VZCZCXRO9901
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #4041/01 3461416
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121416Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 1387
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0455
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 0047
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0131
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 0233
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0192
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0216
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0659
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4802
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BAGHDAD 004041 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AMMAN FOR USAID 
STATE FOR USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PREF IZ
 
SUBJECT:  USAID-SPONSORED WORKSHOP ON DISPLACED 
PERSONS IN IRAQ, 3-4 DECEMBER 2007, AMMAN JORDAN 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  Representatives from Iraq's 
Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM) 
were among the 75 participants discussing the 
considerable challenges in meeting the immediate and 
long-term needs of Iraq's Internally Displaced 
Persons (IDPs) as well as the new complexities of a 
burgeoning population of vulnerable Iraqis 
returning from neighboring countries.  In addition to 
MoDM officials, other participants attending 
the December 3 and 4 workshop in Amman, Jordan, 
included representatives from USAID/Washington, 
USAID/Iraq, the State Department, the 
International Office for Migration (IOM), the 
Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), key United 
Nations (UN) agencies, international Non- 
Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Regional NGOs, 
Iraqi NGOs, civilian representatives from Iraq 
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), 
international donors, the U.S. Embassy in Jordan, 
and the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.   In addition to 
creating a forum for plenary discussions, the 
workshop accomplished two major working 
objectives: First, participants identified the 
five priority areas requiring immediate attention 
to allow the Government of Iraq to properly 
prepare and respond to the needs of Iraq's 
displaced; and second, participants 
identified and prioritized specific 
recommendations for consideration by MoDM to help 
the Ministry increase its ability to coordinate the 
various initiatives, programs, responses, and 
resources required to assist Iraq's displaced 
populations.  END SUMMARY. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2.  According to the United Nations Assistance 
Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), nearly 1.2 million 
people have been displaced in Iraq since February 
2006, adding to an existing caseload of more than 
1.2 million.  In addition, an estimated 2.2 
million Iraqis have sought refuge in neighboring 
countries, particularly in Jordan and Syria. 
(Note:  On 1 December 2007, UNAMI officially 
began using a new organizational strategy called 
the International Compact for Iraq (ICI) in place 
of the former Cluster system.  End Note) 
 
¶3.  Beginning in October 2007, several sources 
including MoDM, reported that improved security 
was among several reasons stated by some 
displaced Iraqis to return home, especially to 
Baghdad.  Current estimates of the rates of 
displacements, the numbers of returnees, and the 
reasons for their return vary widely, as do 
present response efforts and resources from 
USAID, the military, the United Nations, and the 
Government of Iraq. 
 
¶4.  As the U.S. Government's lead coordinator 
on internal displacement, USAID has been 
assisting Iraq's displaced and vulnerable 
populations since 2003. To help ensure a 
coherent response from the U.S. Government 
and the international community, USAID works 
closely with the U.S. Department of State and 
other U.S. Government entities, U.N. 
agencies, international organizations, NGOs, 
host governments, and local institutions. 
 
¶5.  During its initial response, USAID provided 
assistance to Iraq's displaced by providing 
temporary shelter, non-food emergency items such 
as blankets, hygiene kits, cooking stoves, 
implemented water and sanitation 
projects, temporary health care activities, and 
short-term income generation projects among other 
 
BAGHDAD 00004041  002 OF 004 
 
 
interventions. Nevertheless, complexities 
involving religion and tribal issues, insecurity, 
personal and sectarian threats, and a large 
military presence all combined to blur a 
comprehensive or coordinated response. Current 
USAID interpretation of the situation is that 
priorities are less clear, objectives are less 
understood, and an overarching agreement on 
response or assistance policy unknown. 
 
 
¶6.  By November 2007, the size of Iraq's 
displaced population and the complex factors 
surrounding the displacement created additional 
challenges for USAID including unanswered legal 
and policy questions, program implementation 
obstacles, security impediments and national 
authority and capability questions. 
 
¶7.  It was under this increased concern and 
understanding of the complexities affecting a 
well-coordinated response to the Iraqi 
displacement that the concept for the Amman 
workshop was born. From the perspective of USAID, 
the challenges presented by the unique nature and 
current state of a longer-term Iraqi displacement 
were not understood fully by the international 
community at large, nor by the U.S. Government. 
 
¶8.  The confusion was further enhanced by a 
heightened awareness of IDP issues among the 
international media, from the United States 
Congress, the State Department, USAID and many of 
those working in Iraq including the military 
forces, PRTs, United Nations, and others. 
This sometimes-embellished attention created 
incomplete reporting from diverse and unconfirmed 
information sources, and created unnecessary 
confusion, misperceptions, and misunderstandings. 
 
----------------------- 
IDP Workshop Conference 
----------------------- 
 
¶9.  On December 3 and 4, USAID's Office of 
Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), together with 
USAID/Iraq, convened a workshop conference in 
Amman, Jordan to better define the humanitarian 
challenges posed by IDPs and returning families 
in Iraq.  The workshop's goals centered on a 
better understanding of the displacement and the 
current assistance efforts in response to the 
displacement, identifying best practices and 
possible new approaches for future assistance, 
identifying gaps in current assistance delivery, 
and improving the way that humanitarian 
responders communicate and coordinate. 
 
