US embassy cable - 03AMMAN4337

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004337 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/IPA, NEA/RA AND PRM/ANE 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2013 
TAGS: PREF, PREL, KPAL, KWBG, JO 
SUBJECT: UNRWA PLANS EXTRAORDINARY, HIGH-LEVEL MEETING IN 
GENEVA FOR SPRING 2004; HOPES TO ADDRESS FUTURE OF AGENCY 
 
REF: AMMAN 3242 
 
Classified By: DCM David Hale, per 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (U) This is an action request; see para 8. 
 
2.  (C) Summary and action request:  On July 7, UNRWA briefed 
Amman-based donors and host government representatives on its 
plans to hold an extraordinary, possibly ministerial-level 
meeting in Geneva in spring 2004.  While UNRWA initially 
hoped to hold the meeting in November 2003, UNRWA agreed that 
the November date was premature after donors argued that a 
great deal of work would be required to plan an effective 
meeting.  UNRWA hopes that a high-level meeting held outside 
the region will enable the cash-strapped agency to gain both 
greater media and donor attention, and believes that a 
political agenda, such as the discussion of the future of the 
agency is required to attract such attention.  To prepare for 
this extraordinary meeting, UNRWA will hold regular "steering 
committee" meetings of stakeholders in Jerusalem and Amman, 
with the next meeting scheduled for late July.  UNRWA will 
finalize the agenda and dates for the Geneva extraordinary 
meeting at the next major donors meeting, September 23-24 in 
Amman.  We are concerned that a spring 2004, high-level 
meeting focused on UNRWA's future could be both premature and 
disruptive to the Israel/Palestinian roadmap process, a 
concern shared by host governments.   Department's guidance 
on the planned meeting is requested.  End summary and action 
request. 
 
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UNRWA Plans High-Level Policy Meeting 
In Hopes of Attracting More Funds 
------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) On July 7, UNRWA briefed Amman-based donors and 
host government representatives on its plans to hold an 
extraordinary, possibly ministerial-level meeting in Geneva. 
Plans for a Geneva meeting were first announced by ComGen 
Peter Hansen at UNRWA's May 21-22 meeting of major donors and 
host governments (ref), without any reference to the 
meeting's agenda or desired level of participation.  At the 
July 7 meeting, UNRWA External Relations Director Andrew 
Whitley explained that the agency hopes a high-level meeting 
held outside the region will enable UNRWA to gain both 
greater media and donor attention, acknowledging that a very 
different -- and possibly political -- agenda would be 
required to attract such attention.  According to Whitley, 
UNRWA ComGen Hansen has suggested that an extraordinary, 
high-level meeting should be used to develop a common vision 
for UNRWA's future in light of renewed momentum toward peace. 
 UNRWA also hopes to showcase the "synergy" among UN agencies 
and plans to hold workshops with Geneva-based UN agencies on 
areas of mutual concern.  (Comment:  We have not seen 
evidence of such synergy in the field, with the exception of 
the West Bank and Gaza's Bertini assessment and report in 
2002.)  The Swiss Government has agreed to pay some of the 
costs of this extraordinary meeting and has told us privately 
that the specific amount remains under negotiation. 
 
4.  (SBU) While UNRWA initially hoped to hold the meeting in 
November 2003 in place of the regularly scheduled September 
major donors meeting, the agency agreed at the July 7 meeting 
that the November date was premature and postponed the 
extraordinary meeting until spring 2004.  Donors and host 
governments both expressed concern that UNRWA did not have a 
specific enough agenda or sense of what it wanted to 
accomplish in the extraordinary meeting to hold it in 
November.  (The only specific themes identified by UNRWA 
were:  how the West Bank and Gaza could move from conflict to 
recovery and development; and the future of UNRWA in light of 
renewed momentum toward peace.)  Some donors, including 
refcoord, also expressed concern that a November meeting 
could be too early to assess the full impact of roadmap 
implementation on UNRWA and its future. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Host Governments Fear Meeting Could Disrupt Roadmap 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
5.  (C) Host government representatives later told refcoord 
they also are concerned about the timing and agenda of the 
planned extraordinary meeting.  GOJ Department of Palestinian 
Affairs Director General Abulkarim Abulhaija said the GOJ 
worries that a high-profile, high-level meeting to discuss 
UNRWA's future could in fact prove disruptive to the roadmap, 
as refugees throughout the region would interpret it as 
creating "facts on the ground" before all parties agree on a 
solution to the refugee question.  PLO Refugee Affairs 
Representative Mohamed Abu Bakr echoed these concerns, 
telling refcoord that UNRWA should "keep its distance from 
politics," especially while roadmap implementation remained 
"delicate." 
--------------------------------------- 
UNRWA Resists Look at Agency Management 
In Extraordinary Meeting 
--------------------------------------- 
 
6.  (SBU) At the July 7 UNRWA meeting, refcoord suggested 
that UNRWA could use an extraordinary meeting to take a fresh 
look at its governing and management structure and take stock 
of management reforms to date.  A strategic meeting on the 
future of the agency must address management concerns, as new 
policies cannot be implemented without appropriate management 
procedures.  If UNRWA believes it will be in the position to 
address the future of the agency, it also should be in a 
position to address the internal changes UNRWA must make, 
such as decentralization of authority from headquarters to 
the fields, in order to eventually phase out operations (and 
presumably hand some over to local government authorities). 
UNRWA External Relations Director Whitley bristled at the 
suggestion, stating flatly that internal UNRWA management 
procedures were not appropriate topics for a strategic policy 
meeting. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
UNRWA Will Begin Planning for Geneva Meeting 
In Late July 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (U) Whitley invited donors and host governments to 
suggest topics for the extraordinary meeting and said the 
agency would organize regular "steering committee" meetings 
of stakeholders in Jerusalem and Amman to further develop 
ideas for the Geneva meeting.  Refcoord expressed concern 
that not all host governments would be able to attend 
meetings in Jerusalem, adding that host government 
participation in the planning process would be crucial to the 
success of a high-level policy meeting.  Whitley noted 
refcoord's concerns and said UNRWA would consider holding all 
steering committee meetings in Amman.  He hopes to hold the 
next meeting in late July.  Whitley added that UNRWA plans to 
finalize the agenda and dates for the Geneva extraordinary 
meeting at the next major donors meeting, scheduled for 
September 23-24 in Amman. 
 
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Comment and Action Request 
-------------------------- 
 
8.  (C) UNRWA seems to be fishing for a "hook" to attract 
media, higher-level representation and more funds to a future 
donor meeting and has decided the roadmap provides precisely 
such a hook.  While we agree that UNRWA is in need of a 
higher donor profile, we believe that a ministerial-level 
meeting to discuss the post-roadmap future of the agency is 
not the appropriate vehicle.  Such a policy-focused meeting 
is inappropriate for a UN implementing agency and would prove 
unnecessarily provocative to the refugees and disruptive to 
the political process.  Unless donors and host governments 
present formal positions on the planned spring 2004 meeting, 
UNRWA will assume it has full stakeholder approval to move 
ahead on a high-level, politically oriented meeting in 
Geneva.  Hansen's personal support for and involvement in 
planning this meeting will make it particularly difficult to 
turn off.  We therefore request the Department's guidance on 
whether a high-level UNRWA policy meeting would be 
appropriate in spring 2004 and, if so, what topics the U.S. 
would be prepared to accept on the agenda. 
 
9.  (U) ConGen Jerusalem cleared this message. 
GNEHM