This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KUWAIT 001288
SIPDIS
STATE ALSO PASS USAID/W
STATE PLEASE REPEAT TO IO COLLECTIVE
STATE FOR PRM/ANE, EUR/SE, NEA/NGA, IO AND SA/PAB
NSC FOR EABRAMS, SMCCORMICK, STAHIR-KHELI, JDWORKEN
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/RMT, DCHA/FFP
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, ANE/AA
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA:WGARVELINK, BMCCONNELL, KFARNSWORTH
USAID FOR ANE/AA:WCHAMBERLIN
ROME FOR FODAG
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
DOHA FOR MSHIRLEY
ANKARA FOR AMB WRPEARSON, ECON AJSIROTIC AND DART
AMMAN FOR USAID AND DART
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREF IZ WFP
SUBJECT: TFIZ01: DART/PRM SITUATION REPORT 6 APRIL 2003
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SUMMARY
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1. On 4 April, DART members in Umm Qasr met with Coalition
forces, who provided an overview of the situation in the
town. According to Coalition forces, 1,500 to 2,000 people
from Basrah have moved to Umm Qasr. On 3 April, one
Emergency Health Kit was sent from the OFDA warehouse to a
hospital in Al Nasiriyah. The new three-kilometer pipeline
that was laid from inside the Kuwaiti border to near Umm
Qasr is experiencing problems related to traffic management
and tanker access to the pipe stand. The DART has briefed
ORHA and USAID Mission staff on DART plans for southern
Iraq. The DART's APU has also continued to meet with NGOs
and Coalition forces to coordinate on issues of abuse
prevention and protection. END SUMMARY.
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DART UPDATES FROM UMM QASR
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2. On 4 April, DART members in Umm Qasr met with Coalition
forces, who provided an overview of the situation in the
town. According to Coalition forces, 1,500 to 2,000 people
from Basrah have moved to Umm Qasr and are living with
family or friends as a result of fighting in Basrah.
Coalition forces also said that most Baath party members
have fled Umm Qasr. On 3 April, residents burned down a
house owned by a Baath party supporter. The same residents
had planned to burn down several other homes but were
dissuaded by one of the village elders.
3. Coalition forces emphasized that the international
community could demonstrate its goodwill by arranging to
send in affordable supplies of protein-rich foods, such as
meat, eggs, and dairy products. According to Coalition
forces, despite visits and promises by numerous delegations
from civilian and military organizations, no substantial
assistance has yet been delivered to the residents of Umm
Qasr.
4. In addition to questioning residents at the town market
about their needs, the DART located a Public Distribution
System (PDS) agent in the crowd and introduced him to
representatives from the World Food Program (WFP). The PDS
agent said that 30 food agents once operated in the town,
and that they are all eager to go back to work. The men in
the crowd nodded in agreement, and said the food agents were
`good people', simply shopkeepers assigned by the Iraqi
government to distribute food. The PDS agent interviewed by
the DART and WFP had distributed food to 200 families, or
about 600 people, and offered to arrange a meeting with the
other food agents in town. The DART offered to facilitate
the meeting next week, when the WFP team is expected to
return.
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HEALTH
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5. On 3 April, one Emergency Health Kit was sent from the
OFDA warehouse to Al Nasiriyah. This kit was delivered to a
hospital in Al Nasiriyah by Coalition Forces. Two more kits
were sent by Coalition aircraft on 5 April to Basrah. These
kits will be forward positioned at Coalition warehouses
until delivery is authorized by the DART. Emergency Health
Kits will be made available to non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), as needs are identified, with strict
criteria for their use. The DART will closely monitor the
distribution and identify appropriate healthcare providers
to receive the kits.
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WATER
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6. According to the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), the immediate concerns in southern Iraq are water
and education. UNICEF sent five water tankers into Basrah
on 4 April and is continuing to supply water to Umm Khayyal,
Safwan, and Az Zubayr. UNICEF hopes to reestablish contact
with its small contract staff in Basrah.
