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RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BRUSSELS 000769 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PREL EAID EUN
SUBJECT: U.S-EU CONSULTATIONS ON HUMANITRIAN ASSISTANCE 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: Acting Assistant Secretary for Population, 
Refugees, and Mgration Samuel Witten led a U.S. delegation 
of PRM and USAID officials in Brussels May 19 or the annual 
humanitarian Strategic Policy Dialogue (SPD) between the U.S. 
and the European Commission, the world's two largest 
humanitarian donors.  The consultations with the European 
Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) reflected broad 
agreement on many humanitarian issues between ECHO and the 
U.S. agencies represented.  The group noted that a series of 
joint U.S.-EU field assessment missions in Africa have 
strengthened relationships and led to improvements in the 
delivery of humanitarian assistance.  Common areas of concern 
discussed at the SPD included civil-military relations, 
budgets and mandates of UN agencies, and the politicization 
of humanitarian assistance in Sudan, Sri Lanka, and North 
Korea.  End summary. 
 
Assisting Iraqi refugees and IDPs 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Acting A/S Samuel Witten explained that, in 
addition to its long-standing support for Iraqi refugees in 
Syria, Jordan and elsewhere, the U.S. is becoming 
increasingly focused on helping Iraq and international 
agencies and NGOs create and maintain conditions within Iraq 
that could facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and 
internally displaced persons (IDPs).  Efforts of the 
Government of Iraq have generally been lackluster on this 
issue, participants said.  Witten said the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates 280,000-300,000 
displaced Iraqis already have returned home (an estimated 90 
percent are IDPs, 10 percent refugees) and IOM estimates that 
more than 60 percent of IDPs hope to return home.  Describing 
the current moment as a "window of opportunity" to assist 
voluntary returns, Witten encouraged the EU and its member 
states to increase funding for UNHCR and other actors so that 
those Iraqis returning home voluntarily find adequate 
services which, in turn, will encourage future returns. 
While the U.S. has been the largest funder of international 
appeals for Iraqi refugees and will continue funding the 
appeals, he said the U.S. seeks to make it more of an 
international effort shared with all major donors.  He added 
that the U.S. cannot sustain the current percentages of UNHCR 
funding for Iraq.  ECHO officials noted their particular 
interest in stability in the Middle East and returns of 
displaced persons given Europe's geographical proximity to 
the Middle East and the fact that thousands of Iraqi refugees 
make their way to Europe to request asylum. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) ECHO Head of Unit Jean-Claude Heyraud said the main 
reasons ECHO has not given more money are lack of access for 
ECHO's NGO partners inside Iraq and an overall EU approach 
centered on increasing the capacity of Iraqi ministries and 
institutions.  "If there is a massive return with a massive 
need, we will look again" at further funding, he said.  ECHO 
spent 18 million euros in 2007 for Iraqi refugees and IDPs, 
30 million in 2008, and has allocated 20 million for 2009. 
The European Commission's Directorate General for External 
Relations (RELEX) has allocated 66 million euro for Iraq for 
2009-2010, Heyraud said.  The amount of Commission funding 
going to UNHCR this year includes 5.5 million euros from ECHO 
and 6 million euros from RELEX.  ECHO Director of Operations 
Steffen Stenberg said he believed resettlement programs in 
the U.S. and Europe for Iraqi refugees could dampen refugees' 
willingness to return to Iraq, but Witten said the number of 
people signing up for resettlement from Syria has not 
increased dramatically, the number of new registrants in 
Jordan is not increasing, and most Iraqis are not pushing to 
resettle in a third country. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In a separate meeting, Swedish government officials 
reflected a willingness to highlight the Iraqi refugee and 
IDP issue when Sweden assumes the EU Presidency for six 
months on July 1.  Ola Henrikson, Director General for 
Migration and Asylum at Sweden's Ministry of Justice, said 
Sweden contributes 50-60 million euros in unearmarked funds 
to UNHCR each year, and will encourage other EU member states 
 
BRUSSELS 00000769  002 OF 004 
 
 
to contribute to the Iraqi funding appeals.  "It is in the 
interest of EU member states to alleviate pressure on Syria 
and Jordan," he said, citing the thousands of Iraqis who make 
their way to Europe each year to request political asylum. 
In 2007, Sweden had 18,000 Iraqi asylum seekers, half of all 
asylum seekers in Europe.  Since then, Sweden has tightened 
its criteria for asylum, and numbers are down, but they are 
rising in Finland, Norway and other countries.  Sweden offers 
Iraqi's 7000 euros per family to return to Iraq, and so far 
approximately 1,000 have returned, Henrikson said. 
 
