VZCZCXRO3086
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #1284/01 1341442
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131442Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0556
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEWMFD/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA IMMEDIATE
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ADDIS ABABA 001284 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM EAID EAGR PREL ET
SUBJECT: OGADEN: MIXED HUMANITARIAN ACCESS, LOOMING DROUGHT 
RISKS EMERGENCY 
 
REF: A. ADDIS 1259 
     ¶B. ADDIS 1223 
     ¶C. ADDIS 1204 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) In a May 9 roundtable discussion with donors, NGOs 
expressed concern over the overwhelming inadequacy of the 
Ethiopian Government (GoE)'s humanitarian appeal to respond 
to current drought conditions in Ethiopia and detailed 
persistent bureaucratic impediments to their ability to 
provide humanitarian assistance to drought and 
conflict-affected areas of the Ogaden.  After two years of 
persistent vulnerability, the people of the Ogaden face 
depleted resiliency to cope with the current shock.  While 
GoE access restrictions have effectively blocked donors' and 
NGOs' ability to assess the severity of the drought in the 
Ogaden, the GoE's appeal for humanitarian assistance 
fundamentally underestimates the magnitude of humanitarian 
needs in some regions and excludes other affected regions 
altogether.  Despite receiving greater GoE authorization to 
access, and deliver relief food and medical supplies 
throughout the Ogaden, NGOs reported extensive and lengthy 
bureaucratic requirements that severely constrain their 
ability to fulfill their obligations to donor partners. 
Without a more accurate drought response appeal by the GoE 
and significantly facilitated NGO access procedures, huge 
numbers of Ethiopia's most vulnerable could face still 
greater malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality.  Although 
Ambassador raised these concerns to Prime Minister Meles on 
May 9 (Ref A) along with the UK and French Ambassadors, it 
remains evident that without a significant and sustained push 
the GoE will maintain its current hostile approach to NGOs at 
the expense of its own citizens.  Post encourages Washington 
bureaus and agencies to raise USG concerns about NGO access 
impediments and the inadequacy of the GoE's humanitarian 
appeal with the Ethiopian Ambassador when he is called in to 
discuss the draft Civil Society law (Ref B). End Summary. 
 
DROUGHT 
------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Although Post has reported (Ref C) on the general 
drought conditions facing Ethiopia, NGOs noted that without 
greater operational access they cannot assess whether the 
drought caused by the already largely-failed Belg rains 
combined with the poor Meher forecast will be worse than the 
major drought of 2002.  The International Rescue Committee 
(IRC), which does currently enjoy relatively good access in 
the Ogaden, argued that conditions in the Somali region are 
looking worse than 2002.  The UN Office of the Coordinator 
for Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), however, argued that it 
is not yet clear that the drought in Somali region would be 
as bad as 2002.  OCHA did, however, stress that two years of 
failed rains and poor harvests have so depleted the 
resiliency of the local population of the Somali region that 
the onset of drought has brought on almost instantaneous 
physical impacts in child morbidity/mortality and 
malnutrition, and we should only expect to see greater 
humanitarian impacts as the drought progresses.  While 
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-Greece reported severe acute 
malnutrition (SAM) rates of 10 percent in some locales, 
MSF-Holland noted that it cannot adequately assess, or 
respond to, humanitarian needs in the Ogaden due to GoE 
restrictions on their access and operations.  USAID's Office 
of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) representative 
emphasized the critical need for an unbiased nutritional 
assessment in the Ogaden.  MSF-Switzerland reported that a 
significant portion of humanitarian food delivered to rural 
areas of the Ogaden has been confiscated by the military and 
local authorities and sold to traders from Somaliland, thus 
further restricting the portion of relief food actually 
reaching intended beneficiaries.  MSF-Holland argued that 
without improved access, the MSFs in Ethiopia may be forced 
to withdraw. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Several NGOs emphasized that the rhetoric and scope 
of humanitarian needs captured in the GoE's appeal do not 
match the ground truth in many parts of Ethiopia.  While IRC 
stressed that the drought has had a major toll on the 
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR), 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00001284  002 OF 004 
 
