US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD3033

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003033 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN REL GBR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2025 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, KDEM, IZ, Sunni Arab, National Assembly 
SUBJECT: UNAMI REPORTS INCREASED CIVIC OUTREACH EFFORT BUT 
REMAINS CONCERNED ABOUT SUNNI TRIANGLE 
 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford. 
Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
1.  (C/NF/REL GBR) SUMMARY.  The constitution drafting 
process is continuing with an eye towards meeting the 
drafting deadline in the TAL.  In support of this 
effort, the UNAMI-coordinated civic outreach campaign 
continues to gain momentum despite personnel shortages 
in both UNAMI and the Civic Outreach Unit of the TNA's 
Constitution Committee.  The multimedia portion of the 
campaign is expanding and includes radio programs, 
newspapers stories and announcements, and television 
Public Service Announcements (PSA) and talk shows 
covering the constitution.  As civic outreach expands 
throughout Iraq, UNAMI expressed concern over the lack 
of coverage in the Sunni triangle, an area critical to 
the political process.  UNAMI has asked the member 
states for support in identifying means to bring Sunni 
civil society into the constitution process, 
especially prior to the TNA's August 15 deadline for a 
draft constitution.  END SUMMARY 
 
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CONSTITUTION DRAFT EXERCISE CONTINUES FORWARD MOMENTUM 
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2.  (C/NF/REL GBR) Head of UNAMI's Constitutional 
Support Unit Nicholas Haysom told PolOff and 
international donors at a July 20 briefing that the 
constitution text was nearly complete with about 20 to 
30 percent remaining to be negotiated prior to the 
presentation of the first draft to the TNA on August 
1.  (Comment:  For the past few weeks, the 
Constitution Committee has been reporting roughly the 
same completion rate, which can be misleading since it 
does not take into account the level of complexity for 
the remaining contentious issues.  End Comment.) 
Haysom said that Committee Chairman Sheikh Humam 
Hamudi is adamant that a first draft will be completed 
by August 1 and submitted to the TNA.  He also stated 
that Hamudi has given no indication he will request to 
extend the August 15 deadline for the TNA approved 
draft as authorized in TAL Article 61(F).  Haysom 
opined that two of the most significant remaining 
issues include the latest Kurdish demands about an 
expanded Kurdish regional government in terms of its 
size and authorities and more general questions about 
federalism for all parts of Iraq. 
 
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UNAMI CIVIC OUTREACH SUPPORT STILL BEHIND SCHEDULE 
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3.  (C/NF/REL GBR) Haysom said that the media campaign 
continues to grow, with UNAMI contracts signed or in 
the process of being signed with 46 newspaer, 1 
television stations, and 16 radio stations.  Although 
newspaper stories on the constitution have increased 
in number, UNAMI also plans to make greater use of 
newspapers to distribute constitution-related 
educational materials.  Haysom also stated that 
several PSAs have been recorded and aired, with talk 
shows gaining popularity.  He briefed that radio 
programming, in addition to the UNIFEM-supported FM 96 
program, will increase at the latter end of the week. 
UNAMI has also contracted for the printing of over 
1,000,000 posters, 300 banners, 500 billboards, and 
1,000,000 questionnaires.  UNAMI plans to distribute 
this material via newspapers, the NGO community, and 
the constitution committee offices recently 
established in most of the governorates. 
 
4.  (C/NF/GBR) Other UNAMI staff briefed on the "blue 
box" campaign, a UNAMI-supported committee project to 
purchase 300 boxes for distribution throughout Iraq 
where the public can deposit their inputs and comments 
on the constitution.  These boxes will be kept in 
banks and mosques for security reasons, and the inputs 
eventually delivered to the Constitution Committee's 
newly established, 16-person Analysis Unit.  Haysom 
reported that, to date, the Committee has received 
over 1,000 email submissions and over 4,000 inputs 
from Committee and NGO-led conferences and seminars 
throughout much of Iraq.  The NDI-created database is 
now on-line, and Haysom hopes the Analysis Unit will 
quickly reduce the backlog of submissions and inputs. 
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OUTREACH SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES 
--------------------------------- 
 
5.  (C/NF/REL GBR) Haysom said that the Constitution 
Committee has sponsored its own series of outreach 
conferences, with 60 of the 300 conferences already 
taking place throughout Iraq.  The Committee plans to 
complete all conferences by the first week of August. 
These conferences, Haysom explained, are in addition 
to the robust seminar and conference schedule already 
underway by both NDI and IRI.  Haysom pointed out that 
Sheikh Hamudi recently lead a conference each for 
religious leaders and women, with each conference 
hosting over 1,000 participants. 
 
6.  (C/NF/REL GBR) Haysom hopes to culminate the 
series of conferences with a national conference in 
Baghdad.  He explained that, due to security reasons, 
Sheikh Hamudi is considering canceling the 500-person 
national conference but may consider reducing its size 
and changing the location in order to address this 
security challenge.  The results of all the seminars 
and conferences, Haysom said, are fed directly to the 
Committee's Outreach Analysis Unit. 
 
7.  (C/NF/GBR) Haysom explained that UNAMI's biggest 
concern remains the lack of coverage in the Sunni 
Triangle.  He said the area was too dangerous for the 
typical outreach efforts, and looked for options to 
reach that population.  (COMMENT: USAID's implementers 
are currently conducting outreach activities in this 
region; details to follow on extent of this activity. 
END COMMENT.)  Other UNAMI members expressed concern 
over the ability for the Sunni Arabs to submit their 
comments to the Committee given limited internet 
access, mail delivery, and overall security concerns. 
Haysom said that UNAMI and the Committee do not have a 
plan drawn up to fully address outreach needs in the 
Sunni Triangle, and requested recommendations from the 
international community and implementers.  (NOTE: 
Both the USG and UK meeting participants agreed to 
research options to address this problem.  END NOTE.) 
 
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COMMENT 
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8.  (C/NF/REL GBR) UNAMI still confronts staffing 
constraints largely due to UN-imposed staff ceilings 
and the rigid Baghdad-Amman rotation scheme that 
appears beyond SRSG immediate control.  The slow 
development of the Committee's Outreach Unit resulted 
in responsibilities reverting back to UNAMI that the 
committee unit could not manage.  This resulted in 
UNAMI and, by default the implementers, filling the 
void.  Similar problems exist with the Analysis Unit, 
a group that hired far few staff than originally 
intended. 
 
9.  (C/NF/GBR) While UNAMI continues to address these 
challenges, work in the field by the NGO community 
continues to reap positive results, with the Iraqi 
people thirsting for anything related to the 
constitution.  At the UNAMI meeting, USAID passed 
around photos of an NDI seminar that took place in a 
small provincial town, where a 3-hour event stretched 
to 7-hours at the behest of the participants.  The 
villagers, still hungry for more interaction, offered 
to pay for tea to host the seminar team's return visit 
in order to continue their discussions.  Post has 
urged UNAMI and all USG-funded implementers to push 
their outreach campaigns even harder, and will work 
with Iraqi NGOs to ensure they have the resources to 
keep this program moving ahead.  END COMMENT. 
 
10.  (U) REO HILLA, REO BASRA, REO MOSUL, and REO 
KIRKUK, minimize considered. 
 
 
Satterfield