 
Sri Lanka: Military victory only partial solution 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) ECHO Head of Unit Esko Kentrschynskyj said the 
Government of Sri Lanka's recently declared military victory 
over the LTTE solved only 80 percent of the humanitarian 
problem.  ECHO is concerned about the military's strong 
presence and control in civilian areas and the lack of 
information about the fate of many civilians trapped during 
the fighting.  ECHO said local authorities planned to ban 
vehicle traffic from humanitarian agencies into IDP camps, 
and the government banned UNICEF from working through 
international NGOs, limiting it to only local NGOs.  The 
International Committee of the Red Cross was trying to gain 
access to the former conflict zone to register the dead.  A 
recent visit to the field by EU troika representatives was 
heavily stage-managed by the Government of Sri Lanka and 
allowed for little real investigation, Kentrschynskyj said. 
Witten agreed that the current end to fighting "is not the 
end of the story" and may only be a pause in tensions in Sri 
Lanka absent a long-term political solution.  USAID Deputy 
Assistant Administrator (DAA) Jon Brause noted an 
"unparalleled level of cooperation" between EU and U.S. field 
offices in Sri Lanka. 
 
Shared concerns over Sudan, Horn of Africa and Zimbabwe 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) ECHO Director General Peter Zangl said reports from 
the field in Sudan regarding capacity to deliver humanitarian 
assistance are "not reassuring."  ECHO Director Stenberg said 
the Sudanese bureaucracy continues to stifle progress with an 
average 28-week wait for expatriate work permits.  USAID DAA 
Brause said 75 percent of humanitarian capacity was 
re-established quickly following the Government of Sudan's 
expulsion of 13 international NGOs.  Three or four of the 
expelled U.S.-based NGOs will return to Sudan through 
affiliates while others will be permanently banned, he said. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Turning to Ethiopia, ECHO Head of Unit Cees 
Wittebrood described the situation as precarious and said 
protecting humanitarian space is a constant challenge.  The 
fact that the Government of Ethiopia, rather than UNHCR and 
the World Food Program (WFP), runs refugee/IDP camps and 
distributes food results in a failure of food aid to reach 
all beneficiaries, he said.  Wittebrood welcomed joining 
forces with the U.S. in approaching the Government of 
Ethiopia, saying the U.S. has leverage while the EU is merely 
tolerated.  On Somalia, he said the focus on piracy should 
not divert the international community from needed reforms on 
the mainland.  If the food gets safely to the port cities of 
Mogadishu and Mombasa (Kenya), but then cannot be distributed 
inland, it has not reached the right people, he said.  Witten 
expressed continuing frustration over the Government of 
Kenya's failure to find a solution to overcrowding in the 
Dadaab camps, saying both he and the UNHCR High Commissioner 
had had what appeared to be successful talks in Nairobi in 
2008 only to see the problems continue. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) On Zimbabwe, Wittebrood said ECHO believes WFP is 
exaggerating the scope of food needs and should target only 
vulnerable households.  ECHO's focus this year will move from 
food assistance to developing long-term food security. 
Stenberg said ECHO believes OCHA is less effective than it 
should be in Zimbabwe and the Resident Coordinator is not a 
 
BRUSSELS 00000769  003 OF 004 
 
 
strong advocate for the humanitarian community.  But, he 
added, "On the whole, we are not pessimistic about Zimbabwe 
because it has the basis to recover" provided the government 
is stable and allows the international community to assist. 
Wittebrood said he will participate in a joint field mission 
to Zimbabwe with DG-Development officials in June. 
 
Palestinian refugees 
-------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Stenberg expressed frustration that although donors 
pledged 4.7 billion dollars for Gaza reconstruction, Israeli 
restrictions on border crossings mean "we still can hardly 
get 10 sacks of cement in."  He said Israeli claims of being 
under attack from Palestinians do not hold up to scrutiny. 
Witten said the U.S. has been making efforts to persuade 
Israel to increase access into Gaza consistent with Israel's 
legitimate security needs.  He praised UNRWA as the 
"lifeblood" of the Palestinian refugees in need of 
assistance.  Stenberg said ECHO is following President 
Obama's Middle East initiatives with anticipation.  "The best 
thing we can do now is to see what the new administration 
will do." 
 