 
which is highlighted in the GoE's appeal, Catholic Relief 
Services (CRS) flagged that the Amhara region is completely 
excluded from the appeal despite the emergence of 
drought-induced stress migration and kids dropping out of 
school.  The UN's OCHA representative noted that drought 
conditions and humanitarian needs in Oromiya and SNNPR are 
not even close to being adequately reflected in the GoE's 
appeal.  Despite the circumstantial evidence of the impacts 
from the drought, there is still no formal comprehensive 
assessment.  The Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Agency 
(DPPA) told the Japanese Ambassador that it will do drought 
impact assessment at the end of June upon the completion of 
the Belg harvest to determine the actual extent of drought 
impacts. 
 
BUREAUCRATIC HURDLES FOR NGOS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) While the overt preclusion on NGO (and donor) access 
to conflicted-affected areas of the Ogaden has been eased 
notably since the Fall, many NGOs reported a sustained lack 
of de facto access to much of the Ogaden due to bureaucratic 
impediments.  The IRC noted that it currently enjoys much 
better access to the region, but must first acquire written 
permission from the Somali regional president for each trip. 
Such permission can take weeks.  A representative from the 
European Commission Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid 
(ECHO) reported being denied access outside of Kebri Dehar 
while accompanying an EC-funded relief NGO.  While MSF-Greece 
noted that UN agencies enjoy better access than NGOs, a 
representative from OCHA clarified that the UN is operating 
in the Ogaden without written authority from the GoE to 
implement activities, only a verbal assurance of 
authorization from the Deputy Prime Minister, which could be 
stripped at will. 
 
¶5. (SBU) MSF-Greece argued that it enjoys full support from 
regional authorities in Oromiya and Somali regions to 
operate, but is stymied by impediments at the federal level. 
While the GoE has long maintained loose operating procedures 
for expatriate staff of humanitarian NGOs, it has now chosen 
to exploit this inconsistency with the law to block 
expatriate workers from operating in the Ogaden.  Instead, 
now, expatriates must be registered with DPPA and hold valid 
work permits, otherwise they are considered "illegal."  For 
instance, DPPA sent a letter to Medecins du Monde (MDM) on 
April 24 naming seven expatriate employees working without 
work permits.  DPPA ordered MDM to withdraw these employees, 
"pay back the benefits illegally effected to them," and 
terminate their employment by April 30.  MDM was also ordered 
to "assure in writing that (it) will never repeat such 
illegal action and will work in line with the General 
Guideline for NGO Operation in Ethiopia here after."  While 
the French Ambassador and some NGOs reported that obtaining a 
work permit for expatriate staffmembers is now taking 
four-to-six months, MSF-Greece noted that DPPA is not even 
accepting work permit requests any more.  One NGO stressed 
that the persistent pattern of GoE allegations against local 
staff in the Ogaden means that NGOs cannot leave local staff 
on the ground without expatriates without exposing the local 
staff to significant risk from the GoE.  The Japanese 
Ambassador cited a conversation with DPPA head Ato Simon in 
which DPPA argued that is only has a problem with 
four-to-five NGOs, and is willing to authorize the rest of 
the 47 NGOs interested in working in the Ogaden.  DPPA noted, 
however, that it would only issue two-to-three permits per 
NGO, after they submit a CV for the staff and a scope of 
work, which no NGO has yet provided. 
 
