US embassy cable - 04AMMAN1201

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 001201 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR PRM/ANE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF, PREL, KPAL, KWBG, JO, UNRWA 
SUBJECT: UNRWA FUNDRAISING STRATEGY 
 
REF: A. STATE 29074 
     B. WARD/POLASCHIK E-MAIL OF 2/9/04 (NOTAL) 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary and comment:  Refcoord met with UNRWA 
External Relations Officers February 11 to review UNRWA 
fundraising strategy.  Noting that UNRWA expected a decreased 
response to its current emergency appeal, they said UNRWA 
also required increased funds for its General Fund programs. 
UNRWA fundraising strategy centers on outreach to 1) 
nontraditional donors such as corporations, regional 
governments and newly formed national associations; 2) Arab 
states and multilateral organizations; and 3) minor donors, 
particularly through the special Geneva conference planned 
for June 2004.  Channeling large, one-time Arab contributions 
to UNRWA's emergency programs into support for UNRWA's 
regular programs constitutes a significant political 
challenge for UNRWA.  UNRWA is hopeful that several ongoing 
and planned external reviews of UNRWA programs (including by 
the U.S.) will reaffirm traditional donors' support for the 
agency and result in increased contributions.  While UNRWA's 
fundraising goals are not new, External Relations Director 
Whitley has made significant progress in implementing ideas 
that have been around for years.  Whether these ideas will 
result in new funds remains to be seen.  End summary and 
comment. 
 
2.  (U) In response to concerns over decreasing donor support 
for UNRWA's emergency programs (ref a), refcoord met with 
UNRWA External Relations Officers Andrew Whitley and Emmy 
Takahashi on February 11 to review the agency's fundraising 
strategy.  Whitley confirmed that UNRWA expected donor 
response to the emergency appeal to fall below levels 
received in 2003.  UNRWA does not expect the U.S. and the 
U.K. in 2004 to match the "extremely generous" contributions 
they made to UNRWA's 2003 emergency appeals, while 
traditionally strong medium-sized donors such as the 
Netherlands, France and Spain are not expected to make any 
contribution to the 2004 emergency appeal.  Whitley 
attributed the overall decrease in funds to donor fatigue and 
competition for funds from Iraq reconstruction programs. 
Whitley commented that UNRWA also requires a deeper donor 
base for its General Fund programs in order to compensate for 
years of chronic underfunding.  Noting that that UNRWA 
finished 2003 in a relatively strong financial position due 
only to exchange rate gains from the relatively weak U.S. 
dollar, Whitley said that UNRWA could not count on such gains 
to last indefinitely and therefore needs to attract new 
support for its General Fund. 
 
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Outreach to Non-Traditional Donors 
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3.  (U)  According to Whitley, UNRWA's top fundraising 
priority is to expand beyond its traditional donor base of 
developed countries, reaching out to corporations, regional 
and municipal governments, other UN agencies and newly formed 
national support associations, along the lines of "USA for 
UNHCR."  UNRWA is opening such associations in the U.K., 
Sweden, Spain, Japan and the United States -- with the 
"Friends of UNRWA USA" association due to complete its formal 
registration during the week of February 16. Whitley 
acknowledged that UNRWA did not have a good track record of 
corporate fundraising in the past (a phenomenon he attributed 
to corporate anxieties about Palestinian politics) but said 
he is working to change that record.  Nestle, for example, 
just donated a significant quantity of powdered milk for 
distribution among UNRWA's special hardship cases.  UNRWA 
hopes to gain other in-kind contributions from UN agencies, 
working with UNICEF on children's programs and ILO on 
vocational training programs.  While Whitley agreed that 
increased cooperation with UN agencies would not increase 
UNRWA's cash-flow, he hopes that it could open doors to other 
funding resources or channels of cooperation.  UNRWA has 
added a new full-time international staff position to its 
External Relations Department (funded by the UN's central 
administrative budget) to work solely on nontraditional 
donors. 
 