Politicization of Humanitarian Assistance 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) USAID DAA Brause raised the question of what the 
U.S. and EU should do when non-political hmanitarian 
assistance becomes politicized by host-country governments 
such as Sudan, Sri Lanka and North Korea.  "I'm not sure the 
international community agrees on standards," he said.  "If 
the environment makes it (humanitarian assistance) into 
political assistance, should we be there?"  The UN, he 
suggested, could play a larger role in defending impartial 
humanitarian assistance.  After the Sudanese government 
expelled international humanitarian NGOs, the international 
community adapted to the government-imposed conditions with 
little resistance, he said.  "We dropped the standards that 
we claim are so important to our operation.  If we don't 
stand behind our standards, they (foreign governments) will 
use our rules against us."  ECHO DG Zangl said he was 
disappointed the U.S. and EU did not send a joint letter of 
protest to the Sudanese government.  "Sometimes you have to 
make your mark" for what you believe in, Zangl said. 
 
Reforming the UN 
---------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Witten noted that UNHCR's new decentralized and 
needs-based budgeting approach has many details that need to 
be worked out leading up to the UNHCR Executive Committee 
meetings in Geneva.  Stenberg said the UN's system in the 
field of having both Resident Coordinators (RCs) and 
Humanitarian Coordinators (HCs) is often problematic since 
those who come from a development background are used to 
cooperating closely with government ministries while 
Humanitarian Coordinators generally ask the host government 
"to get out of the way."  USAID DAA Brause said the UN should 
consider applicants outside the UN system to broaden the pool 
of potential HCs.  ECHO DG Zangl said his experience in the 
EU made him wary of hiring outsiders as mid- and senior 
managers in large organizations with complex structures and 
unique organizational cultures. 
 
Civil-Military Relations in Af/Pak 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Zangl said the balance between international 
humanitarian workers (civilians) and the military was 
disproportionately skewed toward the military in Afghanistan 
and Pakistan from the outset of international military 
involvement.  Kentrschynskyj said the civ-mil liaison 
structure is not working optimally in Afghanistan.  While 
individual ISAF generals are superb, the high turnover rate 
results in lack of continuity, he said.  The establishment of 
an OCHA office is a positive step, he said, as is NATO's 
 
BRUSSELS 00000769  004 OF 004 
 
 
commitment to repaint its white vehicles so they are not 
confused with humanitarian vehicles.  Brause said limited 
civilian capacity is problematic.  ECHO Head of Unit Johannes 
Luchner, however, said a recent study by consultants showed 
no gap in humanitarian capacity except in extraordinary 
circumstances like a devastating tsunami.  "The problem is 
that the military is doing things that civilians should be 
doing," he said.  On Pakistan, Kentrschynskyj said the 
Pakistani military has played a largely positive role in 
helping humanitarian providers safely access affected areas. 
 
 
Food Aid 
-------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU) ECHO expressed strong skepticism about WFP's 
funding needs and mandate.  Stenberg said the Consolidated 
Appeal (CAP) for food was inflated and added, "We don't trust 
it."  Zangl said WFP raised alarm bells over rising food 
prices last year, but failed to readjust its strategy when 
food prices then dropped.  He suggested WFP stay within its 
core mandate of delivering food and not expand into other 
areas.  Stenberg and Luchner said WFP and other UN agencies 
need to lower their funding expectations.  "These big 
agencies need to know up front they're not going to get full 
funding, and they are not going to go public and say, 'People 
are dying because of you (the donors),'" Stenberg said. 
Brause said USAID has asked WFP to clarify the beneficiaries 
it is trying to reach, but said the U.S. remains a strong 
supporter of WFP. 
 
 
Joint U.S.-EU field assessment missions 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (U) Stenberg and Wittebrood emphasized the importance of 
joint U.S.-EU field missions, including the most recent one 
in January to Chad.  USAID/DCHA Humanitarian Policy Adviser 
Mia Beers suggested Zimbabwe as a potential site for the next 
joint mission. Stenberg agreed that it could be useful, 
especially if DG-Development officials participated.  Both 
the U.S. and ECHO agreed to brainstorm further about 
potential locations for future missions with the 
understanding that they should continue. 
 
Possible troika format for future SPDs 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Comment: In January, ECHO formalized an 
institutional relationship with the European Council for the 
first time and has begun having regular meetings with a 
Council Working Group, the Committee on Humanitarian Aid and 
Food Aid (COHAFA).  That institutional change may present an 
opportunity for the U.S. to transition its SPD format to a 
troika format for formal consultations (most troikas take 
place twice a year, once in Washington and once in Brussels 
or the EU Presidency capital).  The troika format would bring 
in the European Council Secretariat and the EU Presidency as 
opposed to the SPD format which includes only the European 
Commission.  The idea has been discussed at the working level 
in Brussels, and USEU recommends that senior officials in PRM 
and USAID/OFDA consider it as a potentially useful forum for 
broadening the discussion on humanitarian affairs to the EU 
member states.  End Comment. 
 
¶16.  (U) PRM Acting A/S Witten and USAID DAA Brause have 
cleared this report. 
MURRAY 
.