US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT1931

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KUWAIT 001931 
 
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 NORTHERN IRAQ UPDATE 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  The situation in the Kurdish-controlled region of northern 
Iraq remains calm.  The security level above the former "green 
line" has been declared permissive.  CMOC has declared Kirkuk to 
be permissive and Mosul to be semi-permissive during daylight 
hours.  Confusion as to which political body has the lead 
coordination role in Kirkuk and Mosul remains an issue.   A 
UNOHCI representative explained that Mosul and Kirkuk would still 
be treated separately from northern Iraq activities under U.N. 
Security Resolution (UNSCR) 986.  End Summary. 
 
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MINE ACTION MEETING 
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2.  The DART Field Team North attended a mine action meeting on 
30 April.  Hosted by the Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC), 
the meeting was also attended by the U.N. Office for Project 
Services (UNOPS), Mine Action Group, Norwegian Peoples Aid, the 
Ministry of Humanitarian Aid and Cooperation, and several local 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in mine clearing 
and mine awareness programs. 
 
3.  The agenda included an overview of the proposed mine action 
center structure for all of Iraq, data reporting and sharing, 
standardization issues (prioritization criteria, mapping, and 
marking), the need for a single coordinating authority in 
northern Iraq, survey requirements, operating areas, and support 
requirements. 
 
4.  CMOC is the coordination point for mine action in Arbil. 
CMOC informed those present that the program will be inclusive 
and national, and that there are people in Baghdad working to 
build a national program and a central repository for data and 
information sharing.  While each agency involved in mine action 
seemed to have its own operating procedures, all agreed that 
there is a need to standardize and coordinate all mine-action 
activities.  During the meeting, CMOC announced that any agency 
involved in mine or unexploded ordnance (UXO) demolition must 
provide 24-hour notice before undertaking such activities. 
 
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UNHCR FOOD DISTRIBUTION 
----------------------- 
 
5.  The DART visited a U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR) food distribution point for 2,000 Iranian refugees and 
asylum seekers in Arbil on 2 May.  Upon request from UNHCR, 
Coalition forces provided 42,000 Humanitarian Daily Rations, 
enough to feed the refugees and asylum seekers for 21 days. 
UNHCR expects refugees to consume more than one per day and 
estimates the distributed food to last approximately 14 days. 
UNHCR rationalized its request to the Coalitionary by explaining 
that the WFP public distribution system (PDS) only provided 
support to the refugees for 20 days a month.  Due to the war, 
refugees were not able to work and thus had no income for 
supplemental food.  This food will supplement WFP distributions 
for the next two months. 
 
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MINISTRY OF RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT (MORAD) 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
6.  The DART also met with the Kurdistan Regional Government 
(KRG) MORAD Minister, Deputy Minister, and heads of Planning, 
Rural Development, and Reconstruction and Development Offices on 
1 May.  Established in 1993, MORAD is charged with reconstructing 
those villages destroyed by the former Iraqi regime in the 1980s 
and early 1990s.  MORAD's approach is an integrated one, focusing 
on shelter, education, health services, electricity, water and 
sanitation, and income generation.  MORAD coordinates with the 
relevant ministries in the KRG. 
 
7.  The Minister estimated that the former regime destroyed 4,500 
of the 5,000 villages in the north.  To date, the Ministry has 
reconstructed over 3,000 of these villages, and those remaining 
are in border areas (bordering Iran and Turkey) or are mined and 
have not been considered safe for reconstruction.  A major focus 
for the Ministry is to promote rural development and sustainable 
reintegration for those families who wish to return to their home 
in those villages.  The Minister also noted that often these 
families could earn greater income in their home villages than in 
the cities from which they are returning. 
 
8.  A priority of the Ministry has been to rebuild shelter and 
provide services to 313 families who have returned to 37 villages 
in the "newly liberated areas" of Arbil Governorate.  While much 
of the funding for previous reconstruction came from the U.N. 
under UNSCR 986, the Ministry has none of the necessary funds or 
materials to undertake this new project.  The Ministry is 
planning to conduct a pledge session with various NGOs and U.N. 
agencies to see who may be able to provide financial or material 
resources to rebuild these villages.  The total estimated budget 
is approximately USD 2.4 million. 
 
