VZCZCXRO6772
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0703/01 1510929
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 310929Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3886
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0063
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0320
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0135
RUEHSUN/USUN ROME IT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 000703 
 
DEPT FOR SE GRATION, S/USSES, AF A/S CARSON, AF/C 
NSC FOR MGAVIN 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
BRUSSELS FOR PBROWN 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
UN ROME FOR HSPANOS 
NEW YORK FOR DMERCADO 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: DONORS, UN DISCUSS HIGH-LEVEL COMMITTEE 
 
REF: A) KHARTOUM 613 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (SBU) On May 26, donors and UN officials met to discuss the May 
7 High-Level Committee (HLC) meeting and UN proposals for a new HLC 
terms of reference (TOR) and monitoring mechanism.  During the 
meeting, UN Deputy Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator 
for northern Sudan Toby Lanzer noted that the expulsions have 
provided the international community an opportunity to reassess the 
effectiveness of aid and foster improved cooperation and 
coordination with the government.  As a result, the UN has created a 
draft monitoring mechanism, which would consist of joint Government 
of National Unity (GNU), UN, non-governmental organization (NGO), 
and donor teams.  The teams would travel to Darfur once a month 
prior to the HLC meeting to review one or two programmatic issues in 
addition to staff safety, assets, and the operating environment, 
which would be standing items for each monitoring mission.  While 
noting the positive steps of expanding the HLC membership and 
agreeing on a joint monitoring mechanism, meeting participants noted 
that significant issues remain unspecified, including concerns that 
the government could delay monitoring teams or distort the 
information collected.  Following inquiries by GNU Humanitarian Aid 
Commission (HAC) Commissioner-General Hassabo about the utility of 
conducting a field visit prior to the next HLC meeting, the UN has 
scheduled a tentative date for a visit to Darfur from June 10 to 12. 
 END SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Donor Perspectives on the Expanded HLC 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) On May 26, representatives from UN agencies, NGOs 
(represented by Irish NGO CONCERN), the European Commission's 
Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), the Chinese Embassy, the African 
Union, the Russian Embassy, the League of Arab States, the UK 
Department for International Development (DFID), the British 
Embassy, USAID, and the U.S. Embassy convened a meeting to discuss 
the May 7 expanded HLC meeting and future initiatives.  Among the 
results of the May 7 meeting, UN Deputy Resident Coordinator and 
Humanitarian Coordinator for northern Sudan Toby Lanzer noted 
agreement on the need for monitoring and comfort among the HLC 
participants on the broader group of participants.  In the May 2 
ministerial decree, GNU Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Haroun Lual 
Ruun expanded the permanent members of the HLC to include relevant 
GNU ministries and donor countries as permanent members for the 
first time.  (Note:  The official from the Chinese Embassy reported 
that the Chinese government had not yet finalized the procedural 
work to become a permanent member of the HLC.  As a result, Chinese 
representation at the HLC is currently temporary, pending 
confirmation from Beijing.  End Note.)  Lanzer expressed 
appreciation for the high-level of government participation, 
including U.S. Special Envoy Gration, DFID representative David 
Fish, and Sudanese Presidential Advisor Dr. Ghazi Salahudin.  (Note: 
 During the meeting, Lanzer reported that Dr. Ghazi has assumed 
management of the Darfur portfolio for the government.  End Note.) 
 
 
¶3.  (U) Participants emphasized the importance of coordination 
between the UN and the government on the agenda, as well as 
preparation among HLC members, prior to each meeting.  (Note: 
During the May 7 meeting, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ruun had 
appeared confused regarding the agenda.  The UN confirmed that they 
had shared the agenda with the Minister prior to the meeting, but 
noted that they would ensure better collaboration on future 
meetings.  End Note.)  Participants highlighted that future meetings 
should be held at a discussion-level, which will require prior 
dialogue and coordination with the government and among committee 
members on progress and challenges. 
 
¶4.  (U) The CONCERN representative noted that there was a change in 
the government's tone during the May 7 meeting.  The representative 
stated that the government broke from its more frank conversations, 
particularly the April 30 NGO meeting with Dr. Ghazi, and noted 
 
KHARTOUM 00000703  002 OF 003 
 
 
several "jarring nodes" during the meeting, particularly with regard 
to the issues of protection and internally displaced person (IDP) 
returns.  (Note:  Per Ref A, during the May 7 meeting, GNU HAC 
Commissioner-General Hassabo stated that the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has no legal role to provide or 
coordinate protection services, reporting that UNHCR's mandate 
includes provision of assistance to refugees rather than IDPs.  End 
Note.)  Lanzer reported that UNCHR and the International 
Organization for Migration headquarters are engaged on this issue, 
and reported that the deputy wali (governor) of South Darfur stated 
his willingness to discuss the issue with UNHCR during the week of 
May 18.  End Note.) 
 
------------------------ 
Draft Terms of Reference 
------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (U) On May 25, in preparation for the May 26 meeting, the UN 
circulated a draft TOR for the HLC, outlining the expanded 
membership under the May 2 decree.  Participants raised the issue of 
TORs for state-level HLCs, also established under the decree, 
specifically noting the need to clarify the relationship between 
HLCs in the three Darfur states and the Khartoum-level committee, as 
well as the Khartoum Tripartite Joint Technical Committee, which has 
maintained relations between the HLC and NGOs.  The ECHO official 
further noted that in the ministerial decree, representation in the 
state-level committees was extended to only government agencies, the 
UN, and NGOs, excluding donors.  To date, Lanzer noted that only 
South Darfur has reportedly created a state-level HLC.  Recently, 
the deputy wali of South Darfur reported that the state has 
established an HLC, although it is unclear if the HLC has conducted 
meetings or who was present.  Lastly, participants noted that the 
TOR should include a reference to the new monitoring mechanism to 
codify the agreement reached on May 7. 
 
