US embassy cable - 05AMMAN8466

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 008466 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EAGR, KHIV, ECON, IZ, JO, UN, UNESCO 
SUBJECT: IRAQ: UNAMI CHIEF ON AVIAN FLU THREAT, 
OUT-OF-COUNTRY VOTING 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 4384 
 
Classified By: DAVID HALE, CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, REASONS: 1.4 (B &D) 
 
Summary 
-------- 
 
1.  (C) Amman-based UNAMI chief Staffan de Mistura raised 
concerns over the impending threat of an Avian Flu and/or 
cholera outbreak in Iraq during a wide-ranging meeting with 
Emboff.  Mistura  noted that insufficient security protection 
continues to hamper U.N. international staff activities in 
Basra and Erbil, and stressed the U.N.,s need for at least 
one dedicated fixed-wing aircraft to support its Iraq 
operations.  He discussed his recent meeting with the UNESCO 
Director General in Paris, in which they discussed a possible 
UNESCO initiative to assist in retraining and placement of 
Iraqi WMD scientists.  De Mistura also related new Iraq 
reconstruction and election support commitments from the EU 
and a new university fellowship initiative for Iraqis by the 
Italian Olympic Committee.  De Mistura discussed the murky 
state of December election out-of-country voting 
preparations, and provided a list of ten UN "quick impact" 
Iraq reconstruction projects to be implemented within the 
next 90 days.  End Summary. 
 
Threat of Avian Flu, Cholera Outbreaks 
----------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) Emboff met with United Nations Assistance Mission for 
Iraq (UNAMI) chief Staffan de Mistura at his Amman office on 
October 24.  De Mistura had just come from an emergency 
meeting with World Health Organization (WHO) staff on the 
threat of an Avian flu and/or cholera epidemic in Iraq. 
According to De Mistura, although Avian Flu has not yet been 
detected, "thousands of birds" are dying in Erbil, Basra, and 
Bakuba for causes unknown, and large flocks of migratory 
birds are currently heading into the North and to the Basra 
marshlands, having passed through infected areas of Turkey. 
De Mistura explained that the UN will be urging the Iraqi 
authorities to call for a ban on bird hunting as a "first 
step," while continuing regular monitoring of the situation. 
He also urged that USG assistance organizations "put this on 
their radar screens" (see reftel). 
 
3.  (C) De Mistura also claimed that a severe cholera 
outbreak has occurred in Iran, and expressed fear that the 
disease will spread to Iraq without continued active counter 
measures.  He noted that the WHO is initiating a program 
aimed at improving preparedness and response to the 
threatened cholera outbreak (see paragraph #8 below). 
 
UN "Security Ring" Needs in Basra and Erbil 
----------------------------------- 
 
4.  (C) De Mistura again raised concern over the lack of an 
adequate "security ring" for UN international employees in 
Basra and Erbil.  He noted that in response to USG urging, 
the UN has maintained a few international staff in these 
cities full time since last summer, but complained that they 
are operating as "prisoners in their offices" due to lack of 
adequate security protection.  He said that the problem is 
particularly acute in Erbil, as the Korean contingent there 
is "uninterested" in providing security protection for any 
but visiting VIP,s. 
 
5.  (C) He acknowledged that UN policy is not to accept any 
security protection from Iraqi forces (whether military, 
police, or Peshmerga), and expressed hope that a solution to 
this operational problem, perhaps involving a notional 
Mongolian contingent, will soon be found.  He also noted the 
continued UN need for a dedicated fixed-wing aircraft. 
According to De Mistura, the UN has six such member-provided 
aircraft in the Congo, but none in Iraq.  He said that U.N. 
headquarters in New York is seeking U.S. Department of 
Defense assistance in obtaining such a dedicated aircraft, 
but is not optimistic on getting one from this source.  If no 
plane is provided by the USG, De Mistura opined that the UN's 
next step will be to seek assistance from the Spanish, 
Italian, and/or Belgian Ministries of Defense. 
 
Possible UNESCO Program for Retraining Iraqi Scientists 
------------------------------------- 
 
6.  (C) De Mistura noted that while in Paris last week on his 
way back to Amman, he met with UNESCO Director General 
Matsumura, whom he urged to get more involved in the 
reconstruction of Iraq.  He outlined for Matsumura one 
possible program whereby UNESCO would work with the USG and 
others in re-training and finding work for up to 132 Iraqi 
scientists previously engaged in nuclear and chemical warfare 
research.  De Mistura said that this could be done via 
UNESCO-organized fellowships, which could be provided and 
funded by France, Germany, and other states concerned about 
non-proliferation.  According to De Mistura, Matsumura 
expressed readiness to take on the idea, and De Mistura 
recommended that the U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO follow-up with 
Matsumura in support of the concept as soon as possible. 
 
New EU Grants for IRFFI, Election Support 
---------------------------------- 
 
7.  (SBU) De Mistura said he had met with EU representatives 
in Brussels who confirmed that at least 200 million Euros 
will be provided to International Reconstruction Fund 
Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) trust funds in 2006.  The 
additional funds will be provided by the EU collectively, as 
well as bilaterally by some individual EU member states.  He 
added that the EU also promised to provide 20 million Euros 
to the UN for December election support.  In Turin, De 
Mistura met with the Winter Olympics Committee and 
representatives of the Italian government, who agreed to 
establish an unspecified number of university and graduate 
school fellowships for Iraqi students as a tie-in to the 
upcoming winter Olympics. 
 
Out-of-Country Voting 
----------------------- 
 
8.  (C) De Mistura discussed the murky state of Iraqi 
Out-of-Country Voting (OCV) preparations for the December 
2005 general election.  He expressed dismay at rumors that 
the Iraqi Election Commission has decided to turn down an 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) offer to run 
the OCV process (as it did with the January, 2005 elections), 
and instead utilize Iraqi Embassies as administrators for the 
process.  Apart from concern over Iraqs' capacity to pull 
this off, De Mistura opined that the election's credibility 
could be negatively affected.  Emboff noted that there 
appears to be a growing body of opinion that the OCV process 
will be highly marginal anyway as there is apparently no 
process for linking it to the new governorate-based voting 
system.  De Mistura agreed that it is important for all 
parties to establish a consistent interpretation, and 
promised to follow-up with UNOPS staff on the issue. 
 
Final UN IRFFI "Quick Impact" List 
----------------------------- 
 
9.  (SBU) De Mistura provided Emboff with the final, 
compromise project list worked out with the Iraqi government 
for over $39 million in short term "quick impact" 
IRFFI-funded projects to be realized between now and next 
February.  Begin list: 
 
 
UN Agency            Project 
                             U.S. $ Value 
 ------------                ------- 
                                         -------- 
 
WHO                Improved Cholera Preparedness 
                  .9 million 
 
WHO                Malaria/Leishmania Control 
                    5.2 million 
 
WHO                Health Care Waste Management 
              1.4 million 
 
WHO                Emergency Oxygen Supply Eq. to Hospitals 
        2.8 million 
 
UNEP               Hazardous Waste Storage at al-Qadissiya 
              .9 million 
 
UNESCO          Textbook Improvement Program 
            7.1 million 
 
UNICEF            Integrated Community-Based Social Services 
      12.9 million 
 
UN HABITAT   Community-Based Water and Sanitation 
     2.0 million 
 
UNDP                Emergency Water and Sanitation for South 
Iraq      4.9 million 
 
UNOPS              Kerbala Water Project Filter Units 
                  1.3 million 
HALE