(Comment: The Ministry seems dedicated to its mandate and is very 
organized.  They shared the same skepticism other ministries have 
articulated about the U.N.; however, the Minister appears 
somewhat sympathetic to the difficult position of the U.N. in pre- 
war Iraq.  The Minister is also concerned about continuation of 
reconstruction projects in a post-986 world.  In a previous 
meeting, UNOPS mentioned that the both KDP and PUK ministries 
allocated UN-HABITAT houses in urban settings meant for 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) to KDP civil servants.  This 
may be a reason behind the Ministry's interest in returning IDPs 
to their original villages.  Also, while the Minister stressed 
that all these returns were voluntary, UNOPS-IDP suggested this 
might not always be the case.  End comment.) 
 
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AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION MINISTER 
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9.  The DART met in Arbil on 1 May with Ministry of Agriculture 
and Irrigation Directors General from Duhok and Arbil 
governorates.  Agriculture officials from As Sulaymaniyah also 
attended the meeting.  Ministry officials noted that one of their 
priorities was to develop a wheat market for last year's crop and 
another was to develop a market for their upcoming harvest in 
June.  They provided wheat harvest estimates of around 600,000 
metric tons (MT) in Arbil and Duhok, and 250,000 MT in As 
Sulaymaniyah.  The officials also provided details on silo, 
warehouse, and milling capacities in the three governorates.  A 
big question has been how to purchase large quantities of wheat 
from many small farmers.  Officials noted that this could be 
accomplished by working through the Ministry of Agriculture and 
Irrigation.  The Ministry could disseminate information to 
farmers on quantities needed, grade and purchase amounts from 
farmer or groups of farmers, and store the wheat in silos and 
warehouses.  There are no local farmers' cooperatives in Iraq. 
 
10.  The DART will discuss further with WFP the possibility of 
assessing the potential harvest (in conjunction with FAO) and 
purchasing a portion of this to meet needs in other areas of the 
country.  Discussion with officials also touched on a number of 
additional food security and water issues, including secondary 
crops, fisheries, and small and large livestock health needs. 
Ministry officials agreed to provide more detailed information to 
the DART. 
 
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IO/NGO COORDINATION MEETING 
--------------------------- 
 
11.  On 30 April, The DART attended the weekly IO/NGO 
coordination meeting hosted by the Ministry of Humanitarian Aid 
and Cooperation (MOHAC).  The meeting was well attended with over 
50 participants representing various ministries of the Kurdish 
Regional Government, the Office of Reconstruction and 
Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA), CMOC, U.N., and international and 
local NGOs. 
 
12.  The meeting opened with news of the return of U.N. 
international staff.  A representative of U.N. Office for the 
Humanitarian Coordination for Iraq (UNOCHI) explained that on 23 
April, six World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations 
Children's Fund (UNICEF) staff arrived.  On 24 April, 29 more 
staff from UNOHCI, UNICEF, U.N. Development Program, and UNOPS 
arrived in northern Iraq.  The MOHAC Minister noted that the 
future of UNSCR 986 and the role of the U.N. in post-war Iraq 
still remains unclear.  The UNOHCI representative explained that 
the post-war period would be marked with greater cooperation with 
NGOs.  (Note: Prior to the war, the U.N. could not work with 
NGOs, as most were considered illegal by the former regime.  End 
Note.)  The UNOCHI representative could not confirm that the U.N. 
would have an official relationship with NGOs, although he hoped 
to have more insight on the issue next week. 
 
13.  UNOHCI also explained that under the terms of UNSCR 986, 
Mosul and Kirkuk would continue to be funded out of the portion 
dedicated to the former Government of Iraq-controlled territory. 
When asked whether PUK or KDP governorates were responsible for 
these two areas, the MOHAC Minister commented, "I am not in a 
position to give you a clear answer."  (Note: PUK was not 
represented at this meeting.  End note.) 
 
14.  CMOC provided a security brief, stating that during daylight 
hours, Kirkuk is permissible and Mosul is semi-permissive.  They 
also mentioned that there are now CMOCs in Kirkuk and Mosul, and 
that they continue to produce assessments for NGO use. 
 
15.  NGOs gave brief summaries of their work during the last 
week.  Of note, Medair stated that there was great need for 
assistance to returning IDPs, noting that there are 10,000 people 
living in mosques and barracks in Mosul that are in need of 
emergency aid, including food and clothing.  (Comment:  As was 
obvious in this and previous meetings, many NGOs are working in 
similar sectors in the same geographical area, e.g., health in 
Makmour, with little or no coordination.  Even as NGOs share 
information about assessments and areas in which they are 
working, no organization has emerged that can help coordinate 
these NGOs to prevent duplication of efforts or gaps in the 
provision of services.  End Comment.) 
 
JONES