide range of assistance including material, military, sanitary, economic, private, and more. Military personnel included 40 Military Emergency Unit Agents, 37 rescue specialists with 15 sniffer dogs, the aforementioned 23 Civil Guards, and 58 people were sent over for data assessment and analysis of critical needs. In terms of sanitation personnel, 39 surgeons and traumatology experts lent their expertise to the Haitians in need. Spain's economic assistance has been extensive and includes 30 million Euros (USD 40.5 million dollars) in debt forgiveness, 6 million Euros (USD 8.1 million dollars) for urgent humanitarian assistance, 5 million Euros (USD 6.76 million dollars) in a non-reimbursable loan to be used to finance the purchase of goods and reconstruction projects, upwards of 26 million Euros (USD 35.1 million dollars) given to a number of multilateral organizations including the World Food Program (WFP),UNICEF, the UN Population Fund, among others. The Spanish Council of Ministers specifically approved 13.3 million Euros (USD 18 million dollars) in GOS funds for the WFP. Autonomous Spanish Communities and City Halls have contributed close to 6 million Euros (USD 8.1 million dollars) in either cash or goods. ¶6. (SBU) Beyond the scope of Spanish government agencies, NGO donations from Spain have also played a integral part in emergency relief and reconstruction efforts. Over 30 million Euros (USD 40.5 million dollars) were sent to Haiti from Spanish NGOs, which is 50 percent more than for the tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004. Citizen contributions collected by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development total 1.6 million Euros (USD 2.2 million dollars) so far. ¶7. (SBU) Even prior to the earthquake, Spain has historically and consistently participated as a significant donor to Haiti. Past foreign assistance figures illustrate the longstanding commitment Spain has made to the development effort and socio-economic progress needed in Haiti. In 2005, Spain sent over 10 million dollars (7.4 million Euros) in donor aid. This figure increased annually and in 2008, Spain sent over 45 million dollars (33.3 million Euros). The 2008 figure represents more than 8 percent of all bilateral aid sent to Haiti in that year, third behind the United States and Canada. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently revving up Spanish adoptions of Haitian children, a program started before the earthquake. ¶8. (SBU) Spanish government sources report 158.861 million Euros (USD 215 million dollars) in emergency and reconstruction aid (some of which dates back to December 2009) as of February 19. The Spanish Embassy in Washington has indicates that this figure does not include another 35 million Euros to be applied to the IADB water fund; as of February 19, this had yet to be approved. Nor does the USD 215 million dollar figure reflect the cost of emergency equipment, the costs and maintenance of the Castilla, increased MINUSTAH deployment, etc. Regardless of how it is counted, the breadth of Spain's methodical and multifaceted contribution to Haiti's relief effort conveys its long-lasting commitment to the development and reconstruction of the country. SOLOMONT