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Outreach to Arab States and Multilateral Organizations 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
4.  (SBU) In recent years, UNRWA has received significant 
contributions from Arab donors in response to emergency needs 
in the West Bank and Gaza.  The UAE Red Crescent Society's 
pledge of USD 27 million to rebuild Jenin refugee camp is 
among the largest of these contributions and, according to 
UNRWA officials, is described by Red Crescent Officials as a 
personal gift of President Sheikh Zaid.  Whitley told 
refcoord that the Saudi government plans to make USD 22.5 
million available through the Islamic Development Bank to 
rebuild 950 housing units in Rafah, a pledge made during 
Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Ala'a's trip to Saudi Arabia. 
Palestinian Authority sources told Whitley that the Saudis 
had not yet determined which agency (UNRWA or PA) should 
receive the funds; UNRWA hopes to direct the funds toward the 
agency's emergency appeal. 
 
5.  (SBU) UNRWA's challenge, according to Whitley, is to 
transform these one-time grants under the emergency appeal 
into lasting financial relationships that can address the 
agency's long-term capital needs.  Arab states and regional 
organizations traditionally have been reluctant to contribute 
to UNRWA's General Fund programs, arguing that it is the 
responsibility of western, developed countries to meet the 
needs of Palestinian refugees.  Whitley hopes that through 
greater involvement in UNRWA's emergency programs, Arab 
states, charities and multilateral organizations will realize 
that improvements in Palestinian refugees' basic living 
conditions do not constitute "resettlement" or otherwise 
diminish their political rights under the relevant UN 
resolutions.  UNRWA Commissioner General Peter Hansen plans 
to make a trip to the Gulf in the near future, a trip that 
was initially planned for February 2004 but postponed due to 
scheduling difficulties.  The External Relations Department 
has a new Amman-based post (funded by the Swiss Government) 
that is dedicated to Arab governments and organizations. 
 
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Outreach to Minor Donors 
------------------------ 
 
5.  (U) UNRWA plans also to improve relations with long-term 
minor donors (those who give less than USD one million per 
year), in hopes of convincing them to give more funds to the 
agency.  Whitley said that UNRWA's special meeting in Geneva 
(planned for June 2004) is a key part of this effort, as it 
will give minor donors a greater understanding both of 
UNRWA's programs and its needs.  UNRWA already has started 
including minor donors in events in the field, such as the 
launch of the current emergency appeal and a February 10 food 
aid meeting. 
 
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Confidence Building Measures for Traditional Donors? 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
6.  (U) Whitley hopes that several external reviews of UNRWA 
programs, planned for the next six months, will serve as a 
"seal of approval" for the agency's operations and convince 
traditional large donors to increase their already generous 
contributions.  ECHO plans a technical audit of UNRWA's 
emergency programs from March 8-26, looking both at financial 
mechanisms and the impact of UNRWA programs on beneficiaries. 
 The UK's DFID, with political support from the EC, Canada, 
Switzerland and the U.S., plans to commission a separate 
review of the agency's general fund operations that is slated 
to last from April until June.  Finally, South African 
government auditors are conducting UN headquarters' biannual 
review of UNRWA programs, due to be completed in July. 
Whitley welcomed refcoord's statement that the Department 
also plans a review of UNRWA's emergency programs this spring 
(ref b) and suggested that the U.S. review could build on 
findings made by other donors.  (Comment:  ECHO's planned 
review seems particularly relevant to our concerns; refcoord 
will contact the ECHO representative for further information.) 
 
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Comment 
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7.  (SBU) While UNRWA officials have been expressing the same 
fundraising goals for the last few years, Whitley has brought 
a new vigor to UNRWA's efforts and actually implemented ideas 
that have been under discussion for a number of years. 
Whether these efforts will result in increased contributions 
remains to be seen.  We will continue to monitor this issue. 
GNEHM