VZCZCXRO8300
RR RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHDJ #0100 0381036
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071035Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1350
INFO SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 0004

UNCLAS DJIBOUTI 000100 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR AF/E AND PRM/AFR 
ADDIS ABABA FOR REFCOORD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF DJ SO UNHCR PREL SMIG
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI: MISHANDLED SOMALI REFUGEE RETURN STRAINS 
GODJ-UNHCR RELATIONS 
 
REF: 11/10/09 SWAN-MCKELVEY EMAILS; 09 DJIBOUTI 593 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:   In mid-November, 43 Somalis rescued in 
international waters by a Dutch military ship and off-loaded in 
Djibouti were repatriated by the Government of Djibouti (GODJ) to 
Mogadishu (Ref A).  UNHCR claimed that this constituted refoulement. 
 The GODJ maintained that UNHCR was aware of the planned return to 
Mogadishu, and in fact agreed to pay for it.  Exchange of public 
recriminations followed.  This botched return stands in contrast to 
the smooth screening and repatriation of 52 Somali migrants picked up 
by U.S. naval vessel "Lake Champlain" in May (Ref B) following 
detailed consultations among the U.S. Embassy, UNHCR, and the GODJ. 
 Unfortunately, the recent negative experience with the 43 migrants 
off-loaded by the Dutch may jeopardize future GODJ willingness to 
accept transit of Somalis picked up on the high-seas.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On October 22, a Dutch ship rescued 43 Somalis in the Red Sea 
and received permission to disembark them in Djibouti on Nov. 4. 
According to UNHCR/Djibouti, ONARS (Djibouti's refugee coordination 
body) and UNHCR conducted interviews with the 43 individuals at the 
reception center at Loyada Nov. 7-8 and found that three were willing 
to return to Mogadishu. The remaining 40, according to UNHCR, wanted 
asylum in Djibouti.  On November 10-44 all of the Somalis, including 
6 women and 7 children, were repatriated to Mogadishu.  UNHCR 
subsequently circulated a diplomatic note to all permanent missions 
to UNHCR in Geneva in protest of the perceived forced repatriation. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On November 15, Djibouti's Deputy Secretary General for 
Refugee Affairs told ConOff and visiting Refugee Coordinator from 
Nairobi, that GODJ and UNHCR had both agreed to the repatriation and 
that UNHCR had agreed to fund the travel to Mogadishu. The Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs later issued a press release stating that UNHCR 
welcomed and housed those rescued at sea before organizing their 
return travel and that GODJ's only role was to see that everything 
ran smoothly. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  UNHCR/Djibouti Head of Delegation, Ann Encontre -- who was 
absent during the repatriation but left her capable deputy, Periklis 
Kotsaris, in charge -- confirmed there had been poor coordination 
between UNHCR/Djibouti, the GODJ, and the Dutch (who do not have an 
Embassy in Djibouti, and are represented by the French ).   She said 
much of the discussion over plans to off-load the migrants occurred 
directly between The Hague and UNHCR/Geneva, with inadequate 
attention to Djiboutian views.  Djibouti is 60 percent ethnic Somali 
and already hosts a refugee camp of approximately 10,000 (mostly 
Somalis) as well as many unregistered Somali migrants living in urban 
areas.  While a generous host to many refugees, Djibouti has a 
population of less than 1 million and is fearful of opening the 
floodgates to more refugees. 
 
¶5. On Dec 23, UNHCR/Djibouti Rep. Encontre told ConOff that ONARS 
leadership claimed on Nov. 24 that during processing at the Loyada 
Refugee Reception Center, workers overheard the migrants say that 
three men travelling with them were armed with "Kalashnikovs" 
(Russian high-powered rifles) that they threw overboard when the 
Dutch ship approached, indicating that the migrants may in fact have 
been trafficking victims. When local authorities demanded that the 
migrants identify their traffickers for prosecution or face 
deportation, none of the 43 migrants divulged the names.  The order 
later came from the Djiboutian Presidency to send them all back, no 
exceptions. [Note: Encontre commented that she was skeptical of the 
claim by ONARS that the Somalis were returned because they refused to 
reveal the identity of "traffickers." ONARS made no such assertion at 
the time of repatriation. END NOTE] 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: While this incident is now some two months old and 
has been reported by email, post is transmitting this front-channel 
message for the record. UNHCR and GODJ had hoped to replicate events 
from the smooth May repatriation of Somalis rescued by the US Navy, 
facilitated by a clearly defined agreement and careful planning among 
UNHCR, the GODJ and the USG.  The miscommunication and poor 
coordination in the Dutch case led to the return of migrants to 
Mogadishu despite their assertion of claims to refugee status in 
Djibouti.  Being painted as the sole culprit in this fiasco has 
justifiably upset the GODJ.  In the future should any other migrants 
be rescued in international waters, the GODJ may not be as willing to 
grant them entry. END COMMENT 
SWAN