IRAQ

U.S. Assistance to 

Iraq’s Minority Groups 

in Response to 

Congressional 

Directives

Report to Congressional Requesters

July 2012 

GAO-12-834

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO
United States Government Accountability Office

Highlights of GAO-12-834, a report to 

congressional requesters 

July 2012 

IRAQ 

U.S. Assistance to Iraq’s Minority Groups in 

Response to Congressional Directives

Why GAO Did This Study

Since 2003, minority groups in Iraq

have experienced religiously and 

ethnically motivated attacks, killings, 

and forced displacements. Concern for 

Iraqi religious and ethnic minorities led 

various congressional committees and 

Congress as a whole to issue a series 

of directives to provide assistance to 

these groups. 

The 2008 directive directed that $10 

million of unobligated ESF funds from 

prior years be provided to assist 

religious minorities in the Ninewa plain 

region of Iraq. The 2008 supplemental 

and 2010 directives directed that up to 

$10 million be provided to assist 

religious and ethnic minority groups in 

Iraq for each directive. USAID and 

State reported to Congress that they 

met the provisions of these three 

directives by providing $40 million in 

assistance to Iraqi minority groups. 

Congressional requesters asked GAO 

to examine the extent to which 

(1) USAID demonstrated that the 

assistance it reported to Congress met 

the 2008 directive and (2) USAID and 

State demonstrated that the assistance 

they reported to Congress met the 

2008 supplemental and 2010 

directives. To address these 

objectives, GAO analyzed documents 

and interviewed officials from State 

and USAID in Washington, D.C., and 

Iraq. This report is a public version of a

Sensitive But Unclassified report 

issued in May 2012.

GAO is not making recommendations. 

Both agencies provided technical 

comments on the draft that were 

incorporated, as appropriate. State did 

not submit an agency comment letter 

in response to the draft. In its agency 

comment letter, USAID stated that it 

met minority groups’ needs to a greater 

extent than is presented in the report. 

GAO continues to believe that USAID 

could not demonstrate how its reported 

assistance met the provisions of the 

2008 directive.

What GAO Found

GAO found that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 

could not demonstrate how the projects that it reported to Congress met the 

provisions of the 2008 directive because of three weaknesses. First, USAID 

documents—specifically, the list of projects the agency submitted to Congress—

linked only $3.8 million of the $14.8 million in assistance (26 percent) directly to 

the Ninewa plain region. Second, USAID documents generally did not show 

whether the projects included minority groups among the beneficiaries of the 

assistance and specifically whether $8 million of assistance was provided for 

internally displaced families. Third, USAID officials and documents did not 

demonstrate that the agency used unobligated prior year Economic Support 

Fund (ESF) funds to initiate projects in response to the 2008 directive. 

USAID and the Department of State (State) generally could demonstrate how 

they met the 2008 supplemental and 2010 directives. According to USAID and 

State documents, the agencies approved $26.9 million in assistance—primarily in 

essential services and humanitarian assistance—to meet the 2008 supplemental 

and 2010 directives’ provisions to spend up to $10 million for each directive to 

assist religious and ethnic minority groups in Iraq (see figure below). In addition, 

as directed by Congress, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad designated staff at the 

embassy to oversee and coordinate assistance to minority groups in 2008. 

Assistance Provided to Iraq’s Minority Groups, by Category, in Response to the 2008 

Supplemental and 2010 Directives 

Note: The total does not add up to $26.9 million due to rounding. 

Using the Quick Response Fund (QRF) program, USAID and State took five 

steps that generally demonstrated how they met the 2008 supplemental and 

2010 directives. First, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad directed that support of 

minority groups be made one of the thematic goals of the QRF program in 2008. 

Second, USAID and State categorized projects in their respective QRF 

databases by thematic goal. Third, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and its 

Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) conducted outreach to inform potential 

beneficiaries of the availability of assistance through the QRF program. Fourth, 

PRTs or the QRF implementing partner conducted final site visits and prepared 

project close-out reports. Fifth, both USAID and State conducted third-party 

assessments at the close of their respective components of the QRF program. 

