VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUNV #0055/01 0481205
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171205Z FEB 10
FM USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0585
INFO RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0827
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0336

UNCLAS UNVIE VIENNA 000055 
 
KABUL FOR ANDREW QUINN 
STATE FOR S/SRAP MICHAEL STIGLITZ 
STATE FOR INL/AP MICHAEL OVERBY 
STATE FOR ISN/EXBS Dan Forbes 
STATE FOR S/CT ERIC ROSAND 
STATE FOR SCA/P TGRENCIK 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR AF UN JP PK PTER KCRM KNNP
SUBJECT: Seizing the Opportunity: UNODC Pakistan Country Program 
 
REF:  UNVIE 50 
 
¶1. Summary:  The UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) hopes that its 
soon to be released (late spring 2010) Pakistan Country Program will 
offer a comprehensive strategy to address drugs, crime, terrorism 
and governance issues in Pakistan.  After a rocky few years, where 
the Government of Pakistan (GOP) viewed UNODC activities with 
suspicion and occasional out-right hostility, and where UNODC lost 
credibility due to a leadership crisis and an ineffective ad-hoc 
approach to programming, UNODC officials say they have hit the 
"restart" button and are on the way to delivering a high quality 
program worthy of donor attention.  UNODC officials say the GOP is 
increasingly open to UNODC assistance in implementing conventions 
and delivering technical assistance.  UNODC is pleased with the new 
UNODC representative in Pakistan and intends for him to become an 
effective interface between an invigorated donor community and a 
more constructive GOP. We should closely examine UNODC's new 
approach and country program in order to determine possible areas of 
closer engagement (and funding).  We would in particular encourage 
an evaluation of the Pakistan Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB) 
program with a view to possible funding, as well as continued 
support for UNODC's growing container control program.  End 
Summary. 
 
 
---------- 
UNODC Suffered From Ad-Hoc Projects, 
Lack of Credibility, 
and a Suspicious Pakistan 
---------- 
 
2.Mark Shaw, chief of UNODC's Integrated Planning Unit, and Smera 
Rehman, UNODC's Pakistan Country Desk Office, met with UNVIE 
officers February 9 to discuss the developing Pakistan Strategic 
Country Program.  Shaw, who had just returned from an assessment 
visit to Pakistan, noted that UNODC currently is running a number of 
programs with a budget totaling approximately US $10 million (of 
which US $5 million is secured from donor contributions).  However, 
as Shaw admitted, UNODC's work in Pakistan is very ad-hoc, and 
certainly neither comprehensive nor strategic. While Shaw noted that 
donors have been unable to prioritize their own assistance, UNODC 
and the GOP bear the most responsibility for the current state of 
its work in Pakistan.  Until recently, the GOP has been suspicious 
of any UN assistance work, especially that of UNODC.  Seen as 
internal interference, UNODC attempts to assist Pakistan in 
implementation of conventions and improving governmental systems was 
met by GOP with a deaf ear, and sometimes outright rejection. 
 
¶3.  Shaw also pointed the finger squarely at UNODC.  Previous 
country representatives were ineffectual, Shaw posited, and the 
abrupt departure of country representative Christy McCampbell 
(former INL DAS) in winter 2008 after just a few months on the job, 
left UNODC with  a total leadership deficit in country and a sense 
among donors and the GOP that UNODC was not a substantial partner. 
(Note.  UNVIE largely agrees with this assessment of UNODC's track 
record in integrated program development for Pakistan.  While some 
of UNODC's individual projects likely have had a positive impact, 
overall, UNODC has not been able to develop its Pakistan program in 
the same way as it has in Afghanistan (reftel).  End note.) 
 
¶3.  Nevertheless, Shaw reports that UNODC pressed its own reset 
button some months ago and has reinvigorated its Pakistan program. 
This was possible, emphasized Shaw, because of an increased 
receptiveness among the Pakistani ministries to work with the UN on 
security, governance and criminal justice issues-albeit outside of 
the "One UN" system.  Shaw explained that while Pakistan is a "One 
UN" country, which calls for full integration under the UN country 
representative, the GOP insisted early on that security-related 
issues (for example, assistance to criminal justice officials, 
border officials, prison rehabilitation) be handled separately from 
the overall UN framework.  Shaw stressed that the UN agreed to this 
division, and that UNODC's close working relationship with the UN 
country team and the UN country representative has ensured this 
division is merely a technicality and that the UNODC is fully 
integrated in the overall UN system in-country. Shaw also noted that 
the GOP is now providing security support to the UN in-country, and 
is working with UNODC to re-locate its offices into a more secure 
location. 
 
¶4.  Desk Officer Rehman added,UNODC's perception that donors are 
becoming increasingly clear on their own priorities and ready to 
start implementing assistance in the field.  Shaw credited much of 
UNODC's success in reinvigorating its Pakistan presence and program 
to the new UNODC country representative Jeremy Douglas (Canadian), 
whom Shaw believes has brought a strategic focus to program 
development.  Working with Shaw's Integrated Planning Unit, Douglas 
has developed and released a series of assessment reports that have 
established UNODC's reputation as an organization that can deliver 
expert analysis and concrete results.  Further, donors are now using 
these reports to determine where to direct funding assistance in the 
drugs, crime, and terrorism context.  (Note.  UNVIE worked with 
Douglas during his previous assignment in Vienna as program officer 
in charge of developing UNOC's Global Synthetic Drug Monitoring 
Analyses Report and Trends (SMART) program.  UNVIE was very 
impressed with Douglas' programmatic approach, clear vision and 
managerial savvy.  Although we were initially disappointed to see 
the Pakistan country representative position downgraded from a D1 to 
a P4 upon McCampbell's departure, we believe Douglas is a good 
choice for the position.  UNVIE would welcome Embassy Islamabad's 
views of Douglas' work on the ground.  End note.) 
 
