US embassy cable - 03ANKARA1739

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 ANKARA 001739 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2013 
TAGS: AA, EAID, EFIN, IZ, MOPS, PHUM, PREF, PREL, TU, WFP 
SUBJECT: DART: UNICEF'S TAKE ON HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN 
NORTHERN IRAQ 
 
Classified by DART Information Officer for 
Reasons 1.5(B) and (D). 
 
 
This cable was draft by Disaster Assistance Response 
Team (DART) Field Office/North and cleared by Embassy 
Ankara. 
 
 
This is an action cable; please see paragraph 9. 
 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) On March 13, DART Field Office/North personnel 
met with Andre Lapierriere (Protect Source), UNICEF,s 
Head of Northern Operations for Iraq.  UNICEF 
contingency plans are based on providing emergency 
relief to more than 250,000 people, with 40 percent 
of that population being absorbed 
into the homes of local communities.  UNICEF is 
concerned that, at present, pre-positioned 
commodities in northern Iraq will only meet 30 
 percent of the potential needs of 250,000 displaced 
people.  Lapierriere identified the need 
for additional pre-positioning of blankets, tents, 
emergency supplies for hospitals, clothing for children, 
and water bladders.  UNICEF Head of Northern Operations 
for Iraq indicated that if hostilities last longer than 
30 days and/or more than 250,000 people are displaced, 
there will be significant food and medicine shortages 
in the three northern provinces of Dehuk, Irbil, and 
Sulaymaniyah. 
End Summary 
 
 
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UNICEF Activities in Northern Iraq 
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2.  (C) UNICEF,s role in northern Iraq focuses on the 
primary health care, shelter, and water and sanitation 
sectors.  In the water and sanitation sector, UNICEF has 
installed more than 1,000 km of pipes and dug hundreds 
of wells throughout most of the three northern Iraqi 
provinces. UNICEF,s Head of Northern Operations for 
Iraq reported that 95 percent of the northern areas 
 have access to potable water.  In the primary health 
sector, UNICEF is focusing on providing medicine and 
technical support to health clinics 
in the three northern provinces of Dehuk, Irbil, and 
Sulaymaniyah. 
 
 
3.  (C) UNICEF reported that, based on a planning 
figure of 250,000 displaced during a potential 
conflict, only 30 percent of shelter needs (blankets, 
 tents, etc.) have been pre-positioned in northern 
Iraq to date.  This pre-positioned cache includes 
 50,000 blankets and an 
undefined number of cooking sets and tents.  While 
UNICEF has the mechanism in place to pre-position, 
warehouse, and distribute non-food items in 
northern Iraq, UNICEF does not have additional 
 funds available to do so.  DART Field Office/North 
 has identified UNICEF as the only 
international organization with the capacity to 
distribute non-food items in northern Iraq from 
 Turkey.  To date, no NGOs are registered with 
 the Government of Turkey (GOT) to transit 
humanitarian supplies. 
 
 
4.  (C) UNICEF,s Head of Northern Operations for Iraq 
indicated the United Nations Office of Project Services 
(UN OPS) has the jurisdiction over generators and power 
sources in northern Iraq.  However, under the regulations 
 of the Oil-for-Food program, UN OPS is unable to train 
local Iraqi,s on maintenance of these power systems. 
UNICEF Head of Northern Operations for Iraq in concerned 
that if the Oil-for-Food program is broken, the power 
supply system in northern Iraq could be in jeopardy. 
 
 
5.  (C) Lapierriere identified a need for local medical 
officials in northern Iraq to receive information on 
responding to a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, 
Nuclear, or Explosion (CBRNE) attack.  UNICEF,s Head 
of Northern Operations for Iraq indicated that a 
workshop for local staff on CBRNE in northern Iraq 
for first responders could calm concerns of the northern 
 Iraqi population. 
 
 
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UNICEF,s Concerns 
------------------------- 
6.  (C) UNICEF identified the need for additional 
non-food items to be pre-positioned in northern Iraq 
as soon as possible, including, in order of priority, 
more than 100,000 blankets, 1,000 tents, emergency 
supplies for hospitals, clothing for children, and 
water bladders.  DART Field Office/North discussed 
the idea of pre-positioning emergency relief supplies, 
such as blankets, tents, etc., in northern Iraq with 
UNICEF.  UNICEF indicated that they are in a 
position to facilitate the delivery of emergency relief 
supplies to warehouses in northern Iraq.  Additionally, 
the availability of fuel for cooking and operating 
vehicles is a concern.  If the Oil-for-Food program 
stops, local UNICEF staff will not receive salaries 
because of lack of funds, raising concerns of UNICEF,s 
 ability to maintain its network of employees over a 
long period of time.  UNICEF Field Representative 
indicated that if hostilities last longer than 30 days 
and/or more than 250,000 people are displaced, there 
will be significant food shortages in the three northern 
provinces. 
 
 
7.  (C) UNICEF, in consultation with U.N. Joint Logistics 
Center (UNJLC), has identified four logistical contingency 
plans to bring medicine to the people of northern Iraq 
in the event of hostilities.  UNICEF,s first option is to 
transport medicine and emergency relief supplies by truck 
from the Turkish port of Mercin to the three northern 
provinces.  UNICEF currently has $4 million worth of 
emergency medicine in Mersin waiting transport to 
northern Iraq.  If transport through Turkey becomes 
 more problematic, then UNICEF contingency plans call 
for the medicine to be airlifted into secure 
locations in northern Iraq.  In the event that airlifting 
medicine is not an option, UNICEF plans call for emergency 
relief supplies to be transported through Syria and Iran. 
UNICEF,s Field Representative reported that UNICEF 
personnel are currently conducting an assessment in Syria 
to assess conditions for transport from Syria to northern 
 Iraq. 
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NGO Presence in Northern Iraq 
-------------------------------------- 
8.  (SBU) UNICEF,s Head of Northern Operations for Iraq 
identified eight international NGOs that have established 
programs in northern Iraq, as well as the sectors that 
they work in: Save the Children/United Kingdom (shelter, 
protection of IDPs), PeaceWinds Japan (health, water and 
sanitation),STEP (education), Yanconia (protection of 
IDPs), Premerogance (education), Qandil (water and 
sanitation, protection of IDPs), Mines Advisory Group 
(demining), and Response, Relief, Resettlement, and 
Rehabilitation (advocacy).  According to UNICEF, all 
international staff for these organizations have been 
evacuated from northern Iraq.  UNICEF representative 
 singled out Save the Children/UK as having a 
significant presence in northern Iraq with 
knowledgeable local staff to conduct emergency response 
operations. 
 
 
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DART Field Office/North Requests for Action 
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9.  (C) Request for Action.  DART Field Office/North 
requests that additional international disaster assistance 
funds be made available to UNICEF for the pre-positioning 
of 50,000 blankets and 1,000 tents in northern Iraq 
through Turkey.  Additionally, DART Field Office/North 
requests that these commodities be purchased in Turkey 
as a visible indication to the GOT that the USG and 
international community is actively working on 
contingency plans to stabilize the northern Iraqi 
population in place, minimize movement of displaced 
persons, and reduce the potential humanitarian burden 
 on the GOT. 
 
 
PEARSON