The QRF program closed and the PRTs ceased their operations by the end of 

2011, as planned. According to USAID and State officials, the two agencies 

continue to assist minority groups through the obligation of an additional $28 

million in reprogrammed ESF funds from previous years.

To view the full product, click on GAO-12-834.

For more information, contact David Gootnick 

at (202) 512-3149 or gootnickd@gao.gov. 
Page i GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

Letter 1 

Background 3

USAID Could Not Demonstrate How It Met the 2008 Directive 6

USAID and State Generally Could Demonstrate How They Met the 

2008 Supplemental and 2010 Directives 8

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 14

Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 17

Appendix II Comments from the U.S. Agency for International Development 19

Appendix III GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 20

Tables

Table 1: Reported USAID Programs That Included Assistance in 

Support of Iraq’s Minority Groups for the 2008 Directive 7

Table 2: State- and USAID-Funded Projects, by Category, for the 

2008 Supplemental and 2010 Directives 10

Abbreviations

ESF Economic Support Fund

PRT Provincial Reconstruction Team

QRF Quick Response Fund

State Department of State

USAID United States Agency for International Development

Contents

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Page 1 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

United States Government Accountability Office 

Washington, DC 20548

July 10, 2012

Congressional Requesters

Since 2003, religious and ethnic minority groups in Iraq have experienced 

attacks on holy sites, as well as religiously and ethnically motivated 

killings, abductions, and forced displacements. According to international 

aid groups, although religious minorities comprise only about 3 percent of 

the Iraqi population, they are overrepresented in the refugee and 

internally displaced populations. Concern for religious and ethnic 

minorities (hereafter referred to as minority groups) in Iraq led various 

congressional committees, as well as Congress as a whole, to issue a 

series of directives beginning in June 2007 to provide assistance to these 

groups. The directives accompanied the Department of State’s (State) 

fiscal year 2008 appropriation (hereafter referred to as the 2008 

directive)1 and fiscal year 2008 supplemental appropriation (hereafter 

referred to as the 2008 supplemental directive),2 and appeared in State’s 

fiscal year 2010 appropriation (hereafter referred to as the 2010 

directive).3 More recently, in the Senate Appropriations Committee report 

accompanying the fiscal year 2012 appropriations for State, the 

committee recognized the importance of providing assistance to religious 

and ethnic minorities in Iraq and directed State to report on assistance 

provided to these groups (hereafter referred to as the 2012 directive).4

As of November 2011, the United States Agency for International 

Development (USAID) and State reported to Congress that they had 

 

1

H.R. Rep. No. 110-197, June 18, 2007, accompanying H.R. 2764, which later became 

the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-161, Dec. 26, 2007.

2

See the Explanatory Statement submitted by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on 

Appropriations, Cong. Rec., June 28, 2008, S6239-6262, explaining the fiscal year 2008 

Supplemental Appropriations Act, Pub. L. No. 110-252, June 30, 2008. 

3

See the Conference Report, H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 111-366, Dec. 8, 2009, accompanying 

the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-117, Dec. 16, 2009.

4

See S. Rep. No. 112-85 accompanying S. 1601. The State, Foreign Operations, and 

Related Programs Appropriations Act for 2012 became part of the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act for 2012, Pub. L. No.112-74. In the Conference Report, H.R. Conf. 

Rep. 112-331, accompanying the Act, the conferees stated that the departments and 

agencies shall comply with the Senate report 112-85 accompanying S. 1601 as though it 

were stated in that joint explanatory statement. 

 
 

Page 2 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

provided about $40 million in assistance for Iraq’s minority groups in 

response to these directives.5 According to the agencies, USAID provided 

$14.8 million for the 2008 directive;6

In response to your request, we examined the extent to which (1) USAID 

demonstrated that the assistance it reported to Congress met the 2008 

directive and (2) USAID and State demonstrated that the assistance they 

reported to Congress met the 2008 supplemental and 2010 directives. 

