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INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 8127
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RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAY LIMA 3184
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UNCLAS QUITO 000322 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PREL SMIG EC
 
SUBJECT: COMBATTING ECUADOR'S INCREASING REFUGEE POPULATION 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  This cable summarizes a review of the World Food 
Program's (WFP) assistance to Colombian refugees (defined in this 
cable as persons of concern) in northern Ecuador.  The review was 
conducted by Barry Burnett, USAID/DCHA/FFP, over the period April 6 
- April 10, 2009 and included field trips to Ibarra, Tulcan, and San 
Lorenzo in northern Ecuador.  Mr. Burnett also interviewed 
representatives of WFP, UNHCR, USAID/Ecuador, IOM, Hebrew Immigrant 
Aid Society (HIAS), and Colombian refugees.  Findings indicate that 
Colombian refugee levels are increasing, both along the northern 
border with Colombia and elsewhere in the country.  UN agencies and 
their implementing partners are providing critically needed 
assistance to this growing refugee population.  However, it is 
estimated that the scope of current operations will need to be 
expanded to meet the rising needs. 
 
MORE COLOMBIANS FLEEING THE CONFLICT AT THE BORDER 
¶2. The long-standing conflict between Government of Colombia forces 
and illegal armed groups has resulted in the displacement of up to 
4.4 million Colombians, with tens of thousands seeking refuge in 
Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama.  UNHCR estimates that Ecuador is 
hosting at least 135,000 persons of concern, of which 22,000 have 
been granted refugee status and another 72,000 have pending asylum 
applications with the GOE.  One of WFP's key implementing partners, 
HIAS, is responsible for making initial contact with refugees and 
providing guidance, orientation and emergency assistance, including 
food aid and counseling.  HIAS reported that the refugee level was 
30 percent higher in the period November 2008 to March 2009 than the 
refugee level recorded in the previous ten months, January 2008 to 
October 2008. 
 
WFP ASSISTING 11,000 WITH FOOD AID AND TRAINING 
¶3. WFP's food assistance program is currently reaching nearly 11,000 
of the most food-insecure refugees and other highly vulnerable 
people in host communities.  Total WFP beneficiaries are projected 
to increase as the level of refugees continues to rise.  WFP is 
increasing the provision of food-for-training and food-for-work as 
it seeks to accelerate recovery operations in 2009 and beyond. 
 
¶4. Site visits indicated, for example, that WFP food distributions 
supplement provisions from small family plots for a group of elderly 
refugees and food-insecure elders in the host-community.  WFP 
complements food distributions with lessons about health and 
nutrition delivered to beneficiaries in biweekly meetings.  WFP also 
trains women in a variety of handicrafts and businesses (e.g. fish 
marketing) to improve their livelihoods.  In certain communities, 
WFP distributes food aid to refugee children being attended to by 
state-funded baby-sitters so their mothers can go to work. 
 
¶5. During a high-profile ceremony in Ibarra in northern Ecuador 
commemorating the distribution of Title II-funded fortified wheat 
flour for which U.S.  Ambassador Heather Hodges was the 
guest-of-honor, senior GOE officials made clear their appreciation 
for the assistance but urged that other countries recognize the 
severity of the growing refugee problem and lend assistance. 
According to UNHCR sources, the GOE has provided some $40 million in 
support of health care, education and registration for Colombian 
refugees. 
 
NEW GOE/UN PROGRAM REGISTERS REFUGEES IN ONE DAY 
¶6. Prior to being officially recognized as a refugee, asylum seekers 
are not allowed to seek employment, forcing a greater dependence on 
basic services, including food aid.  Recently, with UNHCR support, 
the GOE agreed to an accelerated registration process that cuts down 
the time required to obtain refugee identification cards from nine 
months to one day.  About 1,300 Colombians were granted refugee 
status in the first two weeks of the initiative (March 23-April 3, 
2009).  UNHCR expects it will take some time to fully 
institutionalize the accelerated registration process, but it is a 
promising start. 
 
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
 
¶7. A. The flow of Colombian refugees across Ecuador's northern 
border shows no sign of abating; quite the opposite, NGO contacts 
indicated that this flow appears to have increased in recent 
months. 
 
¶B. UN institutions, in particular WFP and UNHCR, are rendering 
critically important emergency services to Colombian refugees, 
including food aid, counseling, orientation, and training, to 
facilitate their transition from Colombia to Ecuador.  The 
challenges facing the UN and other institutions seeking to improve 
refugee conditions are complicated by the presence of illegal armed 
groups, the flow of drugs from Colombia across sections of the 
border to the Pacific Ocean and on to foreign markets, and Ecuador's 
high rate of unemployment and underemployment (8.5 and 53 percent 
respectively as of February 2009). 
 
¶C. The Ecuadorian military patrols the northern border region and 
protects against armed incursions, as well as the illegal flow of 
drugs, weapons and other contraband.  The GOE is also seeking to 
coordinate assistance efforts aimed at strengthening economic 
conditions along the northern border.  In this context, WFP and 
UNHCR should use its strong presence in the region to continue to 
assist the GOE in coordinating relief efforts in northern Ecuador. 
 
¶D. WFP will undertake an assessment of its food aid program later 
this year and will likely recommend a larger program, with greater 
attention to rehabilitation efforts.  Such an approach would appear 
consistent with the conditions observed and outlined above. 
 
Hodges