VZCZCXRO6118
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0384/01 0760519
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 160519Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0208
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000384 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AF S/E WILLIAMSON, AND AF/SPG 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KEDEM PREF SU
SUBJECT: CENSUS IN DARFUR IN TROUBLE 
 
REFS: A. KHARTOUM 372 
 
¶B. KHARTOUM 172 
¶C. KHARTOUM 155 
¶D. KHARTOUM 114 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The Central Bureau of Statistics office in North 
Darfur cited many obstacles to carrying out the census.  Aside from 
security, transportation, communication, and logistical concerns, 
the CBS hasn't received confirmation from the local community, 
especially the native administration and the very skeptical IDP 
population, that they will participate.  The CBS continues to lack a 
solid plan for the enumeration of displaced populations and seems 
uncannily nervous about conducting a census in Darfur next month. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On 11 March, poloff met with the Director of the Central 
Bureau of Statistics (CBS) for North Darfur, her staff, and a UNFPA 
representative.  After making introductions, the Director 
immediately discussed the constraints the CBS faces in carrying out 
the census in the region and gave a brief update of the status of 
the census in North Darfur. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
CBS FINALLY ADMITS TO CENSUS PROBLEMS IN DARFUR 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
¶3. (SBU) The Director listed several issues CBS North Darfur is 
facing prior to next month's census. First, she said, the CBS needs 
help from the UN and NGOs in order to gain access to IDP camps and 
other areas to conduct enumeration (note: this is a strange request 
because it is her own government, through NISS and HAC, that control 
access to many IDP camps).  Second, the enumerators in the field 
lack communication devices (such as satellite phones) which are 
necessary for communicating with the CBS North Darfur office from 
remote areas during the two-week enumeration period.  Third, the 
enumerators lack transportation to enumerate within their 
localities.  The director said that they need 100 UN vehicles to 
enter the IDP camps and 30 vehicles for enumerators across the 
region.  She also mentioned that the enumerators will need 
helicopter support to some localities.  Fourth, CBS Khartoum has not 
yet solidified a plan for distributing materials (i.e. census 
questionnaires, writing materials, etc.) to the states.  The UNFPA 
rep said that questionnaires need to be distributed to the 
localities at least 3 days in advance of the census.  The CBS has 
requested UN transportation support for the materials, but has not 
yet submitted a formal proposal to the UN.  Fifth, the CBS does not 
have a plan for providing enumerators with security support. 
 
¶4. (SBU) When poloff asked the CBS team whether the census would go 
forward as planned in mid-April even though there are major 
constraints to conducting the census in Darfur, the Director said 
that the CBS is only a "technical institution" and does what it is 
"instructed to do" by the GoS in Khartoum.  Refusing to give a 
personal opinion, the Director said that questions about the 
security concerns of conducting the census in Darfur should be 
answered by the GoS.  Although the CBS Head office in Khartoum has a 
security committee to deal with potential security problems related 
to the census around the country, the El Fasher office does not have 
its own security plan or committee. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The local CBS director stated that the CBS has met with 
sheikhs and umdas in IDP camps in order to inform them about the 
census. She said that she is "90 percent sure" that they (and the 
communities that they lead, especially inside the camps) will accept 
the census.  As for a plan of enumeration in the camps, she said 
that CBS is going to suggest that sheikhs and umdas choose people in 
the camps to conduct a joint enumeration with CBS enumerators. 
[Note:  In a separate meeting poloff had with well-respected umdas 
from Abu Shouk Camp on 13 March (septel) they expressed strong 
concern about the census in Darfur and said that neither they, nor 
their communities, will participate. End note.] 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
STATUS ON DARFUR - MAPPING, ADVOCACY, AND MORE 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶6. (U) Touting familiar numbers, the Director claimed that 80 
percent of Dafur's land has been mapped.  She said there are some 
areas the GoS cannot not map due to security constraints, and there 
are other areas that are completely empty because people have fled. 
 
