President Robert Mugabe had a 20-minute shouting match with the United Nations under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief coordinator Jan Egeland over Operation Murambatsvina but in his public remarks Egeland was relatively upbeat about his meeting with Mugabe and claimed good relations between Zimbabwe and the UN.
The shouting match was disclosed by UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs assistant director Agnes Asekenye-Oonyu.
She said Mugabe attacked UN special envoy Anna Tibaijuka and her report. In return, Egeland pushed back, noting that he, the entire UN system, and UN secretary general Kofi Annan personally stood behind the report.
Egeland said he had visited victims of Murambatsvina and called their living conditions unacceptable.
Mugabe nonetheless defended his government’s rejection of tents to temporarily shelter those displaced, and said “tents are for Arabs”.
Mugabe is reported to have made several concessions to Egeland in return for assistance from the West.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 05HARARE1663, UN ENVOY WRESTLES CONCESSIONS FROM MUGABE
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 001663
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. NEULING
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
STATE PASS USAID FOR M. COPSON
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2015
SUBJECT: UN ENVOY WRESTLES CONCESSIONS FROM MUGABE
Classified By: Charge d’Affaires, a.i. Eric T Schultz under Section 1.4
b/d
——-
Summary
——-
¶1. (C) UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland visited Zimbabwe
December 4-7 to survey the ongoing humanitarian crisis and to
press the GOZ for better cooperation. In his public remarks
Egeland was relatively upbeat, claiming good UN/GOZ
cooperation on HIV/AIDs and food assistance. However, he
strongly backed the Tibaijuka report and reiterated UN
criticism of Operation Murambatsvina. In his private
briefing for the diplomatic corps, Egeland said his basic
message to the GOZ would be the need for major policy changes
that would facilitate donor assistance.
¶2. (C) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) Assistant Director Agnes Asekenye-Oonyu, who
has been in Zimbabwe for the past three months, gave post an
inside look at Egeland,s meeting with President Mugabe.
According to Asekenye-Oonyu, Mugabe had conceded to Egeland
that Zimbabwe had humanitarian problems and needed
assistance. Egeland had subsequently pressed, and Mugabe had
agreed, to make political and humanitarian concessions,
including opening a dialogue with Western donors, to pave the
way for a visit by UN Secretary General Annan. Egeland will
draft his report for Annan and, as Post understands, brief
the Security Council on December 19. End Summary.
——————————————— ————
Egeland Publicly Applauds GOZ Cooperation, Quietly Pushes for
More
——————————————— ————
¶3. (SBU) In his December 6 press conference, UN humanitarian
chief Egeland said he was pleased with his four-day visit to
Zimbabwe in which he had briefed local diplomats, toured
several UN and NGO operations in Harare and Bulawayo, and met
with President Mugabe. Egeland commended the GOZ for its
cooperation on HIV/AIDS and food assistance. The envoy
publicly declared his meetings with Mugabe and members of his
Cabinet a success. Egeland, however, said the GOZ and the UN
had disagreed on the merits of Operation Murambatsvina, which
he called &the worst possible thing to come at the worst
possible time.8 Egeland reiterated UN support for the
Tibaijuka report and said that the government,s refusal to
accept tents for those who had been displaced by the
operation had only exacerbated the situation.
¶4. (C) In a private meeting with diplomats from the donor
countries on December 5, Egeland said his basic message to
the GOZ would be the need for major policy changes that would
facilitate donor assistance. Egeland acknowledged the
difficult environment for assistance efforts, especially for
NGOs, which he hoped his visit would help improve. He also
decried the &social meltdown8 that had occurred in
Zimbabwe, which he attributed primarily to HIV/ADIS and
drought, though he acknowledged that GOZ policies had also
played a role. With one exception (France) the donors
responded by noting that the primary cause of Zimbabwe,s
current crisis were the GOZ,s failed policies. Egeland took
the point, but pressed donors to give priority to providing
assistance, such as shelter for those made homeless by
Murambatsvina, rather than quibbling over the type of shelter
or how the people had come to be homeless.
——————————————–
A &Frank and Productive8 Meeting with Mugabe
——————————————–
¶5. (C) Egeland said little publicly about his two-and-a-half
hour meeting with Mugabe on December 6, noting only that it
was &frank and productive8 and that the two had made
progress on many fronts, including easing humanitarian
access. OCHA Assistant Director Agnes Asekenye-Oonyu on
December 7 gave Charge an inside look at the high level
meeting, which she described as constructive but at times
quite contentious. According to Asekenye-Oonyu, instead of
the usual lecture on the &causes8 of Zimbabwe,s
humanitarian crisis (e.g. &illegal8 western sanctions and
drought), she said Mugabe listened to the UN envoy,s
assessment of the situation and its causes. Mugabe then
conceded that his government had made mistakes that had led
to the crisis and that the country needed assistance.