This report is a publicly releasable version of a prior GAO report, issued 

in May 2012, that State and USAID had designated Sensitive But 

Unclassified.

USAID and State provided $10.4 

million for the 2008 supplemental directive; and State provided $16.5 

million for the 2010 directive. However, some members of Congress 

remained concerned about the transparency and distribution of the 

assistance to minority groups in Iraq. 

To address these objectives, we analyzed USAID’s and State’s reports to 

Congress summarizing assistance provided in response to the directives 

and reviewed supporting documents, such as project lists for the three 

directives, as well as proposals and final close-out reports for projects 

implemented in response to the 2008 supplemental and 2010 directives.

We also interviewed USAID and State officials in Washington, D.C., and 

Iraq; their implementing partner;

7

 

5

According to State and USAID officials, U.S. assistance to Iraqi religious groups was 

provided consistent with U.S. law and policy on providing federal assistance and laws and 

policies on assistance to faith-based organizations, which include requirements that 

organizations that receive such assistance not engage in inherently religious activities 

such as worship or religious instruction, as part of the program or service directly funded. 

We did not independently verify that all such funding was provided consistent with these 

requirements.

and Iraqi recipients of assistance, such 

as officials of religious and nongovernmental organizations. We 

conducted fieldwork in Baghdad and Erbil, Iraq, in October 2011. Due to 

security constraints, we were able to visit only one project site in Iraq, 

which is located in Baghdad. This site received one of the largest 

amounts of funds for the 2008 supplemental and 2010 directives.

6

Due to a mathematical error, USAID reported $17.1 million instead of $14.8 million in its 

report to Congress. 

7

This organization provided assistance in Iraq under contracts and cooperative 

agreements with State or USAID.
 

Page 3 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

We conducted this performance audit from June 2011 to July 2012 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 

sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives. Appendix I provides a more 

detailed description of our objectives, scope, and methodology. 

Iraq is ethnically, religiously, and linguistically diverse. Ethnically, Arabs 

comprise about 75 percent of the population of Iraq, with Kurds 

comprising around 15 percent and other ethnic groups, such as 

Turkoman and Assyrians, comprising the remaining 10 percent.

Religiously, Shi’a and Sunni Muslims make up 97 percent of the 

population of Iraq, with non-Muslim groups—such as Baha’i, Christians, 

Sabean Mandaeans, and Yazidis—comprising the remaining 3 percent of 

the population. Some communities may be an ethnic majority but a 

religious minority (such as Arab Christians), while other communities may 

be an ethnic minority but a religious majority (such as Shi’a Shabaks). For 

the purpose of this report, we refer to the following religious and ethnic 

communities as minority groups: Anglican, Armenian, Assyrian, Baptist, 

Chaldean, Coptic, Greek Orthodox, Latin Catholic, Presbyterians, Sabean 

Mandaean, Shabak, Syriac, Turkoman, and Yazidi.

Since 2003, Iraq’s minority groups have experienced religiously and 

ethnically motivated intimidation, arbitrary detention, killings, abductions, 

and forced displacements, as well as attacks on holy sites and religious 

leaders. In August 2007, coordinated truck bombings killed some 400 

Yazidis and wounded more than 700. In August 2009, a series of attacks 

in Ninewa province killed almost 100 and injured more than 400 from the 

Yazidi, Shabak, and Turkoman communities. In February 2008, a 

Chaldean archbishop was kidnapped and killed—the third senior 

Christian religious figure to be killed in the city of Mosul since 2006. A 

series of attacks against Christians occurred in 2010, including an attack 

in October on a Catholic church in Baghdad that left more than 50 dead 

and 60 wounded.

