US embassy cable - 04LILONGWE889

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000889 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/AFR MARY LANGE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2014 
TAGS: PREF, PHUM, MI, Refugee 
SUBJECT: UNHCR VERIFIES REFUGEE POPULATION IN MALAWI 
 
REF: A. 03 LILONGWE 887 
     B. 03 LILONGWE 1241 
 
Classified By: POLOFF KIERA EMMONS FOR REASONS 1.5 b & d 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY.  A UNHCR team from Geneva has assembled in 
Malawi to verify the number of refugees and asylum seekers in 
the two camps and in urban areas. Serious problems with the 
2003 census and doubts about UNHCR Malawi's management of the 
refugee situation prompted World Food Program (WFP) to 
request Geneva's assistance in determining the actual 
population and number of food beneficiaries in Malawi. 
Though initially marred by technical difficulties, the 
exercise is being conducted in an efficient manner and is, 
thus far, reducing the possibility for fraud and 
misrepresentation in the camps. New, sophisticated refugee 
identification and ration cards are being distributed, and 
though a formal exit monitoring system is not yet in place, 
the new cards provide previously non-existent identification 
and accountability controls. END SUMMARY. 
 
 
UNCLEAR POPULATION FIGURES 
-------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) During September 8 visit to Dzaleka refugee camp, WFP 
officials told poloff they requested a verification of the 
refugee and asylum seeker population directly from Geneva. 
WFP officials observed that the camp was essentially empty 
until food day, and asked UNHCR Malawi to provide updated 
population figures.  UNHCR Malawi was unable to do so, and 
according to WFP, the resident UNHCR mission in Malawi was 
"unhelpful" and "resistant" to the idea of a verification 
exercise, so WFP "went around" the local office and straight 
to Geneva.  (NOTE: Asylum seeker is defined as a person who 
has not been designated by the GOM as a refugee - the GOM has 
only one officer to adjudicate these cases and works with a 
substantial case backlog.  END NOTE.)  WFP has long suspected 
that poor management of the refugee caseload has contributed 
to misrepresentation and incorrect assessments of the 
population eligible to receive food assistance in the camps. 
Verification will also take place in Luwani camp and in urban 
areas, though refugees living outside of the camps are not 
entitled to WFP rations. 
 
3.  (C) The head of the UNHCR delegation from Geneva admitted 
that the 2003 census (reftel A) was badly flawed, and that 
the lack of a departure monitoring mechanism combined with 
the generic ration cards presented an easy opportunity for 
fraud.  WFP officials have repeatedly told poloff they have 
serious concerns with UNHCR's management of the camp 
population.  Incidences of Malawians posing as refugees or 
refugees using the ration cards of dead or long-departed 
refugees are, according to WFP, very common.  UNHCR 
population figures continually disagreed with WFP figures, 
and even after the 2003 census, UNHCR maintained there were 
many more refugees than were counted (reftel B). 
 
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES 
---------------------- 
 
4.  (C) The UNHCR team arrived in Malawi on August 23 with 
the goal of verifying 100 families each day.  As of September 
8, fewer than 200 families had been verified, though the 
daily figures have steadily risen.  The first two weeks of 
the exercise were lost to computer and equipment problems. 
WFP's position is that these problems could have been easily 
prevented with prior communication and adequate preparation 
on the part of UNHCR Malawi, whom they felt was behaving in 
an "obstructionist" manner. The UNHCR official from Geneva 
agreed that preparation was inadequate. 
 
5.  (U)  The verification process is complex and heavily 
dependent on technology. Much of the process is based on a 
May 2004 exercise carried out by an NGO to identify and 
assign street addresses to each home in the camp.  Each 
individual or family must come to the verification center 
with all of his/her identification documents, ration card, 
and street address.  The existing ration card database is 
cross-checked against the residential database, and family 
size is physically verified. All of this information is then 
entered into a new database. 
 
21ST CENTURY ID CARDS 
--------------------- 
 
6.  (U) New refugee/asylum seeker identification cards are 
printed after the legitimacy of each claim to such status, 
identity, and family size are verified.  The cards include a 
digital photo of the bearer, the ration card number, and a 
case number, and are laminated with a UNHCR holographic logo. 
To receive food rations, an adult member of the family must 
present the ration card and his/her photo ID.  A "food list" 
will be maintained to document who has received rations each 
month, and after three consecutive no-shows, the refugee will 
be presumed to have departed the camp and all benefits will 
be suspended.  The database will then be updated accordingly. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
7.  (C)  The verification exercise is long overdue.  The 
admittedly flawed census and UNHCR Malawi's unsubstantiated 
claims of a higher population have been a source of 
controversy and concern for us and, apparently, for WFP. 
Though not entirely infallible, the new ID cards and 
management system will provide better data and reduce 
opportunities for misrepresentation. Because the authority 
for printing both the ID cards and the ration cards will 
ultimately rest with UNHCR Malawi, further uncertainties are 
not out of the question. WFP's obvious distrust of UNHCR 
Malawi corroborates our suspicions of poor local leadership 
and further emphasizes the need for continued oversight of 
the Malawi portfolio.  Along with WFP, we will be on the 
lookout for a significant change in population demographics 
or in the number of daily verifications performed after the 
departure of the UNHCR team. 
RASPOLIC