US embassy cable - 05BRUSSELS883

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000883 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USAID DAA LEN ROGERS; GENEVA FOR 
RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF, PHUM, EAID, AF, PK, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: A/S DEWEY BILAT WITH AFGHAN DELEGATION 
 
1. (U) Summary. On February 15, PRM Assistant Secretary Gene 
Dewey held a bilateral meeting with the Afghan delegation to 
the EU-UNHCR co-chaired Strategic Consultations on Refugees 
and Population Movements to and from Afghanistan (septel). 
A/S Dewey sought Refugee Minister Dadfar,s views on progress 
and his ministry,s coordination with other ministries and 
international actors in Afghanistan.  Dadfar stated that 
coordination within the GOA, with UNHCR, and with Provincial 
Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) was effective. He stressed the 
need for an emergency fund within his ministry in order to 
quickly respond to crises.  He also outlined his plan to 
distribute plots of land for houses to 500,000 families over 
five years.  A/S Dewey noted that the Afghan Conservation 
Corps (ACC) might be valuable in supporting this program. 
Deputy Finance Minister Shahrani emphasized the need for 
capacity building within the GOA.  A/S Dewey expressed 
optimism over the progress to date and encouraged Dadfar to 
share his views with the donor community. 
 
2. (U) Summary continued: The U.S. delegation consisted of 
PRM A/S Arthur E. (Gene) Dewey; Leonard Rogers, Deputy 
Assistant Administrator, USAID; Steven McGann, Director, PRM; 
Susan Anton, PRM Afghan Program Officer; William Schofield, 
Refugee Coordinator, Embassy Kabul; Norman Hastings, Refugee 
Coordinator, Embassy Islamabad; Marc Meznar, Refugee and 
Migration Affairs Officer, USEU; and Patricia Manso, Advisor 
for Humanitarian Assistance, USAID, USEU. End Summary. 
 
3. (U) On February 15, PRM Assistant Secretary Gene Dewey 
held a bilateral meeting with the Afghan delegation to the 
EU-UNHCR co-chaired Strategic Consultations on Refugees and 
Population Movements to and from Afghanistan. PRM A/S Gene 
Dewey met with GOA Minister for Refugees Azam Dadfar and 
Deputy Finance Minister Wahidullah Shahrani on February 15 in 
Brussels.  Also in attendance were USAID DAA Leonard Rogers, 
Embassy Islamabad Refugee Coordinator Norman Hastings, 
Embassy Kabul Refugee Coordinator William Schofield, and 
Patricia Manso of USAID Brussels.  Dewey opened the meeting 
by asking about the relationship of the Ministry of Refugees 
within the GOA and with international actors in Afghanistan. 
Dadfar explained that his ministry had good working relations 
with the army, police, and relevant ministries within the 
GOA, especially Finance, Rural Development, Urban Housing, 
and Tribal and Frontier Affairs.  Outside the GOA, Dadfar 
noted good relationships with the Provincial Reconstruction 
Teams (PRTs) and agreed with A/S Dewey on the need to improve 
security, highlighting the southeast, and on the need to 
assist with emergencies. Dadfar was not aware of the Refugee 
Return Committee established two years ago to help with 
returns of Pashtuns.  He said, however, that his field 
offices could go to most areas where refugees had returned, 
including returnees from camps in Waziristan that were closed 
by the Pakistani government in 2004. 
 
4. (U) Dadfar said relations with UNHCR were excellent.  He 
cited frequent meetings and said that UNHCR had placed two 
advisors in the ministry and that the ministry,s 34 field 
offices cooperated effectively with UNHCR,s offices.  Dadfar 
said that this winter was a good example of strong 
cooperation with UNHCR as they worked together to address the 
needs of 1600 families living in tent cities in Kabul. 
 
5. (U) Dadfar outlined two major initiatives.  He said he 
hoped to distribute over 500,000 plots of land over five 
years to families to build homes.  President Karzai supports 
the plan.  A/S Dewey suggested that the ACC might be useful 
in providing cash-for-work programs while the houses were 
being built. 
 
6. (U) Dadfar stressed the need for his ministry to have an 
emergency fund so that he could respond more quickly to 
crises.  He offered the current winter emergency as an 
example.  (Note: PRM and OFDA recently have contributed to 
the IFRC for winterization needs in Afghanistan).  He added 
that donors should provide support directly to ministries. 
Dadfar said that there were some tensions with NGOs, which 
revolved around salary differences and the perception that 
aid channeled through NGOs might hold back development of 
local capacity. 
 
7. (U) Both Dadfar and Deputy Finance Minister Shahrani 
highlighted the need for capacity building and institutional 
development.  Shahrani said there were too many employees in 
the ministry, but the GOA was starting to improve its hiring 
procedures and would open training centers in ministries.  He 
added that the Finance Ministry would offer technical 
assistance to certain ministries.  A/S Dewey applauded this 
initiative and encouraged its implementation.  He also asked 
about revenue collection.  Shahrani replied that it had 
gotten better.  He explained that the Finance Ministry 
provided support and could offer policy suggestions and ask 
for specific operations.  However, the Ministry of Interior 
controlled the customs and police. 
 
8. (U) USAID DAA Rogers explained that USAID would focus on 
the social sector, especially education and health.  He 
described economic growth as the key to reintegration of the 
approximately 170,000 internally displaced people.  Dadfar 
stressed that land would be an incentive to return.  A/S 
Dewey closed the meeting by noting progress and encouraging 
Dadfar to make other donors aware of his plans and proposals. 
 
(PRM/ANE has cleared this cable.) 
 
McKinley 
.