US embassy cable - 03AMMAN7646

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 007646 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR IO, NEA AND PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2013 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, ASEC, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: UN/IRAQ AGENCIES IN JORDAN:  ADRIFT WITHOUT 
MISSION OR LEADERSHIP 
 
 
Classified By: DCM David Hale per 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) Following the August 19 and September 20 attacks on 
UN installations in Baghdad, more than 400 UN international 
staff relocated from Baghdad to Amman, bringing the total 
number of UN international staff here to more than 500.  The 
number of UN international staff should drop significantly 
after the Oil-For-Food handover, but likely will hover around 
300.  Individual UN agencies seem to be engaged appropriately 
with their counterparts from CPA and Iraqi ministries, 
staying in touch via e-mail and holding meetings here in 
Amman.  As a whole however, the UN mission in general and 
UNAMI in particular seem adrift, unsure of their ultimate 
mission in Iraq and even the location from which they will 
operate for the foreseeable future. 
 
2.  (C) In a November 18 discussion with refcoord, UNAMI NGO 
coordinator Maura Lynch (protect) portrayed a UN Iraq country 
team in policy and managerial disarray.  Although the UN Iraq 
team held a meeting in Cyprus November 3-8 to discuss next 
steps for programming, no decisions were made regarding the 
UN's role in Iraq, the conditions required to send 
international staff back to Iraq, or even where "virtual" 
offices should be located until UN agencies can resume full 
operations in Iraq.  Consensus among working level staff, 
according to Lynch, is that UN political offices should 
relocate to Cyprus, while operational programs should remain 
in Amman where they would have proximity to NGOs and other 
humanitarian organizations.  However, UN NY leadership, UN 
Jordan country team members and even GOJ officials are 
increasingly nervous about the security risks posed by large 
numbers of UN international staff in Jordan.  "If they can't 
get us in Iraq," as Lynch paraphrased UN NY's concerns, 
"what's stop them from targeting us in Jordan?"  For these 
reasons, Lynch said, many UN Headquarters officials are 
pressing for the entire UN Iraq team to relocate to Larnaca, 
Cyprus.  The decision regarding the Iraq team's ultimate 
location will be made by UN NY. 
 
3. (C) Lynch commented that the UN's tough policy and 
administrative decisions are made all the more difficult by 
the absence of leadership for the Iraq country team.  UNSYG 
Annan has not yet appointed a new Special Representative for 
Iraq and the Deputy position, held by Ramiro Lopes da Silva, 
was not filled after da Silva became the Acting Special 
Representative following Sergio Viero de Mello's death.  Now 
that da Silva is on administrative leave for the duration of 
the ongoing security investigation, Lynch said, the Iraq team 
has neither a Head of Mission, a deputy nor even an acting 
deputy. 
 
4.  (U) Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/or access the site 
through the State Department's SIPRNET home page. 
 
5.  (U) CPA Baghdad minimize considered. 
GNEHM