VZCZCXRO3499
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0436/01 0890849
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 300849Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3390
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 000436 
 
DEPT FOR S/PES, AF A A/S CARTER, AF/C, IO, PRM 
NSC FOR MGAVIN AND CHUDSON 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN, USAID/W DCHA SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ASEC PGOV PREL PREF KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT:  THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN NORTH DARFUR 
 
REF: A) KHARTOUM 421 
     B) KHARTOUM 405 
     C) KHARTOUM 318 
     D) KHARTOUM 313 
     E) KHARTOUM 311 
     F) KHARTOUM 306 
     G) KHARTOUM 299 
 
--- --- 
SUMMARY 
--- --- 
 
¶1. (SBU) BEGIN SUMMARY.  On March 23-24, U.S. Embassy and USAID 
staff met with staff from the UN Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in El Fasher and attended the 
state-level Interagency Management Group (IAMG) meeting in North 
Darfur chaired by OCHA to discuss the current situation, existing 
humanitarian gaps, and potential challenges of the weeks and months 
to come.  INGO staff also summarized a letter addressed to the UN, 
requesting additional UN advocacy and assistance to address the 
current situation and facilitate continued work by humanitarian 
partners.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------------ 
THE SITUATION: BAD AND GETTING WORSE 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) On March 23 and 24, Embassy DCM and USAID Officer met with 
the OCHA North Darfur Head of Office Gregory "Gromo" Alex and 
attended the state-level IAMG in North Darfur.  Noting the release 
of the joint UN-Government of National Unity (GNU) joint assessment, 
participants commented that the results were perhaps more positive 
than initially expected, but gaps exist nonetheless.  Indeed, 
humanitarian partners noted that gaps already are becoming obvious 
in many areas of North Darfur.  One of the most glaring is simply 
the absence of international staff throughout Darfur.  Aside from 
International Committee of the Red Cross staff, all other 
international staff in North Darfur currently are now located in El 
Fasher town.  Other locations throughout the state are beginning to 
feel the impact: Shangil Tobayi currently lacks any international 
staff, although Oxfam-US supports a local project operation with a 
small amount of funding, and sanitation is already a major concern 
compounded by IDPs fleeing from Muhajeria.  With ongoing concerns 
about adequate water, humanitarian staff worry that the water and 
sanitation situation will only deteriorate further.  According to 
local sources, Kutum also has gaps in sanitation services. 
 
¶3. (SBU) One of the most critical situations in North Darfur in 
terms of serious gaps is at Zam Zam internally displaced persons 
(IDP) camp.  As of March 23, approximately 40,000 individuals have 
reportedly arrived in Zam Zam since mid-January, according to the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM).  (NOTE: IOM collects 
information from IDP leaders and new arrival interviews and had not 
yet verified the count, in part because the camp was still open and 
as a result, individuals continued to arrive.  END NOTE.)  The 
earliest new arrivals were mainly women and children coming by 
trucks fleeing conflict in Muhajeria and Shearia towns, South 
Darfur, due to a change in rule there after the JEM rebel attack in 
January 2009.  The more recent arrivals include men and boys 
arriving on foot with livestock to join these women and children who 
had fled Muhajeria earlier.  Others (most likely the minority) may 
be coming from other locations specifically seeking humanitarian 
assistance at the established camp.  Currently, aid agencies report 
that between 200 and 500 individuals arrive at the camp each day, a 
decrease from the height of 1,000 individuals per day.  Due to the 
continuing influx, IOM has been unable to verify the status of the 
recent arrivals, a step required for the UN World Food Program (WFP) 
to distribute food rations.  (NOTE:  WFP conducted a food 
distribution for 15,000 new arrivals on February 25 and plans to 
conduct a two-month ration distribution, but it cannot proceed until 
IOM verifies the IDP numbers.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Although designed to host 65,000 individuals, Zam Zam camp 
currently holds between 90,000 and 95,000 individuals, according to 
UN estimates.  The recent expulsions of international non-government 
organization (INGO) aid workers from Zam Zam further aggravates an 
already dire situation for those living in the camp's new extension. 
 Although humanitarian agencies have been lobbying the GNU since 
February to identify alternative sites for IDPs and to divert new 
arrivals or relocate current populations, the Sudanese government 
has not identified a new site to relocate IDPs in the overcrowded 
camp. 
 
