Cablegate: Unami Donor Meeting in Kuwait Highlights Un

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

060422Z Jul 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003022

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAID KU IZ
SUBJECT: UNAMI DONOR MEETING IN KUWAIT HIGHLIGHTS UN
PROGRAMS IN SOUTHERN IRAQ

1. Summary: During a meeting of donor and neighboring
countries to Iraq organized by the United Nations Assistance
Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), EmbOffs heard about the various
programs run by the UN, with a specific focus on the
activities being carried out by UN agencies in southern Iraq.
While the UN representatives encouraged donor countries to
give more money, specifically to the UN Trust Fund for Iraq,
they also pointed out that what was needed was better
contacts and cooperation with the new Iraqi administration.
In attendance were representatives from over ten donor
countries and neighboring countries, and the UNAMI organizers
suggested turning the briefing into a regular monthly meeting
in Kuwait. One issue raised by the UNAMI organizers was
whether the UNAMI work should be targeted to specific regions
or areas in Iraq, or spread evenly throughout the entire
country. End Summary.

UN Holds Meeting to Describe Assistance Projects
--------------------------------------------- ---

2. By invitation from UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP
Resident Representative Moez Doraid, Econ Counselor and
Officer attended a meeting at the UN compound in Kuwait on
July 2 convened "to highlight the UN humanitarian and
reconstruction operations in Iraq." Representatives from the
embassies and missions of donor countries and neighboring
countries to Iraq were invited, with about twenty people
total in attendance. The UK, France, Australia, Denmark,
Japan, India, and Iran were among the countries represented.
The GOK was represented by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs
staff member. As Doraid explained at the outset, the purpose
of the meeting was to explain to donor and neighboring
countries how the various UN agencies were providing
assistance in Iraq.

Clusters: UN Gets More Focused on Iraq Assistance
--------------------------------------------- ----

3. Daniel Ruiz of UNAMI and Robert Goodwin of UN-Habitat
described the UN's new "Cluster Model for Iraq", which is
designed to focus assistance to Iraq by sector and need
instead of by which UN agency can provide the assistance.
The seven clusters, and the agencies that would contribute to
their objectives, are as follow:

-- Agriculture, Food Security, Environment and Natural
Resource Management : FAO, UNDP, WFP
-- Education and Culture : UNESCO, UNICEF
-- Electoral Assistance (to be completed by 12/31/05)
-- Governance and Human Development : UNDP, HRO
-- Health and Nutrition : WHO, UNICEF
-- Infrastructure Rehabilitation : UNICEF, HABITAT
-- Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons and Durable
Solutions : UNHCR, IOM

Each cluster has a coordinator appointed by the lead agency
as well as a full-time Cluster Assistant.

Capsule Descriptions of Activities by UN Agencies
--------------------------------------------- ----

4. Following Ruiz's description of the new cluster model,
representatives from a number of UN agencies gave very brief
presentations on their specific agency's activities in Iraq.
Maman Sidikou of UNICEF explained that his agency's current
focus is on secondary and higher education, with the goal
being the strengthening of education at all levels while
preserving the cultural heritage of Iraq. The UNDP's
representative described that agency's 2004 Iraq Living
Conditions Survey (see http://www.iq.undp.org/ilcs.htm),
which found that 1.5 million Iraqi households were still
without proper sanitation, among other findings. Kannan
Nadar of UNICEF ran through its involvement in the various
clusters, including work on health and nutrition, learning
and development, and water and sanitation. The UNHCR's
representative explained that the problems it sees include a
lack of shelter and documentation, lack of employment
opportunities and hostility from local communities. Robert
Goodwin of UN HABITAT said that his agency's assistance was a
mix of about 25% technical assistance and 75% direct housing
rehabilitation assistance. An additional 1.6 million housing
units are needed, he said, adding that his agency's housing
projects are creating thousands of jobs throughout Iraq. Ugo
Bot of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
explained that his agency's main tasks include migration
management support, property claims assistance, and
recruitment of professional Iraqi expats to come back to Iraq
and provide reconstruction assistance. He added that most of
the internally displaced persons in Iraq are centered around
the marsh areas and the Iraq-Iran border in the south. (For
the full presentations and other material from this meeting,
please see http://www.undp-kuwait.org/downloads/undonors .htm)

Looking Ahead: Monthly Meetings, More Donor Input
--------------------------------------------- ----

5. Looking ahead, Daniel Ruiz of UNAMI said that until the
new Iraqi government was fully able to coordinate
reconstruction and assistance activities itself, UNAMI would
continue to play that role and would try to better coordinate
and facilitate the activities of other aid agencies as well.
He specifically asked for assistance in developing an
information management system to track reconstruction
assistance efforts in the south, a project which currently
needs $200,000 in additional funding. He also said that
security of UN personnel in Iraq remained a major concern of
the UN Secretariat and that Kuwait would therefore remain,
for the time being, the logistical base for UNAMI. He closed
by asking donor countries to think about and provide input on
how UN aid should be deployed in Iraq, and whether it should
be spread around the whole country or more narrowly focused.
The sessions's organizers suggested that this meeting of
donor and neighboring country representatives could be a
useful monthly gathering. They said they would put together
a proposal for the group's consideration.

6. Basra minimize considered.

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Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
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