As a result of such violence, a significant portion of minority groups has 

fled either to other parts of the country, becoming internally displaced 

persons, or to neighboring countries, becoming refugees. According to 

nongovernmental organizations, religious minorities make up a significant 

portion of those migrating from locations in southern Iraq to locations in 

Background
 

Page 4 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

northern Iraq, such as the Ninewa plain region. The International 

Organization for Migration reports that, in 2010, in the provinces of 

Dahuk, Erbil, and Ninewa, 49 percent, 24 percent, and 35 percent, 

respectively, of the internally displaced population were Christian. 

According to nongovernmental organizations, religious minority groups 

face increased marginalization and are less able to access public 

services or employment because of ethnic or religious prejudices.8

Concern for Iraq’s minority groups led Congress to issue a series of 

directives beginning in June 2007 to provide assistance to these groups. 

These directives are as follows:

The 

United Nations reports that, between 2003 and 2005, 36 percent of the 

Iraqis seeking refugee status in Syria were Christian. In 2007, Iraq’s 

Ministry of Displacement and Migration estimated that nearly half of the 

minority communities had left the country. According to the U.S. 

Commission on International Religious Freedom, at least half of the 

Christians in Iraq have left the country since 2003. Further, the 

commission reports that since 2003 nearly 90 percent of the roughly 

50,000-60,000 Sabean Mandaeans have either fled Iraq or been killed.

• 2008 directive: In December 2007, for fiscal year 2008, the House 

Committee on Appropriations directed that not less than $10 million of 

unobligated Economic Support Fund (ESF) account funds provided in 

prior fiscal years for Iraq should be used to assist religious minorities 

in the Ninewa plain region of Iraq. Further, the Committee directed 

that $2 million of such assistance should be provided for microfinance 

programs and $8 million for internally displaced families in the Ninewa 

plain region.9

 

8

Nongovernmental organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and the International 

Crisis Group, have reported on the violence against and manipulation of minority groups in 

northern Iraq by both Arab and Kurdish authorities. Specifically, Human Rights Watch 

reports that Kurdish authorities, in an effort to gain minority support for Kurdish rule in 

disputed territories, have provided financial support to religious communities while 

simultaneously coercing and repressing dissidents within these communities through 

intimidation, threats, arbitrary arrests, and detentions.

9

The Joint Explanatory Statement attached to the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act 

also stated that “the Appropriations Committees support the use of prior year funds as 

proposed by the House to assist religious minorities in the Nineveh Plain region of Iraq.” 
 

Page 5 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

• 2008 supplemental directive: In June 2008, the Explanatory 

Statement submitted by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on 

Appropriations explaining the fiscal year 2008 Supplemental 

Appropriations Act directed that up to $10 million of funds made 

available under various accounts, including the Migration and 

Refugee Assistance account, should be made available for programs 

to assist vulnerable Iraqi religious and ethnic minorities. Further, the 

Explanatory Statement directed that the Secretary of State should 

designate staff at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad to oversee and 

coordinate such assistance.

• 2010 directive: In December 2009, in the fiscal year 2010 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress directed that up to $10 

million of ESF account funds should be made available to continue 

programs and activities to assist minority populations in Iraq, including 

religious groups in the Ninewa plain region.

• 2012 directive: In September 2011, the Senate Appropriations 

Committee report accompanying the fiscal year 2012 appropriations 

for the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related 

Programs directed the Secretary of State to submit a report detailing 

U.S. efforts to help ethno-religious minority communities in Iraq, 

including assistance to build an indigenous community police force 

and to support nongovernmental organizations in the Ninewa plain 

region.

As of November 2011, USAID and State reported to Congress that they 

had provided about $40 million in assistance for minority groups in Iraq in 

response to these directives. According to the agencies, USAID provided 

$14.8 million for the 2008 directive;10 USAID and State provided $10.4 

million for the 2008 supplemental directive; and State provided $16.5 

million for the 2010 directive.

 

10Due to a mathematical error, USAID reported $17.1 million instead of $14.8 million in its 

report to Congress. 
 