¶5. (SBU) At the March 23 Zam Zam task force meeting, participants 
 
KHARTOUM 00000436  002 OF 003 
 
 
requested that IAMG appeal to the international community to further 
intensify the pressure on the GNU to allocate a new site for the 
relocation of new arrivals by issuing a statement that the camp is 
unable to hold more than 10,000 new arrivals due to very restricted 
water resources available.  The solution is not to make more 
services available to nearly 40,000 individuals crowded on a barren 
patch of land designed for 10,000, but for the GNU to identify a new 
plot of land that can accommodate 30,000 to 40,000 IDPs (the regime 
refuses because it wants no new IDP camps in Darfur).  If 
humanitarian agencies augment services at the already-overcrowded 
camp, people will stay, and the problems that overcrowding breeds 
will increase dramatically.  The UN plans to continue to liaise with 
the GNU, and ultimately may request that the GNU make additional 
land available for the IDPs, or else humanitarian agencies as well 
as the government and town residents will be faced with a major 
water shortage. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Humanitarian partners underscore several reasons for not 
allowing new IDPs to settle in the camp and relocating some of the 
area's latest arrivals, including protection, water, and 
compensation and tension concerns.  Originally, Zam Zam camp was 
identified as a refuge to offer fleeing IDPs protection from 
fighting.  Several months later, the residents of El Fasher locality 
now find themselves in a hazardous situation due to the growing camp 
population and its impact on the local environment, especially the 
availability of water.  In 2008, El Fasher Lake dried up two months 
earlier than normal for reasons that include the increased 
international presence in El Fasher town (which uses much more water 
than Sudanese do) and increased strain on the water resources.   Now 
with a larger and increasing IDP population, it is predicted the 
water will be depleted even more rapidly. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The original extension of Zam Zam camp anticipated 10,000 
new individuals arriving from early 2008 through October 2008. 
Negotiations between the international community and local farmers 
on a compensation agreement for surrounding land have reached a 
stalemate.  (NOTE:  Approximately one year ago, local government 
authorities instructed the international community to negotiate with 
the farmers directly.  END NOTE.)  Due to the significant influx 
between January and March 2009, the land negotiated previously is no 
longer adequate and new arrivals are settling outside the extended 
camp border.  Settling on the private land has increased tensions 
between IDPs and the local community and raised protection concerns. 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Humanitarian staff note that to date Zam Zam has adequate 
service provision and no reported increase in morbidity or 
mortality.  Humanitarian agencies are concerned about a lack of 
local expertise to maintain the water distribution system 
established by Oxfam, one of the expelled NGOs.  Moreover, agencies 
note that increased demand is straining local water resources and 
lowering the local water table.  Humanitarian agencies anticipate 
demands on water could potentially deplete water sources in IDP 
camps nearby El Fasher and in El Fasher city within two months.  The 
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) plans to complete a total of 20 new 
boreholes in the extension site.  As of March 19, 17 were drilled 
(14 hand pumps and three motorized pumps,) and three remained to be 
drilled. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Although reports indicate that a new health clinic located 
in the extension areas was operational as of March 23, local 
partners reported that a minor problem had delayed the opening of an 
additional clinic supported by UNICEF, the UN World Health 
Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health-supported clinic. 
However, a WHO representative assured the IAMG members that the 
latter clinic would open on March 25.  In addition, Relief 
International's (RI) health clinic has experienced increased 
caseloads, but staff cannot access medicine stored in a warehouse in 
El Fasher.  To date, the medicine has languished in the warehouse 
for five months, due to the GNU's refusal to release it.   NGO staff 
report that every time RI completes the requested government steps 
to have the drugs released, the GNU adds another requirement. 
Although the GNU claims that it must test the supplies, health 
partners note that the delay increases chances that the dates of 
expiration for these medicines will pass unless they are released 
soon.  Should this happen, the IDPs will not receive them.  WHO 
agreed to provide RI with emergency drugs to fill the gap, but OCHA 
emphasized that WHO cannot provide the drugs long-term, and as the 
sector lead, WHO should be advocating for the clearance and release 
of the medicines in the warehouse with the GNU. 
 