¶7. (U) On March 9, the Deputy Wali of North Darfur formally kicked 
off census activities in the state.  Soon after, the CBS began its 
advocacy campaign in North Darfur.  The local CBS media and 
information committee has approached local radio and TV stations in 
order to launch the census media campaign in North Darfur.  Radio 
messages about the census currently being broadcasted only reach 30 
percent of the state. The local CBS office has asked a radio station 
out of Khartoum to broadcast the census message to achieve 100 
 
KHARTOUM 00000384  002 OF 002 
 
 
percent coverage across North Darfur.  The census messages are being 
broadcasted in Arabic as well as local dialects. On 17 February, the 
CBS began training enumerators in Khartoum.  On 9 March, local CBS 
offices began training enumerators in the North Darfur localities. 
 
--------------------------------- 
STATUS OF CENSUS IN WEST DARFUR 
--------------------------------- 
¶8. (SBU) On 11 March, poloffs spoke with UNAMID Civil Affairs in El 
Geneina, West Darfur.  UNAMID recently conducted a census "opinion 
survey," covering a range of groups including IDPs, political 
parties, tribal leaders, Arabs, Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) 
signatory representatives, and civil society organizations.  Survey 
results indicated that every group opposed conducting a census in 
Darfur.  The acting West Darfur UNAMID Head of Office remarked that 
even the head of the State Legislative Council, the Sultan of the 
Massaleit, is opposed to the census, noting that because of the 
concentration of IDPs, other displaced civilians and population 
transfers (particularly the phenomenon of Chadian Arabs settling 
in/migrating into Sudan, especially around Wadi Salih), a census 
would be distorted, resulting in potential economic and political 
imbalances. 
 
¶9. (SBU) According to UNAMID Civil Affairs, neither the West Darfur 
CBS office, nor the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in West Darfur have 
undertaken census advocacy in the region.  The CBS cannot safely 
access IDP camps in West Darfur (as is the case in North Darfur) and 
asked Civil Affairs to work as their proxy in the camps, though the 
UN has so far declined.  The West Darfur UNAMID Head of Office noted 
the fundamental realities on the ground in West Darfur:  no planning 
has been done, sufficient resources are not present and, most 
importantly, the population at large rejects the proposition of a 
census.  She anticipated that should the census proceed, it would 
likely lead to incidents of violence.  She also said she is prepared 
to tell her staff to avoid IDP camps and other potential hot-spots 
during any census-taking activities. 
 
¶10. COMMENT: The North Darfur CBS, which recently moved into its 
"new" office space, is in a dilapidated building on the outskirts of 
town and only has four computers - all of which were switched off 
and covered in plastic.  The fact that there was no activity in the 
office just one month prior to the census is cause for deep concern 
and a sure sign that "census crisis" is about to hit Darfur.  The 
Director's immediate launch into constraints of carrying out the 
census in the North Darfur region leads us to believe that the 
situation for the census on the ground in Darfur is not nearly as 
under control as the CBS head office in Khartoum recently proclaimed 
(ref B).  Furthermore, UNAMID Civil Affairs was not reluctant to 
explain the dire situation that the CBS West Darfur office faces in 
getting camp access and being properly equipped for next month's 
exercise.  The long list of CBS constraints, as well as the 
population's negative feelings about the census - not to mention the 
fact that the CBS might not even get access to large parts of the 
Darfuri population - will likely cause the census either to be 
postponed in Darfur, or to result in inaccurate numbers that could 
cause a strong reaction among the population.  Regardless of what 
numbers are produced, they will be rejected by the Darfuri 
population, especially without adequate external/professional 
monitors.  Strangely enough, this is a paradoxical situation where 
regime hardliners in Khartoum and suspicious local populations, 
especially IDPs, both don't want the census in Darfur to occur, 
albeit for different reasons. 
 
FERNANDEZ