¶6. (C) Asekenye-Oonyu said Egeland had told Mugabe that
Annan,s proposed trip, which she said was now planned for
March, was dependent on Zimbabwe &making an attitude
change8 and reengaging with Western donors, especially the
US and UK. Mugabe said he was open to such a dialogue and
would tone down the rhetoric and follow up with the Norwegian
Ambassador in Harare regarding the parameters for possible
talks. (N.B. The reference to the Norwegian Ambassador, who
arrived in Zimbabwe only in September, is a surprise. Thomas
Dahl, the Norwegian Embassy first secretary, on December 6
told poloff that the jet-lagged Egeland and his Ambassador
had had a private dinner the night before, which chiefly
centered on reminiscing about Egeland,s time as deputy
minister of foreign affairs in Oslo and had addressed little
of substance.)
¶7. (C) According to Asekenye-Oonyu, Egeland had also pressed
Mugabe to improve the operating environment for humanitarian
NGOs. Mugabe highlighted the MOU his government had signed
with WFP in late November as evidence that he was willing to
engage donors on food assistance. Egeland, however, noted
that the GOZ,s classification of food production figures as
a state secret hindered the humanitarian response. Mugabe
replied that this was nonsense and said he would speak to
Minister of Agriculture Made about releasing the statistics.
¶8. (C) Asekenye-Oonyu said Egeland had also argued that aid
groups faced a labyrinth of government approval that often
delayed assistance for months and suggested that the
government, along with UN and NGO representatives, form a
one-stop-shop. Although he accused NGOs of politicizing aid
delivery, Mugabe accepted this proposal, saying he was
unaware of the complicated approval process. Mugabe told
Egeland to call him personally if this initiative became
stalled. Asekenye-Oonyu said Egeland had subsequently asked
UN Resident Representative Agostinho Zacarias for weekly
updates on the GOZ,s progress. She noted that in prior
meetings with Egeland, Minister of Public Service Nicolas
Goche and Minister of Health David Parirenyatwa had also
accepted this proposal but that Egeland,s suggestion had
prompted a violent reaction from Minister of Local Government
Ignatius Chombo, who had threatened to block the meeting with
Mugabe.
¶9. (C) Asekenye-Oonyu said the provision of shelter for the
estimated 700,000 people left homeless by Operation
Murambatsvina had been the most contentious issue. It had
prompted a 20-minute shouting match between Mugabe and
Egeland. Mugabe attacked UN Special Envoy Anna Tibaijuka and
her report. In return, Egeland pushed back, noting that he,
the entire UN system, and Annan personally stood behind the
report. Urban renewal projects were okay, said Egeland, but
only after new housing was already provided. The UN envoy
said he had visited victims of Murambatsvina and called their
living conditions unacceptable. Mugabe nonetheless defended
his government,s rejection of tents to temporarily shelter
those displaced, and said &tents are for Arabs.8
¶10. (C) Asekenye-Oonyu said that despite his outburst,
Mugabe made two key concessions on shelter for
Murambatsvina,s victims. Mugabe promised to provide proper
title to resettled victims, after Egeland noted that
documents issued to date would not stand up in court, and
Mugabe said the shelters would be allocated based on need.
(N.B. Up to now, the GOZ has allocated new homes based on
political, not humanitarian, considerations.) The Charge
asked how the UN would be able to ensure that this was the
case. Asekenye-Oonyu responded that the proposed UN shelter
program would be separate from the government,s &Operation
Garikai8 housing program and that a committee, which would
include donors, would allocate the shelters. She added that
if the GOZ rejected this method of allocation the shelters
would not be built.
——————-
The UN,s Next Steps
——————-
¶11. (C) Asekenye-Oonyu told Charge that Egeland would write
a report on his visit for the Secretary General and that he
would likely address the UNSC at some point. (N.B. We
understand it will be December 19.) She said Annan was
planning to send Under-Secretary-General for Political
Affairs Ibrahim Gambari to Zimbabwe in January to assess
first hand the GOZ,s progress in fulfilling the commitments
made to Egeland. If there were not sufficient progress,
Annan,s visit could be delayed or cancelled. She added that
Gambari was seen by the GOZ as too close to the U.S.
¶12. (C) Meanwhile, the UN presence in Zimbabwe will get a
boost on New Year,s day when the OCHA field office here
becomes permanent. Asekenye-Oonyu said six international
members and 21 locals would staff the office but that a
director had yet to be named. She herself was due to depart
Harare December 8 to return to her job in New York. She
said, however, that she might be amenable to staying on in
Zimbabwe. A widely respected figure despite her brief tenure
here, she said that even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had
lobbied Egeland to offer her an extension.
——-
Comment
——-
¶13. (C) The GOZ,s actions over the next few months will
determine the course of UN and donor engagement with
Zimbabwe. If Mugabe and the GOZ fail to honor their
commitments to Egeland it will put not only Annan,s visit at
risk but will also further complicate the efforts of the U.S.
and other donors to provide assistance to Zimbabwe,s
suffering people. It may also, however, be the final straw
that will rally international and perhaps even African
criticism of the regime.
SCHULTZ
(28 VIEWS)
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