US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN1411

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001411 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/CACEN; PMR 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, EAID, AM, PMR 
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL DECREE PUTS GOAM ON THE HUNT FOR 
 
REFUGEE MONEY 
 
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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2. (SBU) President Kocharian signed a decree June 1, 
stating the GOAM's intent to free five million dollars 
from the GOAM budget over the next two years for 
refugee housing assistance and authorizing the 
Department of Refugees and Migration (DRM) to seek an 
additional thirteen million in funding from 
international donors. The decree does not allocate 
money from specific accounts in the budget, but only 
declares the GOAM's intent to find it.  Embassy 
contacts from the international donor community 
expressed some skepticism regarding the initiative's 
intent and eventual effectiveness.  The decree and 
reaction illustrate an uneasy relationship between DRM 
and many international donors.  End Summary. 
 
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DECREE AND IMPLEMENTATION 
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3. (SBU) President Kocharian signed a decree June 1, 
stating the GOAM's intent to free five million dollars 
from the GOAM budget over the next two years for 
refugee housing assistance and authorizes the 
Department of Refugees and Migration (DRM) to seek an 
additional thirteen million in funding from 
international donors.  The decree does not reallocate 
funds within the budget but states GOAM priorities. The 
GOAM convened an inter-ministerial meeting June 23 to 
explain the program and discuss the ongoing search for 
donors.  The program would be similar to the USAID 
Earthquake Zone Recovery Program, which has proven an 
effective method to house an estimated 7,000 families 
who were victims of the 1988 earthquake in northern 
Armenia.  Both the USAID and the proposed DRM plan 
would distribute assistance through the issuance of 
housing purchase certificates. 
 
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DONOR REACTIONS 
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4. (SBU) A USAID officer who attended the meeting was 
skeptical about the viability of the proposed program. 
The absence of adequate oversight of the program and a 
lack of real estate market information were among the 
officer's noted concerns.  The representative of the 
Norwegian Refugee Council also expressed skepticism, 
saying the program does not address the difference in 
housing costs between Yerevan and the rest of Armenia. 
According to the office of Population, Refugee, and 
Migration, 42 percent of Armenian refugees live in the 
Yerevan area, and the Norwegian Refugee Council 
representative noted the exceptional difficulty in 
finding them adequate, affordable housing in the 
Yerevan area, where many of them are employed. 
 
5. (SBU) United Nations Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR) Representative Peter Nicolaus reacted strongly 
to the initiative, saying he believed that DRM proposed 
the decree specifically to ensure its survival as a 
bureaucratic entity.  According to Nicolaus, 
international donations for refugee housing make-up the 
lion's share of DRM's budget.  He was particularly 
frustrated that the initiative might thwart UNHCR's 
strategy to end its humanitarian refugee assistance 
programs in Armenia.  He explained that UNHCR in 
Armenia intends to pass its remaining humanitarian 
funding to the United Nations Development Program to 
administer through its local economic development 
efforts.  He feared that DRM would insist on separating 
refugee assistance from other development efforts, 
keeping UNHCR in its current role as humanitarian 
donor. 
 
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COMMENT 
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6. (SBU) As illustrated by their reactions, 
international donor organizations remain skeptical 
towards DRM and its efforts to aid Armenia's refugees. 
GOAM officials in the past have reportedly inflated 
refugee numbers in order to amplify Armenia's refugee 
burden relative to Azerbaijan in the aftermath of the 
Nagorno-Karabagh conflict. 
ORDWAY