VZCZCXRO3092
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDH RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0506 0561309
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251309Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6834
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0016
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0088

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 000506 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NSC SAMANTHA POWER AND SCOTT BUSBY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PGOV PHUM PREL IZ
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN REFUGEES IN IRAQ - TARGETED VIOLENCE DOWN BUT 
HARASSMENT CONTINUES 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: UNHCR reports that it has not seen an increase in 
targeted violence against Palestinians in Iraq.  It does report an 
increase in:  accounts of harassment at the many checkpoints found 
throughout Iraq; reports of arbitrary and targeted detentions 
following terrorist incidents in Baghdad and Mosul; and the number 
of Palestinian refugees registering with UNHCR in Syria.  UNHCR is 
looking into indications of possible fraud and abuse in the Ministry 
of Migration and Displacement (MoDM) administered UNHCR rental 
subsidies program.  UNHCR plans to improve its registration system, 
counseling procedures and reporting mechanisms to better understand 
and address the situation faced by Palestinians in Iraq.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (U) UNHCR told Embassy Refugee Coordinator that there has not 
been a report of targeted violence against Palestinians in Iraq in 
at least the last nine months.  UNHCR does report that it has 
received increasing accounts of harassment at the many security 
checkpoints found throughout Iraq.  While UNHCR has been successful 
in facilitating the issuance of national identification cards to 
Palestinians, recipients report that they are harassed by GOI 
officials and civilians when they present the identification cards 
at checkpoints.  It is thought that many continue to use fraudulent 
Iraqi nationality documents to travel within the country.  Likewise, 
there has been an increase in reports of arbitrary targeted 
detentions of Palestinians following terrorist incidents in Baghdad 
and Mosul.  UNHCR has repeatedly acted as an intermediary and been 
successful in convincing the Ministry of Interior to release 
Palestinians when there are no formal charges and little evidence 
against them.  They report that they can now facilitate the release 
of detainees in 24 to 48 hours due to having the appropriate 
contacts and procedures in place. 
 
¶3. (U) UNHCR reports that there has been anecdotal evidence of more 
Palestinians fleeing to Syria and continuing on to Turkey and Europe 
through irregular means.  There has been an increase in the number 
of Palestinians registering with UNHCR in Syria although this may be 
attributed to an increase in willingness to register not an increase 
in number of refugees fleeing.  There are very few Palestinians 
trying to flee Baghdad for the Al Waleed refugee camp despite the 
fact that the U.S. and European countries are resettling 
approximately 1600 Palestinian refugees from the camp. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Recognizing that there are gaps in its registration records 
of Palestinians in Iraq, UNHCR plans to complete a thorough review 
of its registration records in the coming months.  The Senior 
Protection Officer in Iraq said that UNHCR plans to interview more 
thoroughly cases that were registered several years earlier to see 
which still have durable solutions available to them in Iraq and 
which should be referred for third-country resettlement.  In the 
hope of improving the counseling of Palestinians on their rights and 
options, UNHCR is conducting more comprehensive training of its 
national staff.  While UNHCR has said that the vast majority of the 
12,000 Palestinians living in Iraq should not be referred for 
third-country resettlement, the process of identifying and referring 
the most vulnerable cases has already started.  This month the U.S. 
accepted a resettlement referral for a Palestinian family living in 
Baladiyat, Baghdad.  The family has an eight year-old child who 
QBaladiyat, Baghdad.  The family has an eight year-old child who 
suffered a head injury during a rocket attack on the predominantly 
Palestinian neighborhood in 2006.  The young boy received only 
minimal treatment by the ill-equipped Red Crescent hospital in the 
Palestinian refugee community and is now suffering serious medical 
complications, including epilepsy, as a result.  Following more 
attacks, the family attempted to flee to Syria in 2007 but was 
stopped at the border.  They lived in the Al Waleed refugee camp on 
the border for several months before returning to Baghdad. 
 
¶5. (SBU) UNHCR acknowledged that it needs to more thoroughly monitor 
and control the MoDM administered UNHCR rental subsidies program 
that assists Palestinians.  There are signs of irregularities in the 
administration of the subsidies which may indicate possible fraud 
and abuse.  An increasing number of Palestinians report that they 
were denied access to the program arbitrarily and others report that 
they have not received the subsidy after completing the registration 
process. 
 
HILL