US embassy cable - 05ISLAMABAD16834

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 016834 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID 
USAID/W FOR A/AID ANDREW NATSIOS, JBRAUSE 
DCHA/OFDA KISAACS, GGOTTLIEB, MMARX, RTHAYER, BDEEMER 
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA 
SOUTH ASIA RESPONSE MANAGEMENT TEAM 
SOUTH ASIA EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE 
DCHA/FFP FOR JONATHAN DWORKEN 
ANE DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MARK WARD 
BANGKOK FOR OFDA SENIOR REGIONAL ADVISOR TOM DOLAN 
KATHMANDU FOR OFDA REGIONAL ADVISOR WILLIAM BERGER 
ROME PASS FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH 
NSC FOR JMELINE 
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5 
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER 
NEW YORK FOR TMALY 
SECDEF FOR SOLIC/PKHA, USDP/J3 
JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC FOR J3/J4/J5 
HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE FOR J3/J5 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, AEMR, ASEC, MASS, ECON, KMDR, KPAO, OIIP, OPRC, PGOV, PREL, PK, Earthquake, Earthquake: USAID/DART Situation Report 
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN - EARTHQUAKE:  USAID/DART SITUATION 
REPORT #14: MEETING WITH OCHA SENIOR HUMANITARIAN ADVISOR 
 
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Summary 
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1.  On November 6, the USAID Disaster Assistance Response 
Team (DART) met with representatives of all seven 
implementing partners in Pakistan.  On November 7, Deputy 
Director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance 
(OFDA) Greg Gottlieb and USAID/DART staff met with Kevin 
Kennedy, the new U.N. Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Senior Humanitarian Advisor for 
Pakistan.  Building on input the USAID/DART received in the 
November 6 meeting, Mr. Gottlieb, Mr. Kennedy, and others 
discussed the current state of U.N. activities and 
humanitarian coordination.  End summary. 
 
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Background 
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2.  On November 6, the USAID/DART met with representatives of 
OFDA,s implementing partners in Pakistan:  ACTED, Action 
Against Hunger, International Rescue Committee (IRC), 
Catholic Relief Services (CRS), GOAL, Mercy Corps, and Save 
the Children/US.  In this meeting, representatives of all 
seven implementing partners stated that the U.N. is not 
operational in most areas, and in areas where it is 
functioning, it is ineffective.  According to the 
non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, the U.N. is 
neither stepping up to its role as coordinating mechanism nor 
sending effective representatives to the field. 
 
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Meeting between USAID/OFDA and OCHA 
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3.  On November 7, Mr. Gottlieb and members of the USAID/DART 
met with Mr. Kennedy, who has just arrived in Pakistan as the 
OCHA Senior Humanitarian Advisor.  At present, the U.N. has a 
permanently positioned Resident Coordinator whose 
responsibilities generally include managing emergency relief 
operations.  Mr. Kennedy assumed humanitarian duties that the 
Resident Coordinator has previously shouldered alone. 
 
4.  In the meeting, Mr. Gottlieb drew from the information he 
received at the November 6 meeting and from two days of field 
visits, outlining the problems that the USAID/DART has 
identified in the current U.N. cluster system.  Mr. Gottlieb 
stated that at present, an insufficient number of U.N. 
personnel are on the ground, and those who are on the ground 
lack adequate experience coordinating emergency relief 
efforts.  Mr. Gottlieb noted that within the U.N. cluster 
system, little coordination between the cluster groups in 
Islamabad and the field exists.  The shelter cluster is 
particularly weak, and it has not made plans for protection 
in the camps.  Mr. Gottlieb stated that he believes a 
disconnect exists between the Government of Pakistan (GOP) 
and NGO activities. 
 
5.  Mr. Kennedy stated that the international community needs 
to recognize the primacy of the GOP military in the 
humanitarian relief operation, relative to other disasters. 
Based on his limited time in country, Mr. Kennedy agreed with 
the USAID/DART,s observation that coordination in the field 
appears to be much better than coordination in Islamabad.  He 
also remarked on the importance of coordinating helicopter 
operations, which are currently being conducted by seven 
groups, both military and civilian. 
 
6.  Mr. Kennedy remarked that the GOP Army Engineers, 
current rate of shelter repair is far too slow.  Mr. Kennedy 
stated that he hoped that the Operation Winter Race concept 
developed by the U.N. Joint Logistics Center (JLC) and World 
Food Program (WFP) will help close the gap.  Mr. Gottlieb 
noted that NGO representatives throughout earthquake-affected 
areas have stated that the U.N. Children,s Fund (UNICEF) is 
the most effective U.N. agency in this disaster response, 
while NGO representatives and others working in the field are 
most concerned with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, 
(UNHCR) performance in camp management and protection and the 
International Organization for Migration,s (IOM) performance 
in shelter. 
 
7.  The USAID/DART team leader highlighted the importance of 
influencing Major General Nadeem Ahmed, Deputy Chairman of 
the Federal Relief Commission, on shelter construction.  Mr. 
Kennedy replied that it is critical that UNHCR staff in 
Pakistan take a more active role in camp establishment and 
management.  He also stated that a full-time U.N. presence is 
necessary in any Joint Operations Center that the GOP may 
establish. 
 
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Conclusions 
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8.  USAID,s NGO implementing partners in Pakistan are 
unanimous in their concern with the poor performance ) and, 
in some cases, total absence ) of the U.N. in the 
humanitarian relief efforts. 
 
9.  The USAID/DART believes that the arrival of Mr. Kennedy 
as Senior Humanitarian Advisor will have a very positive 
impact on U.N. management of the emergency relief operation 
as it enters a critical phase. 
CROCKER