US embassy cable - 05HARARE1361

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001361 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
DCHA/FFP FOR LANDIS, WELLER, MUTAMBA, PETERSEN 
CHA/OFDA FOR GOTTLIEB, PRATT, MENGHETTI, MARX 
AFR/SA FOR LOKEN, COPSON, HIRSCH 
EGAT FOR HOBGOOD, THOMPSON, HESS, MCGAHUEY, GILL, 
RUSHING-BELL, HURDUS 
USUN FOR EMALY 
PRETORIA FOR DISKIN, HALE, SINK 
ROME FOR FODAG FOR NEWBERG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, EAGR, EAID, ZI 
SUBJECT: UN OCHA REP BEGINS TO PUT BACKGONE IN UN AGENCIES 
ON THE GROUND 
 
REF: HARARE 1307 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (SBU) Agnes Asekenye-Oonyu from the UN Office for the 
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs met with the Ambassador 
and USAID mission director to discuss her efforts at 
improving humanitarian coordination among the UN agencies in 
Zimbabwe and with donors and NGOs (reftel).  Asekenye-Oonyu 
described the measures she had undertaken to strengthen 
coordination on humanitarian activities.  She had encouraged 
the UN agencies here to speak to the GOZ with one voice and 
stand firmly behind their technical assessments and 
judgments.  The UN agencies had made efforts to share 
information better with donors and the NGO community and were 
beginning to have better, more productive meetings with GOZ 
cabinet ministers.  Her efforts seem to be putting backbone 
in the UN agencies, encouraging them to push back on the 
obstructionist GOZ.  End summary. 
 
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Better Coordination to Come 
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2. (SBU) On September 28, UN Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Assistant Director Agnes 
Asekenye-Oonyu spoke to the Ambassador and USAID director 
about her efforts to improve humanitarian coordination among 
UN agencies in Zimbabwe (reftel).  She said the other UN 
agencies had overcome their initial skepticism and were now 
pleased that OCHA had stepped in to improve humanitarian 
coordination.  Asekenye-Oonyu said she expected the OCHA 
office to be staffed with 6 international and 15 national 
personnel, including staff for 2 offices and personnel in the 
field.  She estimated the office would need US $2 million per 
year to operate.  She offered to brief officials in 
Washington on these efforts. 
 
3. (SBU) Asekenye-Oonyu reiterated the UN would now provide 
better information to and coordination with the donor 
community and NGOs.  Monthly meetings would be scheduled with 
donors, and there would be staff designated to liaise with 
NGOs that needed increased support.  The Ambassador suggested 
reviving a regular meeting of Ambassadors from donor 
countries.  This would give the Ambassador the chance to push 
U.S. views within the donor community and also ensure that 
the positions discussed publicly among donors accurately 
reflected the policies of their countries. 
 
4. (SBU) Plans were moving ahead for the visits of UN 
officials.  Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs Jan 
Egeland was planning to visit for at least two days in 
mid-October, with Undersecretary for Political Affairs 
Ibrahim Gambari to follow.  A visit by the Secretary General 
was still being explored for January, despite Zimbabwean 
press reports that his visit was off. 
 
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Standing up to the GOZ 
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5. (SBU) Asekenye-Oonyu said she was making progress on 
encouraging the UN team to stand together and push back on 
GOZ efforts to divide the team and divert attention from key 
issues.  She said the major challenge, and an area where she 
had made progress, was in convincing the UN agencies to 
report on their findings without clearing them beforehand 
with the GOZ, because &we don,t report to the Government.8 
 She said the GOZ typically would stall the issuance of any 
document and insist on changing the majority of it, weakening 
the message.  The UN agencies should determine the facts, 
produce analyses, and stand by them, letting the GOZ 
challenge those facts and findings if it disagreed. 
 
6. (SBU) Asekenye-Oonyu noted that the GOZ would take any 
opportunity to divert attention from the issues and divide 
the agencies.  Chombo, in particular, had tried to divide the 
country team by playing the race card with regard to 
individual agency heads.  Asekenye-Oonyu had insisted that UN 
Resident Representative Agostinho Zacarias not play into the 
GOZ,s game and that the agencies stand as one team of UN 
officials.  Chombo had backed down in the face of this 
resolve.  According to Asekenye-Oonyu, Zacarias,s approach 
to the GOZ was becoming firmer thanks to her encouragement to 
him to strategize with his team and develop an agenda prior 
to meetings with the GOZ.  She had urged him to be the 
principal interlocutor at such meetings, enabling the UN to 
speak with one voice and fend off GOZ attempts to foment 
discord within the team. 
 
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COMMENT 
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7. (SBU) Asekenye-Ooyu has brought a breath of fresh air to 
the UN country team in Zimbabwe, and her efforts are 
beginning to show results.  Despite her recent arrival and 
unfamiliarity with Zimbabwe, she is clearly a fast learner 
who has quickly divined the dynamics of, and problems with, 
the UN-GOZ relationship.  She appears to be pushing the GOZ 
hard and is bringing much-needed backbone to the UN team. 
The Embassy supports her efforts and strongly recommends 
increased support of the OCHA team,s operation in Zimbabwe. 
DELL