 
------------ 
UNODC Pitches Integrated 
Country Program 
------------- 
 
¶5.  Shaw and Rehman noted that the GOP and UNODC are currently 
developing an integrated strategic country program, which will 
likely be budgeted at US $30 million over three years.  The current 
draft framework contains a three-pillar structure of: Illicit 
Trafficking and Organized Crime; Criminal Justice Reform; and Health 
and Human Development. To this end, UNODC has already conducted 
three assessments: prison reform, crime-facilitating migration 
between Afghanistan and Pakistan (which focuses on organized crime's 
facilitation of irregular migration, kidnapping, human trafficking 
and illicit trade), and border management between China and Pakistan 
(which focuses on how to plan for the potential illicit trafficking 
risks that will come with a more open Pakistan-China border).  In 
addition, UNODC plans to conduct a future assessment of public 
health threats posed by drugs.  UNODC hopes to transform these 
assessments into concrete pieces of the three-pillar structure, but 
noted that it is the Pakistanis who must finalize the program in 
order to gain the necessary political support.  The UNODC program 
will also incorporate ongoing counter-terrorism and border security 
projects, along with work on prison reform and drug treatment 
programs. Simultaneously, the GOP intends to roll out its vision for 
UNODC's Pakistan office during the March 2010 CND. Shaw indicated 
his belief that, given the marked improvement in cooperation with 
Pakistani authorities, the UNODC integrated country program should 
be able to complement the Pakistani vision. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
TPB in Pakistan:  Good News but Needs Resources 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶6.  With UNODC's push to better integrate all thematic elements into 
country programs, the TPB project to strengthen the legal regime 
against terrorism in Pakistan is slated to be folded into the new 
country program.  This project focuses on strengthening the capacity 
of Pakistan to fight terrorism through the development and 
implementation of a comprehensive Pakistani counter terrorism legal 
framework and includes capacity building assistance for the criminal 
justice system.  To date, the TPB has conducted two study tours for 
Pakistani criminal justice officials, an expert workshop on the 
ratification and implementation of the universal counter terrorism 
instruments, and, most recently, Pakistani criminal justice 
officials participated in the new TPB online training course.  The 
TPB has also provided assistance to Pakistani officials through 
Organization of The Islamic Conference (OIC) regional workshops.  In 
conjunction with UNODC's overall revitalization of its presence in 
Pakistan, the TPB now has a national consultant in country to work 
with the GOP to identify priority needs and pinpoint further 
activities. The two-year budget (2010-2012) for TPB activities in 
Pakistan is around US $2million, with nearly all outstanding. 
Without an injection of funding, it is unlikely the TPB can 
intensively implement its Pakistan program.  Although the European 
Union recently agreed to provide counter terrorism capacity building 
assistance for Pakistan (approximately US $20 million), that will be 
implemented via European assistance agencies.  However, EU officials 
are looking closely at ways to assist the TPB. 
 
--------------- 
An Eventual "Umbrella Program" 
To Encompass Iran, Afghanistan 
and Pakistan? 
--------------- 
 
¶7.  Shaw and Rehman also spoke of the eventual need for a larger, 
"umbrella UNODC program" that would cover Afghanistan, Pakistan and 
Iran.  While noting possible Pakistani resistance to being 
"subsumed" into a larger framework, Shaw and Rehman echoed U.S. 
priorities by saying that the problems afflicting the region need to 
be dealt with regionally, and that UNODC initiatives like Central 
Asian Regional Information and Coordination Center (CARICC), the 
Triangular Initiative, The Rainbow Strategy and Paris Pact-while all 
valuable in their own right-need to be once and for all articulated 
as a single and truly regional UNODC program. 
 
-------------- 
Comment 
-------------- 
 
¶8.  UNODC has laid considerable groundwork for the creation of a 
strategic country program that is aimed at effectively integrating 
UNODC's various mandates into a single unified vision for Pakistan. 
UNODC could become a serious international partner for the U.S. in 
Pakistan, but that will ultimately depend on UNODC being able to 
follow through on these recent positive developments.  Specifically, 
Douglas and his team will need to prove to donors that they can be 
an effective interface between donors and the GOP, while at the same 
time demonstrating to the Pakistanis (and donors) that UNODC can 
actually deliver tangible and sustainable technical assistance. 
 
¶9.  To date, the U.S. has only provided modest in-kind technical 
assistance to UNODC's container program in Pakistan, but we hope 
further U.S. funding for this program will be imminent.  We will 
continue to send Washington the current individual elements of 
UNODC's program in Pakistan in order for Washington to consider 
increased involvement with UNODC's Pakistan programs.  We continue 
to encourage Washington to consider, at least on an interim basis 
until the integrated country program is issued, U.S. funding for the 
TPB legislative counter-terrorism program and further support for 
the container control program, both of which have already proven 
their value-added.  End Comment. 
 
DAVIES