VZCZCXRO3385
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHAM #4953/01 3511129
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171129Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1233
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0632
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004953 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA, IO, AND PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KUNR JO IZ
SUBJECT: NEW UNITED NATIONS COORDINATION STRUCTURE FOR IRAQ 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for internet distribution. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: During meetings in early December with the 
UNHCR Donor Mission, a Baghdad-Amman VTC with donors, and the 
recent USAID/OFDA conference in Amman on IDPs, Deputy Special 
Representative for the Secretary General (DSRSG) in Iraq 
David Shearer presented his main priorities for the United 
Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), including the 
implementation of a new UN Country Team (UNCT) Iraq 
Coordination Structure for humanitarian, reconstruction, and 
development sectors.  He sees an opportunity to significantly 
change programming in Iraq due to Security Council Resolution 
1770, significant support from the Secretary General Ban 
Ki-Moon, and an overall recognition that humanitarian 
programming and coordination currently taking place in Iraq 
is dismal.  Shearer has six priorities for UNAMI and the UN 
Country Team in the coming months, including implementation 
of the new UNCT Coordination Structure, increasing the number 
of UN senior staff in Baghdad, and bolstering humanitarian 
financing for Iraq. END SUMMARY 
 
TRANSFORMATION OF UNCT COORDINATION STRUCTURE IN IRAQ 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) David Shearer was appointed DSRSG on August 22 and 
also serves as the UN Resident Coordinator and the 
Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq.  Shearer implemented a new 
UNCT coordination structure on December 1, thereby abolishing 
the former cluster approach.  Shearer stated that he was 
appalled at the lack of coordination among actors in Iraq. 
Coordination was previously centered around funding, as 
opposed to strategic coordination centered on sectoral 
responses.  The new structure realigns UN goals with the 
International Compact for Iraq (ICI), increases coordination 
and capacity building with the GOI, and emphasizes increased 
senior international UN posts and decision making in Baghdad. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The new structure is comprised of four policy groups 
- essential social services, protection, governance, and 
economic development - led by senior UN representatives in 
Baghdad.  These representatives will be the primary UN 
interlocutors on humanitarian, development and reconstruction 
issues with the GOI, MNF-I, donors, and other actors based in 
Baghdad.  The four policy groups will coordinate with the ICI 
thematic working groups and work closely with eight sector 
outcome teams, including education, water/sanitation, 
health/nutrition, and food security, based in Amman.  Sector 
teams will be led by a UN agency with participation from IOs 
and NGOs.  NOTE: The former cluster system did not allow for 
NGO participation at the same level as IO participation.  END 
NOTE.  Each sector team will be the key coordinating body to 
respond to needs for that specific sector.  OCHA expects 
sector teams to start meeting this week.  In addition to the 
sector teams, there will also be an information management 
support group and an advocacy working group. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Within the new structure, humanitarian assistance 
will be coordinated through the humanitarian working group 
(HWG) led by OCHA.  This cross-sectoral group will support, 
mobilize, and coordinate humanitarian outcome teams across 
sectors.  The IDP working group, established under the former 
structure and chaired by UNHCR, will continue to function 
until the HWG is operational.  Once the HWG is fully 
operational, the IDP working group may merge into the HWG. 
IDP issues will fall under both the protection and essential 
social services policy groups.  There are many details of the 
coordination structure that will need to be resolved over the 
coming weeks.  The UNCT is still discussing which UN agency 
will be the chair and deputy chair for each sector team. 
UNHCR will participate in leading the protection and housing 
sector outcome teams, but it is still not clear which team it 
will chair. 
 
SHEARER'S TOP PRIORITIES 
------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) Increasing international posts in Iraq: Shearer is 
focused on increasing the number of international posts in 
Iraq, with a particular emphasis on moving senior level posts 
in each humanitarian sector to Baghdad.  The UN has now 
officially opened an office in Irbil.  Shearer plans to 
establish a UN presence at the air base in Basra by the end 
of January, and hopes to officially open an office in Basra 
contingent on security considerations.  The UN is also 
looking into whether they have established more stringent 
requirements in Iraq than in other countries of operation. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Strengthening information management: Shearer stated 
 
AMMAN 00004953  002 OF 002 
 
 
that the UN in Iraq has been particularly bad at information 
management, and that he has made improving information 
management one of his top priorities.  The UN currently 
operates 19 different databases about operations in Iraq, and 
only five of these databases are cross-linked.  The UN has 
little access to comprehensive, analyzed data.  In addition, 
organizations operating inside Iraq have little information 
about the activities of other actors.  Through the new 
coordination structure, OCHA will take the lead role in 
trying to improve information management over the coming 
year. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Increasing coordination with GOI: Through the new 
coordination structure and increasing the number of 
international posts, UNAMI plans to increase coordination 
with the GOI.  The UNCT hopes to rely more heavily on the 
implementation of GOI ministries, while operating programs to 
fill in gaps.  Shearer pointed to the Joint GOI-UN Rapid 
Response Plan for Assistance to Iraqi Returnees and WFP's 
work with the GOI on expanding the public distribution system 
as examples of recent UN-GOI coordination. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Bolstering Humanitarian Financing inside Iraq: The 
UNCT is currently engaged in a Consolidated Appeal Process 
(CAP) to be launched at the January.  The CAP is focused on 
providing protection and essential social services to 
vulnerable Iraqis.  Shearer hopes the CAP will increase 
coordination and present a targeted approach to UN operations 
in Iraq.  Shearer is also pushing donors to increase support 
for the Emergency Trust Fund (ERF) and the micro-grant 
program managed by OCHA.  These programs can provide 
immediate funding for NGOs to address emergency needs. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Defining Military/Humanitarian Involvement and 
Coordination: UNAMI will be the primary UN interlocutor with 
MNF-I, and will discuss issues related to protocols, common 
priorities, and information exchange.  Shearer hopes to work 
closer with MNF-I to develop a better understanding of one 
another's activities and priorities in Iraq. 
 
¶10. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Baghdad. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Website at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
Hale