¶10.  The event brought together 75 participants 
from the U.S., Jordan, and Iraq who are working 
on Iraq displacement issues, including 
representatives from the MoDM, NGOs, U.N. 
agencies, international organizations, 
Multinational Force-Iraq (MNF-I), PRTs, and 
USAID.  NGO representation included ACTED, CHF 
International, Danish Refugee Council, 
International Medical Corps, International Relief 
and Development, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Mercy 
Corps, Mercy Hands, NGO Coordination Committee in 
Iraq (NCCI), People in Need, and Relief 
International.  U.N. Agencies were represented by 
International Organization for Migration (IOM), 
U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Assistance (OCHA), U.N. Development Program 
(UNDP), U.N. - HABITAT, U.N. High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR), U.N. Children's Fund 
(UNICEF), U.N. Office for Project Services 
(UNOPS), U.N. World Food Program (WFP), and U.N. 
World Health Organization (WHO).  In addition, 
 
BAGHDAD 00004041  003 OF 004 
 
 
representatives from the Iraq Red Crescent 
Society and the International Committee of the 
Red Cross participated in both days of the 
workshop. 
 
¶11.  The first day of the conference convened 
several panel briefings, in which each of the 
stakeholder groups provided an overview of their 
activities in Iraq and identified challenges to 
their work.  Overarching themes included the need 
for greater coordination among the various 
stakeholders and better information sharing and 
prioritization of issues.  U.N. country team 
members reported on short, medium, and long-term 
plans for increased engagement in Iraq issues, 
including an enhanced U.N. presence in Iraq. 
Participants appreciated the presence and full 
engagement of three representatives from MoDM, 
including the deputy minister, which ensured that 
conversations and suggestions could reach senior 
Government of Iraq officials. 
 
¶12.  On the conference's second day, the MoDM 
provided an overview of the Ministry's 
activities, such as its central role as a 
coordinating agency, the intra-governmental 
communication process to recommend humanitarian 
assistance projects for funding, and the MoDM 
expanded role in coordinating humanitarian 
activities following the 2006 displacement 
crisis. 
 
¶13.  Participants then divided into five working 
groups to propose ways to improve the following: 
coordination among humanitarian actors and with 
the MoDM; information management; how 
humanitarian actors can support specific, MoDM 
identified needs; improved activity 
implementation with provincial authorities; and 
creating the humanitarian space needed for relief 
workers.  In closing the workshop, David Shearer, 
U.N Deputy Special Representative of the 
Secretary General in Iraq & Resident/Humanitarian 
 
SIPDIS 
Coordinator for Iraq, noted that the United 
Nations is implementing several measures to 
improve coordination among humanitarian actors, 
cooperation with the Government of Iraq (GOI), 
communication between military and civilian 
actors, synchronization among U.N. agencies to 
collect, store, and analyze data, and increased 
financing for humanitarian activities. 
 
------------------------ 
Workshop Recommendations 
------------------------ 
 
¶14.  MoDM officials, U.N. representatives, and 
NGO leaders stressed the need to continue 
assisting MoDM to build capacity to coordinate, 
communicate, and respond to emergencies. 
Recognizing the need for more efficient 
collection and dissemination of information, 
participants recommended the development of clear 
information management priorities, coordination 
of cross-sectoral assessments, and the 
establishment of clear, transparent lines of 
communication.  To address the challenges of 
engaging local and provincial GOI officials (in 
addition to national GOI representatives), the 
conference attendees recommended that the PRTs 
facilitate regular coordination meetings between 
local institutions and local government 
officials, including discussions with local 
branches of the MoDM. 
 
¶15.  According to workshop participants, 
coordination among the military, PRTs, GOI, U.N., and 
NGOs was among the most difficult challenges 
facing international aid workers in Iraq.  In 
 
BAGHDAD 00004041  004 OF 004 
 
 
addition to increased coordination in Iraq, 
participants also noted the eventual need to move 
most coordination among humanitarian 
organizations from Jordan to Iraq.  Although PRT 
and NGO representatives disagreed as to how using 
military presence and participation in 
humanitarian activities impacts the ability for 
humanitarian actors to perform, all agreed on the 
need for additional opportunities for dialogue, 
increased civil-military coordination training, 
and the development of mechanisms for ongoing 
information sharing.  (Note: USAID will release a 
detailed report by the end of December on the 
recommendations identified by the workshop 
participants. End Note). 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶16.  Returnees:  Recent international media has 
highlighted an increase in Iraqis returning to 
places of origin.  Conference participants 
cautioned that diverse reports of return numbers 
are not confirmed by the GOI and are not yet at 
levels of concern.  Moreover, there was consensus 
that the relatively small number of returnees 
should not force humanitarian responders to shift 
focus away from current IDP caseloads, host 
communities, and other vulnerable populations, 
who continue to face emergency conditions.  USAID 
implementing partners will continue to monitor 
IDP movement and refugee return and are prepared 
to respond should increased returnee needs 
materialize. 
 
¶17.  USAID will also initiate necessary actions 
to form a working coordination cell to serve as 
the point of contact with MoDM to begin work on 
the immediate recommendations suggested by 
workshop participants and agreed to by the MoDM. 
In addition, follow-up sessions to the workshop 
will be organized in Baghdad to help assure 
continuing momentum gained from the workshop 
discussions.  USAID has drafted a strategy for 
return and reintegration, and in anticipation of 
additional funding for continued USAID IDP 
activities in 2008, will use the return strategy 
to guide U.S. Government activities throughout 
the next year. 
 
 
BUTENIS