VZCZCXRO3196
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0329/01 0611136
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021136Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6338
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000329 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AFR/SP 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR PMARCHAM, MMAGAN, AND TSHORTLEY 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI SU AU EARG
SUBJECT: SUDAN - IOM AND DONORS MONITOR RETURNS 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00000329  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
------------------- 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
------------------- 
 
¶1. From January 22 to 27, the USAID Senior Humanitarian Advisor 
(SHA) and representatives of five European countries participated in 
a donor mission at the invitation of the International Organization 
of Migration (IOM).  The group assessed registration and departure 
preparations in Khartoum-area internally displaced person (IDP) 
camps and a way station for returning IDPs in Northern Bahr el 
Ghazal State.  The airlift of returning refugees from the Central 
African Republic to Western Equatoria State was well planned and 
executed.  Major challenges are expected in communities where 
physical and social infrastructure may be inadequate to absorb high 
numbers of returnees.  USAID is currently assessing such communities 
and plans to recommend additional funding for the return operation, 
including the establishment of an Emergency Response Fund at IOM to 
rapidly address infrastructure gaps.  End summary. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
TOUGH DECISIONS AND CONDITIONS FOR RETURNEES 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  At the invitation of IOM, the USAID SHA and representatives of 
Austria, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and 
the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) observed 
preparations for IDP returns from Khartoum-area camps to Northern 
Bahr el Ghazal State and the return of refugees from Mboki, Central 
African Republic, in Tambura, Western Equatoria State.  The 
Government of National Unity did not issue a visa in sufficient time 
for a Department of State Bureau for Population, Refugees and 
Migration (State/PRM) representative to participate.  (Note: 
State/PRM supported IOM's refugee return program with USD 1 million 
in FY 2006 and USD 4 million in FY 2007.  End note.)  The itinerary 
included visits to the registration and departure centers in 
Khartoum; the arrival in Tambura, Western Equatoria State, of an 
aircraft carrying 52 returning refugees; preparations for barge 
transport on the Nile River from Juba, Central Equatoria State, to 
Bor, Jonglei State; and a visit to a way station along the route for 
IDPs returning from Khartoum to Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. 
 
¶3.  In Juba, the UN Deputy Humanitarian/Resident Coordinator noted 
that unstable security conditions and lack of physical and social 
infrastructure are challenges for the reintegration of returnees in 
Southern Sudan.  He stated that the entire region does not meet 
Sphere standards, the humanitarian community's minimum goals in 
emergency response.  In addition to return packages of food and 
household items for each family, the UN Common Humanitarian Fund 
(CHF) provides funding for water systems, health centers, and 
schools for receiving communities.  Based on the IOM IDP Intentions 
Survey conducted in September 2006, more than 58 percent of the IDPs 
wish to return to communities in Southern Kordofan and Northern Bahr 
el Ghazal states.  The survey provides a wealth of demographic 
information on the IDPs based on interviews with more than 6,400 
households.  Contrary to popular assumptions, the majority (51 
percent) of the IDPs are male.  Twenty-five percent of the 
interviewees reported that they wanted to remain in Khartoum and 
almost two-thirds of the IDPs wish to return home. 
 
¶4.  The donor group witnessed the arrival of an IOM/Office of the 
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees-operated airplane with 52 
returning refugees, including mothers with young children, elderly, 
and handicapped adults.  In collaboration with the Southern Sudan 
Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC), IOM registered the 
returning refugees and distributed a three-month food ration and a 
household kit that included a bucket, kitchen set, two sleeping 
mats, two blankets, a packet of eggplant seeds, a machete, and a 
hoe.  Females above 13 years of age received a toiletry kit and a 
four-meter long piece of soft cloth for their personal needs. 
Pregnant women received a safe delivery kit.  The International 
Medical Corps provided medical screening for the returnees.  The 
entire process was remarkably calm, without tension or shoving. 
 
¶5.  The chairman of the local SSRRC commended IOM and its partners 
for the outstanding collaboration among agencies and with local 
authorities.  The chairman noted that the food rations may not be 
adequate for families returning early in the year since they cannot 
expect a first harvest of short-cycle crops until July at the 
earliest.  (Note:  The UN World Food Program (WFP) is prepared to 
conduct food-security assessments in return communities and 
intervene with additional food rations where needed.  In addition, 
 
KHARTOUM 00000329  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
WFP is planning targeted programs such as infrastructure 
rehabilitation, agricultural recovery, and emergency school feeding 
for all community residents who need assistance after their initial 
ration is consumed.  End note.) 
 
---------------------------- 
PREPARATIONS FOR IDP RETURNS 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6.  Approximately 400,000 IDPs in the Khartoum camps and the 
northern states have registered to return to Southern Sudan and the 
Three Areas.  As part of convoy preparations, IOM conducts a 
verification exercise to determine whether people who had registered 
to return still wish to relocate.  The verification process includes 
distribution of printed materials that detail the conditions the 
returnee will find in the community of return.  In addition, 
HIV/AIDS and mine-awareness messages are included in the pictorial 
information packet, as is guidance on how to avoid malaria, treat a 
child with diarrhea, and prevent cholera.  At the end of each travel 
day, returnees rest in a way station such as the one the donors 
visited in Warawar, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.  The facilities 
included community tents, latrines, and showers.  The latter two 
were not ready at the time of the visit, but another donor reported 
that they have since been completed. 
 
-------------------------- 
Challenges and Conclusions 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7.  While organizing and executing the return of 200,000 IDPs and 
102,000 refugees is a momentous task for IOM and UNHCR, settlement 
and reintegration are far more difficult and require careful 
monitoring.  IOM has established teams to monitor the reintegration 
process and conduct community assessments in areas of high return. 
The teams will alert IOM and partners when communities fail to 
absorb returnees.  All agencies involved in the returns aim to 
prevent returnees from becoming discouraged and returning to 
displacement camps or establishing squatter areas.  Similarly, WFP 
plans to send assessment teams to high return areas to monitor food 
security and prepare for interventions as needed. 
 
¶8.  USAID is assessing return communities in Northern Bahr el Ghazal 
and Southern Kordofan states and identifying communities lacking 
basic infrastructure, particularly water systems, to absorb 
returnees.  USAID is preparing to recommend additional funding to 
IOM for IDP returns, with the possible inclusion of an emergency 
response fund that would allow IOM to respond directly with 
technical staff to meet urgent needs in receiving communities. 
Alternatively, IOM could contract with non-governmental 
organizations for interventions where appropriate.  USAID has 
successfully applied this model in the IDP return program in 
Liberia.  Discussions within USAID on how to structure such a fund 
for Sudan are ongoing. 
 
HUME