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 001931
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 NORTHERN IRAQ UPDATE
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SUMMARY
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1. The situation in the Kurdish-controlled region of northern
Iraq remains calm. The security level above the former "green
line" has been declared permissive. CMOC has declared Kirkuk to
be permissive and Mosul to be semi-permissive during daylight
hours. Confusion as to which political body has the lead
coordination role in Kirkuk and Mosul remains an issue. A
UNOHCI representative explained that Mosul and Kirkuk would still
be treated separately from northern Iraq activities under U.N.
Security Resolution (UNSCR) 986. End Summary.
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MINE ACTION MEETING
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2. The DART Field Team North attended a mine action meeting on
30 April. Hosted by the Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC),
the meeting was also attended by the U.N. Office for Project
Services (UNOPS), Mine Action Group, Norwegian Peoples Aid, the
Ministry of Humanitarian Aid and Cooperation, and several local
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in mine clearing
and mine awareness programs.
3. The agenda included an overview of the proposed mine action
center structure for all of Iraq, data reporting and sharing,
standardization issues (prioritization criteria, mapping, and
marking), the need for a single coordinating authority in
northern Iraq, survey requirements, operating areas, and support
requirements.
4. CMOC is the coordination point for mine action in Arbil.
CMOC informed those present that the program will be inclusive
and national, and that there are people in Baghdad working to
build a national program and a central repository for data and
information sharing. While each agency involved in mine action
seemed to have its own operating procedures, all agreed that
there is a need to standardize and coordinate all mine-action
activities. During the meeting, CMOC announced that any agency
involved in mine or unexploded ordnance (UXO) demolition must
provide 24-hour notice before undertaking such activities.
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UNHCR FOOD DISTRIBUTION
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5. The DART visited a U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) food distribution point for 2,000 Iranian refugees and
asylum seekers in Arbil on 2 May. Upon request from UNHCR,
Coalition forces provided 42,000 Humanitarian Daily Rations,
enough to feed the refugees and asylum seekers for 21 days.
UNHCR expects refugees to consume more than one per day and
estimates the distributed food to last approximately 14 days.
UNHCR rationalized its request to the Coalitionary by explaining
that the WFP public distribution system (PDS) only provided
support to the refugees for 20 days a month. Due to the war,
refugees were not able to work and thus had no income for
supplemental food. This food will supplement WFP distributions
for the next two months.
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MINISTRY OF RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT (MORAD)
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6. The DART also met with the Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) MORAD Minister, Deputy Minister, and heads of Planning,
Rural Development, and Reconstruction and Development Offices on
1 May. Established in 1993, MORAD is charged with reconstructing
those villages destroyed by the former Iraqi regime in the 1980s
and early 1990s. MORAD's approach is an integrated one, focusing
on shelter, education, health services, electricity, water and
sanitation, and income generation. MORAD coordinates with the
relevant ministries in the KRG.
7. The Minister estimated that the former regime destroyed 4,500
of the 5,000 villages in the north. To date, the Ministry has
reconstructed over 3,000 of these villages, and those remaining
are in border areas (bordering Iran and Turkey) or are mined and
have not been considered safe for reconstruction. A major focus
for the Ministry is to promote rural development and sustainable
reintegration for those families who wish to return to their home
in those villages. The Minister also noted that often these
families could earn greater income in their home villages than in
the cities from which they are returning.
8. A priority of the Ministry has been to rebuild shelter and
provide services to 313 families who have returned to 37 villages
in the "newly liberated areas" of Arbil Governorate. While much
of the funding for previous reconstruction came from the U.N.
under UNSCR 986, the Ministry has none of the necessary funds or
materials to undertake this new project. The Ministry is
planning to conduct a pledge session with various NGOs and U.N.
agencies to see who may be able to provide financial or material
resources to rebuild these villages. The total estimated budget
is approximately USD 2.4 million.
