US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS416

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000416 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2014 
TAGS: PREF, IZ, AF, EUR, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: EC ON IRAQI REFUGEE RETURN AND INTEGRATION 
STRATEGY: LESSONS LEARNED FROM AFGHANISTAN 
 
REF: STATE 19360 
 
Classified By: PRMOFF MARC J. MEZNAR.  REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
1. (SBU)  Summary.  The EC agrees with reftel strategy of 
concentrating first on the return of Iraqi refugees from 
neighboring countries.  It has no plans at present to promote 
the return of Iraqis from EU Member States.  An EC attempt to 
return Afghans to their country in 2003 was unsuccessful 
because many Afghans feared the conditions in Afghanistan 
were not adequate to sustain reintegration.  The EC would 
like to participate in the February 15 - 16 meeting in Amman 
to map out a strategy for the return and reintegratation of 
Iraqi refugees.  ECHO is currently funding an NGO to help 
return Iraqi refugees from Iran.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------ 
DG JHA: No Plan to Return Iraqis from EU 
------------------------------ 
 
2. (C) On 1/30, PRMOff met with Christian Klos, DG Justice 
and Home Affairs (JHA) officer in charge of return policies, 
to convey reftel points on the proposed refugee return and 
reintegration strategy for Iraqis.  Klos said that the 
European Commission (EC) had no plans to begin returning 
Iraqis from EU Member States, primarily because the present 
safety and security conditions in Iraq did not seem to 
warrant such.  He said internal EU discussions about Iraq 
remain contentious and that the EC would rather focus its 
return efforts on a country where there is broad consensus. 
 
3. (SBU) Klos reviewed failed EC efforts to carry out a 
voluntary return program for Afghans.  Based on estimates 
supplied by IOM, the EC allocated 7 million euros to fund an 
initiative which was projected to return approximately 5000 
Afghans per month beginning in April 2003.  These JHA funds 
from the B7-667 budget line were intended to help the Afghan 
government improve capacity for handling returns, including 
the construction of reception centers and transportation 
inside the country, provide mine awareness training for 
returnees and also some vocational training and income 
generating programs.  However, very few Afghans were willing 
to return, possibly because of lack of security in many parts 
of Afghanistan, particularly outside the capital. 
 
4. (C) Klos welcomed the strategy laid out in reftel and said 
that the JHA funding could be used for Iraqis, if Member 
States agreed, along the lines described in paragraph 3 for 
Afghans.  Klos said that the incoming-Dutch Presidency has 
indicated interest in exploring the possibility of returning 
Iraqis, but he doubted that the situation on the ground in 
Iraq would allow for this during the Dutch Presidency (second 
half of 2004). 
 
----------------------------- 
ECHO: Onboard to Further Regional Returns 
----------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) PRMOff also conveyed reftel points to ECHO Head of 
Unit Ruth Albuquerque.  She agreed with the proposed strategy 
to facilitate refugee returns from neighboring countries 
first.  Albuquerque expressed interest in the February 15-16 
planning meeting in Amman and said she would like her 
Amman-based officer Paul Filler to attend.  To date, ECHO's 
return efforts have been focused on refugee returns from Iran 
to southern Iraq via its implementing NGO partner Accion 
Contre la Faim (ACF). 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
 
SCHNABEL