MESSAGE TO THE GOVERNMENT 
------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Following the roundtable, Ambassador Yamamoto 
facilitated a discussion among the donors (U.S., UK, France, 
Canada, Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, the EC, and the UN) on 
raising these concerns with the GoE.  The U.S., UK, and 
French Ambassadors agreed to raise these concerns with Prime 
Minister Meles (Ref A).  The donors also agreed to encourage 
their capitals to stress concerns about these persistent 
restrictions on humanitarian access with the Ethiopian 
Ambassadors accredited to their countries when they call the 
Ambassadors in to express concern about the draft civil 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00001284  003 OF 004 
 
 
society organization law (Ref B) introduced on May 2. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ambassador Yamamoto distributed the following 
talking points to the assembled donors as a foundation for 
discussing NGO access concerns.  Post encourages Washington 
bureaus and agencies to draw from these points to raise USG 
concerns to the Ethiopian Ambassador: 
 
--Delayed rains and the onset of drought-like conditions in 
areas of the Somali region are exacerbating the already 
depleted humanitarian conditions stemming from poor rains and 
harvests over the past two years, 
 
--While there has been a significant increase in access for 
humanitarian partners throughout the region over the past few 
months, continued restrictions on movement of humanitarian 
relief supplies and assistance in response to security 
conditions and counter-insurgency operations are impeding the 
provision of food, medical supplies, and water to civilians 
located in small villages and off of the main roads, 
 
--We, Ethiopia's partners in development, are committed to 
help address the humanitarian toll of these conditions, but 
slow logistics and impediments to access are preventing our 
ability to adequately assess needs and reach beneficiaries, 
 
     --Poor coordination among national and local authorities 
and between relief and security sectors significantly impede 
a large portion of relief from reaching intended 
beneficiaries, 
 
     --Bureaucratic delays or requirements (from registration 
of particular staff members to oft-postponed meetings to 
obtain access permission letters) further delay the delivery 
of needed food and supplies to Ethiopian civilians, 
 
     --The delays in deploying mandatory escort convoys and 
poor logistics leave already scarce food, medical supplies, 
and technical personnel idle for days or weeks while 
civilians continue to go without, 
 
--While the government confirms its commitment to address 
these humanitarian concerns, photos of emaciated children and 
animals are beginning to emerge and it is only a matter of 
time before our governments begin to question the motives 
behind these delays, 
 
--It is growing increasingly difficult to justify to our 
capitals the demand for additional assistance for Ethiopia 
when existing obstacles severely limit the delivery of 
currently available assistance to beneficiaries, 
 
--It is now evident that the Ethiopian government must 
establish clear and specific requirements and procedures to 
ensure that humanitarian implementing partners have 
expeditious and unimpeded access to the civilians in need of 
relief, 
 
--It is also critical for medical and nutritional assessment 
teams to have thorough access to the region to determine the 
scope and gravity of potential needs, 
 
--Implementing partners' collaboration with anti-peace 
elements would be unacceptable.  At the same time, 
humanitarian partners' travels in remote areas to respond to 
humanitarian needs may lead them to encounter anti-peace 
elements.  Reporting details of such encounters to government 
and security officials only risks exposing them to hostility 
when they encounter such groups in the future.  As such, we 
encourage the government to acknowledge that such contacts 
may occur and not use such unwillful contacts as grounds for 
restricting NGO movements or operations. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) One year into its counter-insurgency efforts in the 
Ogaden, it is clear that the GoE continues to severely 
restrict NGOs, particularly the vocal ones, to impede them 
from fully observing conditions on the ground or fully 
responding to the humanitarian needs of local populations 
suspected of favoring insurgents over the government.  The 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00001284  004 OF 004 
 
 
successful deployment of the Humanitarian Assistance Team and 
openings in commercial and humanitarian access in Fall 2007 
are evidence of the effect of sustained and concerted 
pressure on the GoE to mitigate the humanitarian needs of its 
population.  While there has been notable progress, the task 
is not done, concerns are not abated, and the expansion of 
the drought only exacerbates the vulnerability of the people 
of the Ogaden.  Similarly, nationalism and pride provide an 
incentive within the GoE to minimize humanitarian needs as 
evidenced by the GoE's initially inadequate humanitarian 
appeal in response to the drought and as could be factored 
into the DPPA's late-June post-Belg drought impact 
assessment.  Post encourages Washington bureaus and agencies 
to raise USG concerns about NGO access impediments and the 
adequacy of the GoE's humanitarian appeal with the Ethiopian 
Ambassador when he is called in to raise the points in Ref C. 
 End Comment 
YAMAMOTO