US embassy cable - 02AMMAN2938

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002938 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA, PRM AND H 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2012 
TAGS: PREF, PREL, KPAL, KWBG, IS, JO 
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL BODLANDER AND MAKOVSKY:  MONITORING UNRWA 
301(C) CERTIFICATION IN THE WEST BANK 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Greg Berry, per 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (U) In a May 30 visit to UNRWA's West Bank field, House 
International Relations Committee Staffers Deborah Bodlander 
and Alan Makovsky investigated UNRWA's compliance with 
section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act (which prohibits 
UNRWA from using any USG assistance to provide services to 
terrorists), as well as the continued relevance of UNRWA's 
mandate fifty-four years after the original Palestinian 
refugee crisis.  They also visited Jenin refugee camp to 
inspect damages incurred during the April battle in the camp. 
 The staffers met with UNRWA West Bank field director Richard 
Cook, deputy director Guy Siri, special assistant for 
emergency programs Patrick Barbieri and public information 
officer Sami Mshasha.  They were accompanied by regional 
refugee coordinator Joan Polaschik and ConGen poloff 
Elizabeth Sallies. 
 
2.  (U) West Bank Director Cook told the staffers that only 
25 percent of UNRWA's 600,000 registered refugees in the West 
Bank reside in refugee camps.  Most of the West Bank camps 
are quite small (the largest has only 20,000 residents) and 
vary in nature from a small neighborhood within a larger 
urban area (such as Jenin refugee camp or Shu'fat camp, 
located within East Jerusalem) to stand-alone rural villages 
(Fawwar camp).  Cook explained that the camp boundaries are 
delineated only on maps and that the only visible sign on the 
ground of where camps begin and end may be the quality of 
housing in a particular area.  Cook noted that UNRWA does not 
administer or police the camps, but only provides services 
within the camps to registered refugees.  Cook added that, 
under the current emergency circumstances, UNRWA provides 
services to some non-refugees, such as emergency health care, 
or food and water to areas that were isolated for extended 
periods.  (In a separate meeting with refcoord, UNRWA's 
Director of Relief Services in the West Bank confirmed that 
UNRWA's non-medical assistance to non-refugees is limited 
only to food assistance, and constitutes no more than 12 
percent of UNRWA's overall emergency food aid programs in the 
West Bank.  UNRWA does not provide direct cash support to 
non-refugees.) 
 
3.  (U) In response to a question from the staffers, Cook 
explained that camp committees (originally established by the 
PLO and now elected by camp residents, according to a 
representative social and political mix for that specific 
camp) are UNRWA's key interlocutors within the camps.  While 
they do not administer the camps (civil administration is the 
responsibility of local government -- either Palestinian or 
Israeli), the camp committees are the primary vehicle for 
UNRWA officials and camp residents to exchange views.  Cook 
reported that he meets regularly with all West Bank camp 
committees, and uses the occasion to reinforce UNRWA 
policies, including those on the neutrality of all UNRWA 
facilities. 
 
4.  (U) Cook told the staffers that Israeli authorities never 
have approached UNRWA with allegations that its West Bank 
facilities have been misused by terrorists.  Although the 
Israeli press has carried such allegations, including charges 
that an UNRWA warehouse in Balata refugee camp had been used 
to stockpile weapons, Cook reported that the allegations 
"simply are not true."  He said UNRWA does not even have a 
warehouse or other storage facility in Balata camp. 
 
5.  (C) Cook reported that UNRWA has a number of clear 
policies and procedures in place to ensure that its 
facilities are not misused and that its staff are not engaged 
in illegal activities.  He reported that any UNRWA staff 
member found in violation of these policies is punished.  In 
addition, any UNRWA employee who has been convicted of a 
crime receives administrative punishment from UNRWA, which 
varies with the severity of the crime.  In a recent example, 
UNRWA summarily dismissed a staff member convicted of murder 
and refused to reinstate him after his sentence was commuted. 
 With regard to UNRWA facilities, UNRWA international staff 
conduct unannounced, unscheduled visits to all 160 UNRWA 
facilities in the West Bank every six months.  During the 
visits, UNRWA international staff complete a comprehensive 
inspection of the facilities, opening all cabinets, unlocking 
all doors, and ensuring that all UNRWRA facilities are 
properly identified (signposted, flags flying).  Refcoord 
noted that UNRWA Headquarters' Audit and Inspection 
Department also conducts similar unannounced, unscheduled 
visits to UNRWA facilities, in addition to their regular 
audits of UNRWA programs. 
 
6.  (C) Cook reported that UNRWA also has a number of clear 
policies and procedures in place to ensure that known 
terrorists or convicted criminals do not receive UNRWA 
assistance.  For example, UNRWA policy is not to rebuild the 
homes of suicide bombers destroyed by the IDF or damaged in 
"work accidents."  Cook told the staffers that in early May, 
two refugee shelters in Balata camp were destroyed by a "work 
accident."  UNRWA refused the families' request for 
assistance in rebuilding the shelters.  However, UNRWA as a 
general policy provides emergency humanitarian relief 
(blankets, tents) to refugees in dire need of shelter, 
including those whose homes have been damaged in work 
accidents or destroyed by the IDF following a suicide 
bombing.  In this particular instance, UNRWA provided 
emergency assistance to the families of the would-be 
bombmakers.  Cook said that, due to its humanitarian mandate, 
UNRWA could not refuse such basic needs to the families of 
refugees engaged in illicit activities. 
 
7.  (SBU) Cook emphasized that UNRWA utilizes a system of 
stringent criteria and well-trained social workers to ensure 
that only qualified, non-criminal refugees receive relief 
assistance from UNRWA.  Before the current crisis began in 
September 2000, only 8,000 refugee families -- five percent 
of the West Bank refugee population -- received UNRWA's 
"special hardship" assistance of food rations and some direct 
cash assistance.  Today, 98,000 families receive food 
assistance from UNRWA.  Cook assured the staffers that UNRWA 
makes every effort to ensure refugees involved in illicit 
activity do not receive UNRWA services.  For example, any 
refugee serving a prison term is removed from UNRWA's special 
hardship rolls, and his/her family's assistance is 
subsequently reduced.  The staffers questioned Cook on the 
procedures used by UNRWA to inform refugees of the penalties 
and risks of involvement in terrorism, and suggested that 
UNRWA could do a better job of informing refugees of the cuts 
in services associated with involvement in illicit activity. 
They said it would be helpful if UNRWA would reiterate its 
relief policies in writing.  They also pressed UNRWA to 
institute similar policies to ensure that convicted criminals 
do not receive health or education services. 
 
8.  (SBU) Finally, the staffers noted that some members of 
Congress have suggested that UN Security Council Resolutions 
governing the presence of armed elements in civilian refugee 
camps may apply to UNRWA, especially those resolutions 
requiring the UNSYG to report to the Security Council any 
information regarding armed elements in UN camps.  While the 
staffers acknowledged that the applicability of these 
resolutions to UNRWA may be unclear, they urged UNRWA to do 
everything possible to encourage an atmosphere of nonviolence 
within Palestinian refugee camps.  They pressed UNRWA to 
develop standard policies and procedures for handling 
information regarding illicit activities in the camps (e.g., 
how and to whom to report the information).  Cook said that 
he personally was not sure whether such policies currently 
existed, but was certain that UNRWA would be willing to 
investigate the possibility of instituting such a policy. 
 
9.  (U) ConGen Jerusalem cleared this message. 
 
Gnehm