7. The new three-kilometer pipeline that was laid from
inside the Kuwaiti border to near Umm Qasr is experiencing
problems related to traffic management and tanker access to
the pipe stand. The pipe stand is located within a high
priority area, and only one tanker at a time is allowed into
the compound, which creates a bottleneck of water tankers
waiting and departing on very narrow side streets. In
addition, the larger tankers (24,000 to 32,000 liters)
contracted by UNICEF are having difficulties accessing the
water pipe stand because of the small space. According to
the HOC's water engineer, the stand is open daily for twelve
hours and is producing 6,000 to 8,000 liters per hour, or
about 100,000 liters per day. Until second and third water
stands are added and the traffic congestion problem is
resolved, the daily output of the pipeline will remain at a
fraction of its intended output.
8. One of the water pipelines from Basrah that supplied Umm
Qasr with wash water appears to be working as water is
flowing from the pipeline into one of Umm Qasr's four water
holding tanks for the first time since the war began.
However, without the water treatment plant and pumps
working, the Basrah pipelines will not be able to provide
potable water to Umm Qasr.
9. On 5 April, the DART facilitated a meeting on
water/sanitation at the Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC)
with representatives from relief, reconstruction, and civil
affairs. The agenda focused on bridging operational
coordination until U.N. agencies are fully operational,
especially UNICEF who has the lead on the health and
water/sanitation sectors. Protocols will be developed and
presented to the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian
Assistance (ORHA), among others.
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USG COORDINATION
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10. On 5 April, the DART's Deputy Leader briefed ORHA
leadership on anticipated DART movement into southern Iraq.
The briefing covered the staffing and area of responsibility
of the DART's Southern Field Office. ORHA was also briefed
on the funding mechanisms that have been put in place and
how commodities will be distributed in order to provide a
quick response to the humanitarian needs of impacted
populations throughout Iraq. The security conditions
required for DART movement into Iraq, and the fact that DART
interventions would be assessment-driven and needs-based,
was stressed to the audience.
11. The DART's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI)
representative briefed each of the three regional
coordinators from ORHA, and their respective staffs, on the
DART's planned operations and modalities for small grants
activities in Iraq. The DART also circulated program
documents outlining planned procedures for design and
implementation of grants. The briefings were well received
by ORHA coordinators.
12. DART OTI representatives also met with USAID's
Reconstruction Team in an effort to coordinate with its
upcoming local government program, which is expected to
begin mobilization by mid-April. The DART is working on
coordinating database development for grants in Iraq. The
reaction of the Reconstruction Team to the DART's plans has
been positive, and the need for close coordination of both
programs has been underscored.
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ABUSE PREVENTION UNIT
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13. On 2 April, the DART Abuse Prevention Unit (APU) met
with ORHA's Human Rights Working Group (HRWG). The HRWG
discussed the creation of a Human Rights Ombudsperson for
Iraq that would be a central repository of past human rights
abuses. This information could be used for a future truth
and reconciliation commission or whatever judicial
procedures are established after the transition period. The
APU also discussed the implications that the dissolution of
the Umm Qasr governing and judicial system, in addition to
the food distribution system, has for protection and other
transitional issues.
14. On 4 April, the APU met with a senior U.S. Central
Command (CENTCOM) civil-military operations planner. The
APU inquired about Coalition plans for a police force in the
event that the local police flee and the justice system
dissolves. According to CENTCOM, there is no theater-wide
plan for giving all regions military police, as conditions
in each village will be different.
15. On 5 April, the APU met with human rights and
humanitarian organizations including Physicians for Human
Rights, Refugees International, the American Refugee
Committee, and the Iraqi Refugee Aid Council (IRAC). ORHA's
Human Rights Officer also participated. The group discussed
unconfirmed reports of executions in southern Iraq received
from civilians using satellite phones.
Though these reports are unconfirmed, they have been
received through non-governmental organization (NGO)
networks and are believed to be fairly reliable sources.
The APU will attempt to confirm them.
16. IRAC also reported on its previous efforts to secure a
comprehensive computer database from the Iraqi General
Security Organization that contains elaborate records of all
civilians arrested, where they were imprisoned, and whether
or not they have been killed. IRAC provided the location of
this database, and the APU is making it a top priority to
pass this information to Coalition Forces. The APU also has
information on the location of the property registry office
that holds all public and private property documents in
Baghdad. Securing these documents is also a priority, and
the APU will work with Coalition Forces to that end. IRAC
pointed out that meticulous paper records have also been
kept at the local level.
JONES