VZCZCXRO1813
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0260/01 0561008
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 251008Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3083
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000260 
 
DEPT FOR AF A A/S CARTER, AF/SPG, AF/E, AF/C 
NSC FOR MGAVIN AND CHUDSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: UN DONOR PRINCIPALS' MEETING, FEBRUARY 24 
 
REF: A) KHARTOUM 246 
B) KHARTOUM 250 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a February 24 meeting, UN Humanitarian 
officials told donor principals that contingency planning for the 
March 4 ICC announcement has not detracted from humanitarian 
operations, and that they plan to continue working. In Darfur, 
access to Muhajeriya and surrounding areas has improved but remains 
difficult, and there has been a significant movement of population 
there following last month's inter-rebel fighting and the retaking 
of the area by government forces. In the South, an escalation of 
attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has displaced tens of 
thousands of people in the northern areas of the Democratic Republic 
of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan. In Abyei, UN officials noted that 
substantial, overall funds have been committed by donors but 
challenges remain, including bureaucratic impediments for 
humanitarians and lack of funding for the Abyei Civil 
Administration. Several donor principals urged the UN to do more to 
pressure the GOS on bureaucratic impediments and funding gaps. End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On February 24, CDA Fernandez attended the monthly UN Donor 
Principals' Meeting chaired by UN Deputy Special Representative of 
the Secretary-General and Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian 
Coordinator (DSRSG/RC/HC) Ameerah Haq. Deputy Humanitarian 
Coordinator and Resident Coordinator Toby Lanzer briefed the 
principals on the humanitarian situation in Darfur, noting that 
while access in Muhajeriya and surrounding areas remains difficult, 
the two NGOs that were present in the area (Solidarits and MSF) 
have now resumed activity there. He stated that there has been 
significant population movement in the area, with over 20,000 
residents of Muhajeriya having recently departed, along with an 
additional 30,000 from nearby villages. It was unclear whether these 
moves were voluntary, he said, with stories of people being paid to 
board trucks heading north. CDA Fernandez observed that the movement 
of people had an ethnic dimension, as Zaghawa fled the areas that 
ceased to be under Zaghawa (SLM/MM) military control, while original 
inhabitants from the Birgid tribe were moving back in, with GOS 
patronage. Thousands of Zaghawa are heading to Minnawi-controlled 
Zamzam IDP camp outside of El-Fasher. UN officials acknowledged this 
and stressed that they hoped to make a proper assessment of the 
situation after gathering additional information. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Lanzer also expressed alarm that in West Darfur, INGOs have 
already suffered as many compound break-ins in the first two months 
of 2009 as they did during the entire year of 2008, noting that 
there has been an increase of militia activity in the region. On a 
positive note, he said that food insecurity across all of Darfur 
appears to have decreased, and thanked donors such as the U.S. for 
their continued commitments in this regard. Lanzer also stated that 
the UN remains dedicated to reaching out to a broader range of 
stakeholders, particularly rural communities, Arab tribes and 
nomads, and praised UNICEF's education programs in this realm. He 
emphasized that UN humanitarian operations will continue despite the 
upcoming, March 4 ICC announcement of its decision on whether or not 
to issue an arrest warrant against President Bashir. "Our intention 
is to stay," he said. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Daniel Augstburger, Head of UNAMID's Humanitarian Recovery, 
Development and Liaison Section (HRDLS) told the donors the 
peacekeeping force was extremely concerned with the continuing 
military activity on the ground following the Doha talks. He stated 
that UNAMID was looking to bolster its relationship with the JMST, 
because UNAMID will be in charge of implementing any security 
arrangements that result from future peace talks, and is also 
seeking closer coordination with the humanitarian community. He 
added  UNAMID was engaged in "business continuity planning," but did 
not anticipate any problems from the ICC indictment announcement, 
citing assurances made by the GOS at the February 18 Tripartite 
meeting with the GOS, AU and UN (ref A). With regard to deployment, 
he stated that the peacekeeping force is 60% deployed but that more 
work needs to be done to bridge the gap between deployment of troops 
and their equipment, noting that while the Formed Police Unit (FPU) 
assigned to Zalingei has arrived, unfortunately its equipment has 
not. He added that these difficulties are a result of logistics, 
rather than government interference. He also stated that 70% of 
UNAMID's civilian staff (civil affairs, human rights, etc.) has 
deployed. 
 
¶4. (SBU) UN officials also briefed donors on their response to 
communities affected by attacks from the Lord's Resistance Army 
(LRA). They stated that following the December 14 joint military 
operation by Uganda and the DRC with support from Southern Sudan 
against the LRA ("Operation Lightning Thunder") there has been a 
 
KHARTOUM 00000260  002 OF 002 
 
 
visible escalation of LRA attacks in northern DRC. They said that 
approximately 180,000 people have been displaced in northern DRC, 
while 15,000 have crossed the border into Southern Sudan and 30,000 
remain displaced within Southern Sudan. At the request of CDA, UNMIS 
Political Affairs Officers briefed the donors on the situation in 
Malakal following the outbreak of fighting in there (ref B). 
 
¶5. (SBU) UN officials also briefed the donors on funding for 
recovery efforts in Abyei, noting that almost $32 million had been 
committed as of February 2009. They stated that while there were 
substantial overall funds committed, some sectors were doing better 
than others, as there were gaps in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 
(WASH), Protection, and Non-Food Items (NFIs). They also noted that 
humanitarians continue to face bureaucratic impediments (such as 
visas) imposed by the Humanitarian Affairs Committee (HAC) as well 
as by the security services.  They said they were also affected by 
difficulties due to the lack of funding for the Abyei Civil 
Administration. In response, several donor principals including CDA 
Fernandez, and the EU and Dutch Ambassadors commented that the 
briefing painted an all too rosy picture of recovery efforts, and 
urged the UN to do more to pressure the GOS on bureaucratic 
impediments and funding gaps which are holding up an improvement on 
the ground in a still volatile situation in Abyei. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: Issues of access and insecurity will continue to 
be problematic for humanitarian activity in Darfur, and despite 
assurances from the GOS, could be further exacerbated by the 
potential fallout of an ICC indictment of President Bashir. The 
situation in Abyei remains very precarious, with only a small window 
of opportunity for humanitarian and other projects before the advent 
of the rainy season and ongoing obstructionism by HAC. In addition 
to the efforts of donor countries, the UN needs to be strongly 
encouraged to aggressively press the GNU to fund the Abyei Civil 
Administration and lift INGO impediments now rather than later if 
another clash between the CPA parties is to be averted.  End 
comment. 
 
FERNANDEZ