Page 6 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

In its report to Congress, in response to the 2008 directive, USAID 

officials identified projects that they believed were in support of minority 

groups from six existing programs that were designed broadly to assist all 

Iraqis. However, our analysis of documents found that USAID could not 

demonstrate how it met the provisions of the 2008 directive because of 

three weaknesses. First, USAID documents—specifically, the list of 

projects the agency submitted to Congress—linked only 26 percent of the 

$14.8 million in assistance directly to the Ninewa plain region. Second, 

USAID documents generally did not show whether the projects included 

minority groups among the beneficiaries of the assistance and, 

specifically, whether $8 million of assistance was provided for internally 

displaced families. Third, USAID officials and documents did not 

demonstrate that the agency used unobligated prior year ESF funds to 

initiate projects in response to the 2008 directive.

According to USAID officials, USAID identified projects from six existing 

programs that were designed broadly to assist all Iraqis. These six 

existing programs were implemented countrywide; funded many types of 

activities; and had broad goals related to stabilizing communities and 

developing agriculture, the economy, and essential services. 

Accompanying its report to Congress on the 2008 directive, USAID 

provided a list of 155 projects totaling $14.8 million of assistance to 

minority groups. USAID could not provide information on how the agency 

compiled the list of projects. Table 1 provides a description of the six 

programs and the reported amount of assistance provided in support of 

Iraq’s minority groups for the 2008 directive.

USAID Could Not 

Demonstrate How It 

Met the 2008 Directive

USAID Identified Projects 

from Six Existing 

Programs
 

Page 7 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups 

Table 1: Reported USAID Programs That Included Assistance in Support of Iraq’s Minority Groups for the 2008 Directive 

Program Program purpose 

Approximate 

program valuea

Reported amount of 

assistance provided in 

support of minority groupsb

Program 1 Advance private sector development. $174,000,000 $2,000,000

Program 2 Support the development of agribusiness and 

agricultural markets. 

$170,000,000 $3,115,000

Program 3 Reduce incentives for participation in violent conflict 

through employment generation and youth 

engagement. 

$648,000,000 $132,305

Program 4 Strengthen local governance and capacity building for 

citizen participation in local decision making and 

development. 

$147,000,000 $2,022,477

Program 5 Improve the capacity of communities to better identify 

their needs and of local district councils to meet these 

needs. 

$323,000,000 $7,063,072

Program 6 Provide quick response projects to address and prevent 

community conflicts. 

$16,000,000 $502,195

Total $1,478,000,000 $14,835,049

Source: GAO analysis of USAID data. 

a

The total program value represents the contract value as of November 2011. 

b

USAID could not explain whether the amount represents actual disbursements or initial estimates. 

The $14.8 million in assistance that USAID reported in response to the 

2008 directive represented about 1 percent of the $1.5 billion in 

assistance provided through these six programs. 

Our analysis of USAID documents found that USAID could not 

demonstrate that it met the provisions of the 2008 directive because of 

three weaknesses. First, although USAID reported that it provided $14.8 

million in assistance to minority groups through existing programs to meet 

the 2008 directive, its documents could link only $3.82 million (26 

percent) of that amount to the Ninewa plain region. The documents linked 

$1.67 million (11 percent) of the assistance to areas outside of the 

Ninewa plain region. USAID documents did not provide sufficient detail to 

determine the location of the remaining $9.35 million (63 percent). 

Second, USAID documents generally did not show whether the projects 

included minority groups among the beneficiaries of the assistance and 

whether $8 million was provided specifically for internally displaced 

families. According to USAID officials, the agency generally did not track 

its beneficiaries by religious affiliation. For $14.7 million of the $14.8 

USAID Could Not 

Demonstrate How It Met 

the Provisions of the 2008 

Directive 
 

Page 8 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

million in assistance, USAID documents did not provide sufficient detail 

for us to determine that Iraqi minority groups were among the 

beneficiaries of all of the projects. Only 1 of the 155 projects ($66,707 out 

of $14.8 million) provided sufficient detail in its documents for us to 

determine that the assistance was directed to internally displaced 

families; however, the location of that project was outside of the Ninewa 

plain region. While USAID documents listed $2 million in funding for a 

microfinance institution, USAID officials were unable to provide detail on 

whether all of these loans were disbursed in the Ninewa plain region.

