This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

250920Z May 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 002358 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS USAID FOR DCHA/AA, OFDA, FFP, PPC/AA, DCO 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
NEW YORK FOR MALY 
ROME FOR FODAG 
BRUSSELS FOR LERNER AND MANSO 
STATE/PRM FOR GORJANCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF UN TC
SUBJECT:  UAE HOSTS UN INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN 
ASSISTANCE DONORS CONFERENCE 
 
 
¶1. Summary.  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sweden co-hosted 
a meeting in Abu Dhabi on 9 May to discuss coordination of 
international humanitarian assistance.  The meeting was part of 
an evolving campaign to engage emerging donors in humanitarian 
response activities.   Each the participating countries provided 
short presentations on their humanitarian assistance strategies, 
and common themes included the need for improved coordination of 
the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and the desire of 
emerging donors to be included during the planning stages for 
humanitarian operations.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sweden - in its capacity 
as chair of the Donor Support Group for the UN Office for the 
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) - co-hosted a meeting 
in Abu Dhabi on 9 May to discuss coordination of international 
humanitarian assistance.  The meeting was initiated by the OCHA 
Donor Support Group and OCHA.  Mrs. Sana'a Darwish Al Kitby, 
Secretary-General of the UAE Red Crescent Society chaired on 
 
SIPDIS 
behalf of the UAE.  In addition to the two chair countries, 
participants came from Canada, Egypt, India, Kuwait, Saudi 
Arabia, South Africa Switzerland, the US and UN OCHA.  South 
Korea was also invited but was unable to attend.   The US was 
represented by Bill Garvelink, acting Assistant Administrator for 
USAID's Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs 
and US Mission Geneva AIDREP. 
 
¶3.  OCHA made short presentations to the group on the status of 
several structures and tools created by the UN to facilitate 
humanitarian action.  These include:  The Consolidated Appeals 
Process (CAP); the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC); the UN 
Disaster Assessment and Coordination teams (UNDAC); and the 
International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG).   OCHA 
also focused on the importance of "broadening partnerships" to 
improve the predictability of funding for humanitarian 
operations; to augment stand-by arrangements and to increase the 
number of protection staff in the field.  OCHA touched on the 
issues of integrated UN missions, civil-military relations in 
peace-keeping operations; internally displaced persons and 
refugees; and transition programming in post-conflict situations. 
 
¶4.  All of the participating countries provided short 
presentations on their humanitarian assistance strategies, 
focusing on their roles as donors, as advocates and as 
operational partners.  The group underscored the importance of 
maintaining humanitarian principles when providing assistance, 
and recognized the different strengthens among various donors 
that would lead to differing ways of contributing.  "Partnership" 
did not imply "sameness." The goal was to build a global system 
that would ensure a coherent overall approach and an effective 
and timely response. 
 
¶5.  Presentations and comments made by the emerging donors (UAE, 
India, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and South Africa) reflected 
three general goals: 
 
--Improve coordination in the delivery of humanitarian 
assistance; 
--Include emerging donors during the planning for humanitarian 
operations; 
--Build national and regional capacities. 
 
¶6.  The three Gulf states in particular were critical of what 
they saw as an absence of coordination.  Kuwait raised concerns 
that aid was often late or inappropriate, noting the abundance of 
"unneeded" relief supplies that arrived in the aftermath of the 
earthquake in Gujurat, India.  Saudi Arabia highlighted problems 
among the main donors, among the key humanitarian agencies, and 
between NGOs and governments.  All three states identified 
coordination as vital for an effective international response. 
 
¶7.  Several of the emerging donors had taken steps within their 
own governments to centralize humanitarian response.  In Kuwait, 
the Kuwaiti Fund for Economic Development finances most 
humanitarian activities during the emergency as well as recovery 
phases.   In Saudi Arabia, which was represented at the meeting 
by its Ministry of Finance, coordination of humanitarian aid 
falls under a Coordinating Committee within the government. 
According to the Saudi representative, the government prefers to 
provide assistance "under one umbrella" - usually the Saudi Red 
Crescent Society, to avoid the possibility of funding duplicate 
activities with several partners.  The Red Crescent Societies in 
the UAE and Egypt also play central roles in administering 
humanitarian assistance provided by the governments. 
 
¶8.  The emerging donors also stressed the need to engage them 
early in the planning process.  The UAE commented that the Gulf 
states were not included at the outset in discussions about 
humanitarian operations which engendered problems for all of them 
in coordinating their responses.  Saudi Arabia said that it 
sought to respond to all UN appeals, but often had difficulty 
getting access to information about the crisis or what was 
needed.  Egypt added that small donors also have a role to play 
in defining humanitarian policies, and India called for "more 
meaningful inter-governmental oversight" of UN humanitarian 
assistance programs. 
 
¶9.  The emerging donors struck a common chord in favor of 
building local and regional capacities.  All agreed that the 
primary responsibility for responding to disasters fell to the 
government of the affected country.  The UAE said that the goal 
of international assistance should be to build the capacities of 
affected countries through training and technology transfers. 
Egypt echoed this goal, noting that it had a lot to offer in both 
areas.  South Africa said that it is being called upon 
increasingly to play a greater role internationally and 
regionally in disaster response, especially for slow-onset 
disasters that affect large parts of Africa.  Given that relief 
operations depend upon transportation links, South Africa and the 
UAE argued that it was both cost-effective and logical to develop 
regional hubs in affected areas. 
 
¶10.  Participants agreed that the Abu Dhabi meeting was a welcome 
step toward improved sharing of information and coordination. 
The UAE requested that OCHA take steps to "accelerate" the 
partnership initiative by sharing information more broadly and 
identifying concrete proposals for the group to take forward. 
Issues that the group might pursue include: 
 
--Improved reporting of funding to OCHA statistical reporting 
system; 
--Participation in and training for the UNDAC teams; 
--Exchange of information within the group on monitoring and 
evaluation of humanitarian programs; 
--Exchange of information on activities and advocacy in specific 
crises; 
--Dialog on operational logistics, such as transport of 
commodities and personnel; 
--Advocacy on issues concerning international humanitarian law, 
such as the protection and safety of humanitarian workers. 
 
¶11.  USAID COMMENT:  This initial meeting was a constructive step 
forward in building a dialog between the major Western donors and 
emerging donors.  The interest shown by the UAE in particular in 
hosting the meeting and in seeking to identify concrete areas for 
future collaboration indicates their desire to engage more 
proactively with the larger donor community.  We look forward to 
working with the Swedes and OCHA as well as U.S. Embassy Abu 
Dhabi in furthering this initiative to broaden the partnership 
with emerging donors. END COMMENT. 
 
SISON