US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT1514

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001514 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO PASS USAID/W 
STATE PLEASE REPEAT TO IO COLLECTIVE 
STATE FOR PRM/ANE, EUR/SE, NEA/NGA, IO AND SA/PAB 
NSC FOR EABRAMS, SMCCORMICK, STAHIR-KHELI, JDWORKEN 
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/RMT, DCHA/FFP 
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, ANE/AA 
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA:WGARVELINK, BMCCONNELL, KFARNSWORTH 
USAID FOR ANE/AA:WCHAMBERLIN 
ROME FOR FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH 
DOHA FOR MSHIRLEY 
ANKARA FOR AMB WRPEARSON, ECON AJSIROTIC AND DART 
AMMAN FOR USAID AND DART 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREF, IZ, WFP 
SUBJECT:  TFIZ01: DART SITUATION REPORT 17 APRIL 2003 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  The DART food team attended a meeting with Coalition 
forces and WFP on 15 April during which WFP requested that 
Coalition forces provide security at warehouses, silos, and 
mills.  Coalition forces agreed to try to provide security 
to the food infrastructure sites and to assist in getting 
essential fuel and water to the mills.  The United Nations 
Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq formally endorsed the 
Rapid Assessment Process (RAP) and approved the Humanitarian 
Information Center's (HIC) plan to re-establish itself in 
Iraq.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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FOOD 
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2.  The DART food team attended a meeting on 15 April with 
Coalition forces and the World Food Program (WFP).  The 
purpose of the meeting was for WFP to describe its current 
planning to the military and discuss how the Coalition 
forces in Basrah could assist. 
 
3.  The primary request from WFP was for the Coalition 
forces to provide security at the Ministry of Trade (MOT) 
warehouses, silos, and mills.  WFP also requested 
information regarding any pockets of insecurity in Iraq. 
WFP is starting to test routes from the south, north, and 
west and wants to be regularly briefed about any areas to 
avoid.  A security incident could stop operations, which 
could have drastic consequences due to the volume of food 
that must be moved over the coming weeks.  WFP stated that 
they "don't want to lose life to save life."  Coalition 
forces agreed to pass along relevant information to WFP. 
 
4.  Coalition forces also agreed to try to provide security 
to the food infrastructure sites and to assist in getting 
power to the mills by bringing fuel for the generators and 
the water necessary for milling.  Coalition forces also 
agreed to begin paying MOT staff.  WFP specifically asked 
the military not to get involved with locating or organizing 
the public distribution system food/flour agents and not to 
talk to any transporters. 
 
5.  On 15 April in Basrah, WFP national staff held a meeting 
with the MOT directors, who agreed that staff for all three 
warehouses would return to work on 16 April.  The MOT 
directors will survey the condition of the warehouses and 
determine what materials are needed for resumption of 
operations.  According to WFP, the general condition of all 
three warehouses is fairly good. 
 
6.  Beginning on 17 April, WFP national staff will start 
meeting with Basra's 1,384 food agents.  Meetings will be 
held with the agents of three ration centers at a time. 
There are a total of 15 ration centers in Basrah.  WFP 
national staff met with food agents in Khor-Zabyr on 15 
April and plan to go to Al Nasariyah on 17 April. 
 
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RAPID ASSESSMENT PROCESS 
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7.  The Humanitarian Information Center (HIC) for Iraq is a 
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs- 
facilitated team that is providing a focal point for 
operational information management.  The HIC maintains a 
website and several offices where information will be 
assembled, managed, and disseminated.  The HIC focuses on 
three types of information: baseline reference, assessments, 
and response.  The HIC's role in assessments is to 
coordinate the content and compile the findings.  This is 
referred to as the Rapid Assessment Process (RAP).  The HIC 
also maintains information related to the organizations, 
locations, and sectors of humanitarian interventions. 
 
8.  The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, 
Ramiro Lopez De Silva, formally endorsed the RAP and 
approved the plan to re-establish the HIC in Iraq.   In his 
letter of endorsement, Mr. De Silva strongly encouraged the 
participation of the entire humanitarian community, as it is 
essential to the success of the activity.  To make use of 
the RAP and other information, the HIC will establish four 
offices in Iraq with a total staff of 38, of which 24 will 
be national staff.  This will allow for direct access to HIC 
offices throughout the country and help ensure a smooth 
transition to UNDP as the situation stabilizes.  The HIC 
will continue to have a strong Internet presence at 
www.agoodplacetostart.org and will be adding three people to 
the Kuwait City office to meet growing demand. 
 
JONES