Third, USAID officials and documents did not demonstrate that the 

agency used unobligated prior year ESF funds to initiate projects in 

response to the 2008 directive. USAID could document that the agency 

used unobligated prior year funds for two of the six programs after the 

date of the 2008 directive. However, according to USAID officials, the 

agency did not use unobligated prior year funds for the remaining four 

programs. 

According to USAID and State documents, the agencies approved $26.9 

million in assistance11 to meet the 2008 supplemental and the 2010 

directives’ provisions to spend up to $10 million for each directive to 

assist religious and ethnic minority groups in Iraq. In addition, as directed 

by Congress, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad designated staff at the 

embassy to oversee and coordinate assistance to minority groups in 

2008. Using the Quick Response Fund (QRF) Program, USAID and State 

took five steps that generally demonstrated how they met the 2008 

supplemental and 2010 directives.12

 

11The total approved amount of assistance represents the total of initial approved project 

estimates.

First, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad 

directed that the support of minority groups be made one of the thematic 

goals of the QRF program in 2008. Second, USAID and State categorized 

projects in their respective QRF databases by thematic goal. Third, the 

U.S. embassy in Baghdad and its Provincial Reconstruction Teams 

12In August 2007, State established the QRF program as a flexible mechanism to enable 

PRTs in Iraq to support local entities through short-term projects generally lasting no more 

than 1 year. The USAID component of the QRF program became known as the Iraq Rapid 

Assistance Program and the State component continued to be known as the QRF 

program. For the purposes of this report, we do not distinguish between these two 

components of the QRF program.

USAID and State 

Generally Could 

Demonstrate How 

They Met the 2008 

Supplemental and 

2010 Directives
 

Page 9 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

(PRTs)13 conducted outreach to inform potential beneficiaries of the 

availability of assistance through the QRF program. Fourth, PRTs or the 

QRF implementing partner conducted final site visits and prepared project 

close-out reports. Fifth, both USAID and State conducted third-party 

assessments at the close of their respective components of the QRF 

program. The QRF program closed and the PRTs ceased their operations 

by the end of 2011, as planned. However, according to USAID and State 

officials, the two agencies continue to assist minority groups through the 

obligation of an additional $28 million in reprogrammed ESF funds from 

previous years.

According to USAID and State documents, the agencies approved $26.9 

million in assistance for minority groups, primarily through the QRF 

program.14

USAID and State approved 36 projects in response to the 2008 

supplemental directive and 90 projects in response to the 2010 directive. 

QRF projects utilized four funding mechanisms: micro-grants, micropurchases, grants, and direct procurements. Micro-purchases and microgrants were used for projects costing up to $25,000; grants and direct 

procurements were used for projects costing over $25,000. Projects 

included procuring hospital equipment, paving roads, and constructing 

water lines, among others and fell into four major categories (see table 2 

below). 

Specifically, both agencies approved assistance totaling $10.3 

million in response to the 2008 supplemental directive and State 

approved $16.5 million of assistance in response to the 2010 directive. 

For the 2008 supplemental directive, the agencies approved assistance in 

support of minority groups in four provinces. For the 2010 directive, State 

approved assistance in eight provinces. At least $4.8 million of this 

assistance was linked to the locations mentioned in the directive. 

 

13PRTs were joint civilian-military groups consisting of diplomats, military officers, and 

other specialists with expertise ranging from development and entrepreneurship to 

engineering and the rule of law. They were created by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, in 

2005, to increase the capacity of Iraqi provincial and local governments to govern 

effectively. PRTs coordinated U.S. government efforts in Iraq through engagement with 

local communities. The Office of Provincial Affairs directed and supported the operations 

of PRTs and provided direction to its team members. Most PRTs were collocated with and 

supported by U.S. forces in Iraq. 