---------------------------- 
THE NGOS REACH OUT TO THE UN 
---------------------------- 
 
KHARTOUM 00000436  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) According to the UN, although the remaining INGOs  are 
committed to assisting the populations in need, those that are 
working in North Darfur have written a letter to the UN that 
delineates the criteria to establish a safe working environment 
requested by the INGOs.  The latter view such conditions as 
essential if they are to continue working and assisting North 
Darfur's affected populations.  The letter is an internal document 
that the INGOs had presented to the UN only.  In coming days, the 
INGOs plan to meet and discuss the contents with Deputy North Darfur 
Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer before releasing a copy of the 
letter.  Essentially, the letter requests the provision of a safe 
working environment and asks what the UN has done or can do to 
encourage GNU assurances, what protections can be offered to INGO 
staff, and what progress and/or assurances have been made to counter 
bureaucratic impediments.  Finally, the INGO representatives 
underscored that following the mid-March kidnapping of 3 Medecins 
Sans Frontiers-Belgium (MSF) international staff (Note: these 
workers were subsequently released,) some of the remaining INGOs are 
just "one event away" from departing if there is another such 
security incident.  OCHA Head of Office Alex agreed to follow up on 
the INGO statement with the UN, particularly underscoring their 
needs and concerns. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Although not necessarily related to developments in 
Darfur since early March, humanitarian staff listed increased 
incidents of robberies and looting throughout Darfur, including in 
Al Salam camp, Abu Shouk camp, and in the Kabkabiya area, which as a 
result, now lacks international staff.  According to humanitarian 
staff, the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) will request 
increased patrols inside IDP camps; however, UNAMID officials 
emphasized that protecting humanitarian assets is the responsibility 
of the GNU and not UNAMID.  In addition, UNAMID offered 
clarification regarding requests for armed escorts, but underscored 
that armed escorts should be used as a last resort only. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Even before the NGO expulsions in early March, North 
Darfur had multiple needs and several humanitarian gaps and sectors 
for humanitarian services.  With the significant decrease in 
humanitarian staff, and the uptick in insecurity and needs, the 
situation seems destined to continue on a slow downward trajectory. 
Although discussions on some of the key issues have continued for 
months, the GNU is once again practicing its frequent games of 
foot-dragging and show-boating, while the people in the overcrowded, 
underserved Darfur camps suffer.  As noted above, the kidnapping of 
the MSF staff has left international humanitarian staff feeling 
further unnerved and vulnerable.  The INGO representatives noted 
that threats to staff security have now reached unacceptable levels. 
 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Despite this, the demand for humanitarian services in 
North Darfur continues on an upward trajectory.  Humanitarian 
partners stressed that remaining INGOs are already working at or 
above organizational capacity, and it is becoming increasingly 
harder to fill gaps.  INGO staff said that the current expectations 
and projections of the Sudanese government are dangerously 
unrealistic, particularly as INGOs have no technical agreements 
under which to conduct previous programs - or newly assigned tasks. 
In order to conduct any operations, the GNU needs to provide signed 
technical agreements for the humanitarian organizations, a step the 
GNU recently promised the UN that it would now take.  And, perhaps 
even more importantly for the rattled and frightened aid staff, the 
GNU needs to begin to build the lost trust that the March expulsions 
and subsequent harassment have shattered.  Finally, if the GNU's 
vision of nationalizing aid in Sudan continues, humanitarian 
agencies must begin planning to phase out programs and transfer 
authority to the GNU.  Despite the current plans and GNU demands, 
INGO partners stated their inability and unwillingness to 
participate in capacity-building for local NGOs.  Rather, the 
organizations will focus on doing what they do best: providing 
life-saving assistance in essential sectors until the GNU 
authorities prevent them from completing that task. 
 
FERNANDEZ