-------------------------- 
Draft Monitoring Mechanism 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) During the meeting, Lanzer presented a preliminary draft 
monitoring mechanism for donor review.  Lanzer described the 
mechanism as "strategic monitoring," denoting monitoring that is 
broad in scope and addresses overall performance issues, including 
aid efficiency, impact, relevance, appropriateness, sustainability, 
coverage, coherence and coordination, as well as donor-specific 
issues.  The monitoring mechanism would consist of joint GNU, UN, 
NGO, and donor teams, which would travel to Darfur once a month 
prior to the HLC meeting to review one or two programmatic issues in 
addition to staff safety and assets and the operating environment, 
which would be standing items for each monitoring mission.  By 
reviewing programmatic issues, Lanzer hopes that the HLC will be 
able to move away from solely focusing on bureaucratic impediments 
to bigger picture items related to the essence of relief work in 
Darfur.  Teams would likely travel to only one Darfur state and 
possibly only the capital for a short period of time.  Teams would 
gather information through various methods, such as conducting 
interviews or traveling to IDP camps and rate each issue according 
to color (green, yellow, and red).  Teams would likely prepare a 
joint report or statement on findings, which the team would share 
with HLC members and would form the basis of the subsequent HLC 
meeting. 
 
¶7.  (U) Lanzer noted that certain topics will challenge different 
groups, noting that the purpose of joint teams is to encourage 
discussions.  However, Lanzer noted that joint monitoring should not 
substitute for NGOs', UN agencies', and donor's own monitoring 
tools, which could feed into preparation for joint monitoring 
missions.  USAID noted potential difficulties comparing the 
programmatic reports, as they would likely only cover a specific 
area for a specific timeframe, as well as noted that team members 
should review sources so that information is not discounted or 
discredited.  The CONCERN representative highlighted the importance 
of managing expectations of what the monitoring mechanism, as well 
as the HLC, can achieve.  Since 2007, the HLC has only held ten 
meetings and visited Darfur twice, according to the NGO 
representative.  In addition, the NGO noted that the HLC should 
 
KHARTOUM 00000703  003 OF 003 
 
 
employ existing mechanisms, such as the Joint Procedures Center 
database and the clusters, for monitoring. 
 
¶8.  (U) Lanzer noted that he had given the draft monitoring 
mechanism to HAC Commissioner-General Hassabo, who agreed to share 
the document with other government officials to discuss a way 
forward.  According to Lanzer, Hassabo had inquired about the 
utility of conducting a field visit prior to the next HLC meeting. 
Currently, a tentative date for the visit is scheduled for June 10 
to 12 and the next HLC meeting is planned for June 15.  Closing the 
meeting, Lanzer invited donors to provide comments on the draft 
monitoring mechanism and TOR. 
 
---------------------------------- 
USAID Discussion with UN Officials 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Prior to the HLC meeting, on May 24, USAID staff met with 
Lanzer and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
(OCHA) staff to discuss the situation in northern Sudan resulting 
from the early March NGO expulsions.  According to Lanzer, the 
expulsions have provided the international community an opportunity 
to reassess the effectiveness of aid and push the government to 
assume more responsibility.  Lanzer emphasized that the 
international community should "change the discourse" on aid, and 
move from providing only relief to also building the capacity of 
line ministries and providing some recovery assistance. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) With regard to insecurity and lack of access, Lanzer 
noted that humanitarian agencies require strengthened coordination 
with the African Union-UN Hybrid Operations in Darfur (UNAMID) and 
stated that some access problems are due to the UN's bureaucratic 
inefficiency or lack of effort, not government obstacles.  Lanzer 
noted that UNAMID could provide "humanitarian space" through its 
presence, which could allow NGOs to travel to otherwise inaccessible 
rural areas.  (Note:  In subsequent meetings, NGO staff noted they 
are sometimes using UNAMID escorts for movement, but stated that 
they did not see UNAMID as creating any space for humanitarian work. 
 End Note.)  Lanzer reported that UN regulations prevent UN agencies 
from accessing areas approximately one-half of the time, and noted 
the importance of recognizing instances where lack of access is due 
to the UN's own restrictions or bureaucratic inefficiency, not the 
government. 
 
¶11.  (U) Lanzer stressed that the clusters and the OCHA's role need 
to be strengthened in order to improve coordination.  Lanzer 
reported that cluster leads plan to travel to Darfur in the coming 
weeks to hold discussions with donors and relevant agencies.  (Note: 
 On May 28, OCHA staff reported that the cluster team's visit to 
Sudan was delayed due to non-issuance of visas.  The team plans to 
visit Sudan in the coming days.  End Note.)  To strengthen clusters, 
Lanzer noted a need to begin to build staff capacity through 
increased resources.  Lanzer reported that Norway and Sweden have 
already stated their intention to retain staff on standby to work in 
Sudan for six months while longer-term recruitment is ongoing. 
 
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Comment 
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¶12.  (SBU) While the expansion of the HLC's membership and agreement 
on the need for a monitoring mechanism represent positive steps 
towards strengthening the HLC, it remains to be seen if the 
ambitious agenda will be feasible.  As Lanzer noted, while it is 
unclear what is possible at this moment, an opportunity exists to 
build upon the positive space created by the expulsions and 
subsequent U.S. engagement to forge a better relationship with the 
Sudanese government. However, significant issues remain unspecified 
under the draft monitoring mechanism, including concerns that the 
government could delay teams, prevent them from traveling to certain 
areas, and/or misrepresent or discount the information collected. 
Post will continue to engage in the drafting process to ensure that 
the monitoring mechanism is a valuable tool. 
 
WHITEHEAD