14About $940,000 of this assistance was approved through USAID’s Civil Society Conflict 

Mitigation Program and Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. 

USAID and State Approved 

$26.9 Million in Assistance 

for Minority Groups
 

Page 10 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups 

Table 2: State- and USAID-Funded Projects, by Category, for the 2008 Supplemental 

and 2010 Directives 

2008 supplemental directive projects 

Initial estimate of

assistance provideda

Essential services and humanitarian assistance $5,912,115

Education and training $2,434,120

Economic development $2,004,588

Subtotal $10,350,823

2010 directive projects 

Essential services and humanitarian assistance $8,202,229

Education and training $5,992,015

Economic development $1,532,958

Cultural preservation/public awareness $778,235

Subtotal $16,505,437

Grand total $26,856,260

Sources: GAO analysis of USAID and State data. 

a

The “initial estimate of assistance provided” equals the initial project proposal estimates that were 

approved by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. 

Reported projects varied in cost and scope, ranging from about $2,000 to 

$1.6 million. For example, in response to the 2008 supplemental directive, 

USAID reported that it initially approved $1.3 million to assist in the 

reconstruction of a village that suffered significant damage from a 

coordinated car-bomb attack. In response to the 2010 directive, State 

reported that it initially approved $458,000 for a project in a municipality 

that had an influx of internally displaced Christians. 

According to State officials, the final disbursed amount of assistance likely 

will be lower than the amount of assistance initially approved and 

reported to Congress because many projects cost less than the initial 

approved estimate. State officials told us that they completed reconciling 

project disbursed amounts for the QRF program in early March 2012. 

According to these officials, the final disbursed amount was about the 

same as the approved amount for the 2008 supplemental directive and 

$420,000 less than the approved amount for the 2010 directive. 
 

Page 11 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

State met the provision of the 2008 supplemental directive to designate 

staff at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad to oversee and coordinate 

assistance to minority groups. In 2008, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad 

announced the appointment of a special coordinator for minority issues 

and has since appointed only senior staff15

Moreover, in January 2011, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad established a 

working group for minority issues to further coordinate interagency efforts 

and outreach to minority communities. This working group, led by the 

special coordinator, meets on a monthly basis and includes 

representatives from State, USAID, and the Departments of Justice and 

Defense. According to U.S. embassy officials, the special coordinator 

intends to continue to coordinate the U.S. embassy’s efforts in support of 

minority groups during fiscal year 2012.

to that position, which is 

evidence—according to State officials—of State’s prioritization of 

assistance in support of minority groups. The current special coordinator, 

who is an ambassador as well as the Assistant Chief of Mission for 

Assistance Transition in Iraq, told us that he conducts outreach to Iraq’s 

minority communities, including religious leaders and members of the 

Iraqi diaspora in the United States. In addition, he said that State 

organizes dialogues and meetings for Iraqi religious minority group 

leaders in an effort to improve connections and interactions among

Christian minority communities in Iraq.

USAID and State could generally demonstrate how they met the 2008 

supplemental and 2010 directives through their use of the QRF program, 

which served as the primary mechanism for the agencies to categorize, 

track, monitor, and report on minority directive projects, among others.

Specifically, the agencies took the following five steps to provide 

assistance that supported minority groups through the QRF program:

• Made minority directive projects one of the goals of the QRF program.

As directed by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the Office of Provincial 

Affairs made support of minority groups one of the thematic goals of 

the QRF program in 2008. Thus, USAID and State initiated new 

 

15According to State officials, since 2008, three Deputy Assistant Secretaries of State for 

Iraq have served as the special coordinator for Iraq’s minority issues. State officials said 

this role enabled each of the Deputy Assistant Secretaries to maintain a close focus on 

the challenges facing Iraq’s minority groups while developing Iraq policy.