(Comment: The Ministry seems dedicated to its mandate and is very
organized. They shared the same skepticism other ministries have
articulated about the U.N.; however, the Minister appears
somewhat sympathetic to the difficult position of the U.N. in pre-
war Iraq. The Minister is also concerned about continuation of
reconstruction projects in a post-986 world. In a previous
meeting, UNOPS mentioned that the both KDP and PUK ministries
allocated UN-HABITAT houses in urban settings meant for
internally displaced persons (IDPs) to KDP civil servants. This
may be a reason behind the Ministry's interest in returning IDPs
to their original villages. Also, while the Minister stressed
that all these returns were voluntary, UNOPS-IDP suggested this
might not always be the case. End comment.)
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AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION MINISTER
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9. The DART met in Arbil on 1 May with Ministry of Agriculture
and Irrigation Directors General from Duhok and Arbil
governorates. Agriculture officials from As Sulaymaniyah also
attended the meeting. Ministry officials noted that one of their
priorities was to develop a wheat market for last year's crop and
another was to develop a market for their upcoming harvest in
June. They provided wheat harvest estimates of around 600,000
metric tons (MT) in Arbil and Duhok, and 250,000 MT in As
Sulaymaniyah. The officials also provided details on silo,
warehouse, and milling capacities in the three governorates. A
big question has been how to purchase large quantities of wheat
from many small farmers. Officials noted that this could be
accomplished by working through the Ministry of Agriculture and
Irrigation. The Ministry could disseminate information to
farmers on quantities needed, grade and purchase amounts from
farmer or groups of farmers, and store the wheat in silos and
warehouses. There are no local farmers' cooperatives in Iraq.
10. The DART will discuss further with WFP the possibility of
assessing the potential harvest (in conjunction with FAO) and
purchasing a portion of this to meet needs in other areas of the
country. Discussion with officials also touched on a number of
additional food security and water issues, including secondary
crops, fisheries, and small and large livestock health needs.
Ministry officials agreed to provide more detailed information to
the DART.
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IO/NGO COORDINATION MEETING
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11. On 30 April, The DART attended the weekly IO/NGO
coordination meeting hosted by the Ministry of Humanitarian Aid
and Cooperation (MOHAC). The meeting was well attended with over
50 participants representing various ministries of the Kurdish
Regional Government, the Office of Reconstruction and
Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA), CMOC, U.N., and international and
local NGOs.
12. The meeting opened with news of the return of U.N.
international staff. A representative of U.N. Office for the
Humanitarian Coordination for Iraq (UNOCHI) explained that on 23
April, six World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) staff arrived. On 24 April, 29 more
staff from UNOHCI, UNICEF, U.N. Development Program, and UNOPS
arrived in northern Iraq. The MOHAC Minister noted that the
future of UNSCR 986 and the role of the U.N. in post-war Iraq
still remains unclear. The UNOHCI representative explained that
the post-war period would be marked with greater cooperation with
NGOs. (Note: Prior to the war, the U.N. could not work with
NGOs, as most were considered illegal by the former regime. End
Note.) The UNOCHI representative could not confirm that the U.N.
would have an official relationship with NGOs, although he hoped
to have more insight on the issue next week.
13. UNOHCI also explained that under the terms of UNSCR 986,
Mosul and Kirkuk would continue to be funded out of the portion
dedicated to the former Government of Iraq-controlled territory.
When asked whether PUK or KDP governorates were responsible for
these two areas, the MOHAC Minister commented, "I am not in a
position to give you a clear answer." (Note: PUK was not
represented at this meeting. End note.)
14. CMOC provided a security brief, stating that during daylight
hours, Kirkuk is permissible and Mosul is semi-permissive. They
also mentioned that there are now CMOCs in Kirkuk and Mosul, and
that they continue to produce assessments for NGO use.
15. NGOs gave brief summaries of their work during the last
week. Of note, Medair stated that there was great need for
assistance to returning IDPs, noting that there are 10,000 people
living in mosques and barracks in Mosul that are in need of
emergency aid, including food and clothing. (Comment: As was
obvious in this and previous meetings, many NGOs are working in
similar sectors in the same geographical area, e.g., health in
Makmour, with little or no coordination. Even as NGOs share
information about assessments and areas in which they are
working, no organization has emerged that can help coordinate
these NGOs to prevent duplication of efforts or gaps in the
provision of services. End Comment.)
JONES