US embassy cable - 03DJIBOUTI1674

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001674 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREF, PHUM, DJ 
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI:  UNITED DONOR CONCERN ABOUT EXPULSIONS 
 
REF: DJIBOUTI 1633 
 
1.  Summary:  Donors (France, EU, U.S., UN agencies) met 
September 11 to discuss the immediate problems surrounding a 
makeshift transit center near the Ethiopian border and likely 
impending problems attendant on forcible deportations that 
are to begin September 15.  Donors agreed to try to present a 
united front with the Djiboutian government, in order to 
forestall its capitalizing on its own ill-advised expulsion 
policy and poor preparation to install another refugee camp 
cum donor-aid pump.  End summary. 
 
2.  Following up on ref demarche dissociating the U.S. from 
Djibouti's expulsions of foreigners, we prompted UNDP chief 
(UN resrep) in Djibouti, Mbaranga Gasarabwe, to host an 
unprecendented round-table donors' meeting on September 11. 
The meeting was attended by the representatives of UNHCR, 
WFP, UNICEF, and WHO, the French ambassador and counsellor, 
the EU representative, the U.S. Charge d'affaires, USAID 
representative, ADCM, and poloff.  The focus of the meeting 
was the Djibouti government's on-going expulsions of 
undocumented foreigners and consequent problems emerging from 
the newly-established "transit center" at Aouraoussa near the 
Ethiopian border in the district of Ali Sabieh. 
 
3.  UNHCR representative Collins Asare outlined the situation 
in Aouraoussa.  After the expulsion policy had been announced 
on July 26 and with little advance notice from the Djibouti 
government, UNHCR committed in mid-August to refurbishing 
this Mengistu-era transit center, which had fallen into 
disuse, to screen some 2500 asylum seekers whom it had 
registered in recent years.  Toward the end of August, the 
government gave UNHCR representatives 36 hours' notice of 
implementation of a plan to move asylum seekers from Djibouti 
city to Aouraoussa.  On August 28 UNHCR staff found 
themselves surrounded by at least 10,000 people claiming 
asylum at the debarcation point in Djibouti city (a soccer 
stadium).  Citing concern that the crowd would become unruly, 
Djibouti authorities transported the entire group to the 
Aouraoussa transit center, which was prepared to handle 3,000 
people.  There arose numerous problems with security, 
logistics, and feeding.  At present, UN representatives said 
that that the primary concern was water.  WFP had committed 
to feeding the 12,000-15,000 people currently in the vicinity 
of the camp on a temporary basis, from its food stocks 
earmarked for the Djiboutian Food-for-Work and School-Feeding 
programs. 
 
4.  The UNHCR representative said that of the 12,000-15,000 
poeple at Aouraoussa, 2,500 (largely Oromo) were registered 
asylum seekers with UNHCR.  Approximately 5,000 people, he 
estimated on the basis of initial screening, were 
nonregistered southern Somalis who might have a claim to 
refugee status.  The remainder were nonregistered 
Somalilanders and Ethiopians, with a few others such as 
Eritreans, who would have little claim to refugee status.  He 
pointed out that UNHCR was suffering acute budgetary and 
human-resources constraints to cope with this influx of 
people, a significant portion of whom fell outside its 
purview.  He pointed out that the Djibouti governmental 
entity in charge of refugees was pressing for construction of 
permanent lodging and facilities at Aouraoussa. 
 
5.  The French ambassador expressed particular concern about 
the possible worsening of the situation in the coming days, 
with the ending of the "grace period" for voluntary departure 
of undocumented foreigners.  (The period was extended from 
August 31 to September 15 by the Minister of Interior, who 
declared that under no conditions would it be further 
extended.)  The U.S. Charge d'affaires reviewed for the round 
table his demarche on the Minister of Interior September 3 
(reftel) and subsequent press guidance dissociating the U.S. 
from the expulsions and putting the government of Djibouti on 
notice in regard to human rights violations.  Discussants 
noted that several international journalists had indicated 
that they would be arriving in Djibouti in the coming days to 
cover the expulsions.  There was general agreement that the 
government of Djibouti would try to pass the blame for any 
future humanitarian crisis resulting from chaotic conditions 
at Aouraoussa or from forcible expulsions in coming weeks on 
to the international community.  All concurred that it would 
be important to provide a united front toward the Djibouti 
government to ensure that it accepted responsibility for a 
policy for which it alone was responsible.  It was agreed 
that the round table would reconvene September 16 to refine a 
concerted strategy. 
 
6.  Comment:  The Djibouti government would like to 
capitalize on its own self-inflicted policy of expulsions, 
its own lack of minimal preparation, and donors' reluctance 
to permit suffering among a large undocumented population now 
on the move, to corner donors into creating yet another 
refugee camp, i.e., source of donor aid, on its borders. 
SMITH