State Designated Staff at 

the U.S. Embassy in 

Baghdad to Meet a 

Provision in the 2008 

Supplemental Directive

USAID and State Took Five 

Steps That Generally 

Demonstrated How They 

Met the 2008 Supplemental 

and 2010 Directives
 

Page 12 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

projects through the PRTs in support of this goal at that time. State 

established the QRF program in 2007 to enable PRTs in Iraq to 

support local entities through short-term projects to fill gaps that were 

not funded through existing programs. QRF projects under $25,000 

were implemented by PRTs and projects over $25,000 mostly were 

implemented by USAID or State’s implementing partner. 

• Categorized projects. USAID and State officials categorized projects 

in the agencies’ respective QRF program databases by thematic goal. 

The agency officials categorized projects in support of minority groups 

as “Minority Directive” upon initiation, which allowed them to track 

these projects for reporting purposes. For the 14 projects that we 

spot-checked, the agencies were able to provide supporting 

documents from their databases that included information about the 

projects and showed that projects were categorized as “Minority 

Directive.” Further, as a result of categorizing projects, the agencies 

were able to produce lists that reported the amount of assistance 

approved in support of minority groups for each directive. These lists 

also showed that numerous minority groups were beneficiaries. 

• Conducted outreach to identify potential beneficiaries. To inform 

potential beneficiaries of the availability of assistance through the 

QRF program, PRTs and the special coordinator for minority issues in 

Baghdad conducted informal outreach to community members, 

religious leaders, elected officials, and civil society groups. For 

example, the special coordinator met with minority group leaders to 

discuss funding needs for projects, such as promoting private 

investment opportunities. In addition, the agencies identified potential 

beneficiaries through existing U.S. military and USAID relationships 

with Iraqi officials and organizations. 

• Conducted final site visits and prepared close-out reports. According 

to USAID and State officials, PRTs or the QRF program implementing 

partner conducted final site visits and prepared project close-out 

reports. We found that the implementing partner prepared close-out 

reports for all 14 projects that we spot-checked. In the close-out 

reports, the implementing partner reported on whether the grant 

objectives were met and whether the grantee met all of their 

responsibilities and reporting requirements, among others. In addition, 

the implementing partner received a final report from the grant 

recipient that included information on the project’s impact and on its 

beneficiaries. Because the security situation hindered the agencies’ 

ability to independently verify the implementing partner’s reports, both 

agencies relied on American and local PRT staff and, in some cases, 
 

Page 13 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

the U.S military to verify the implementing partner’s reports through 

photographs and site visits. However, according to USAID and State 

officials, PRTs did not always complete or document site visits for all 

projects. State officials said that site visits by U.S. government 

personnel could compromise the security of project sites and Iraqi 

recipients.

• Conducted third-party assessments. Both USAID and State 

conducted third-party assessments at the close of their respective 

components of the QRF program. Completed in 2010, the USAID 

evaluation concluded that the information reported by the 

implementing partner was valid and recipients received the equipment 

that was agreed upon in the grant agreement. As of February 2012, 

State had not finalized its third party’s QRF program evaluation. 

During our fieldwork in Iraq, Iraqi recipients told us that assistance 

reached their communities.16

The QRF program—which served, among other things, as USAID’s and 

State’s primary mechanism to provide, categorize, track, monitor, and 

report on assistance to minority groups in Iraq from 2008 to 2011—ended 

in December 2011. Further, PRTs—which helped identify and monitor 

QRF projects—ceased operations during the drawdown of U.S. forces 

from Iraq during 2011. U.S. forces completely withdrew from Iraq in 

December 2011.

According to USAID and State officials, the two agencies have continued 

to assist Iraq’s minority groups through the obligation of an additional $28 

million in reprogrammed ESF funds from prior fiscal years. USAID 

officials told us they obligated $18 million through a program for 

microfinance loans to members of minority groups in September 2011. 

State officials told us that they obligated $10 million, in September 2011, 

to support one project outside of Baghdad. According to officials from 

both agencies, they have mechanisms in place to categorize, track, 

monitor, and report on assistance to minority groups.

According to State officials, State intends to continue providing assistance 

for minority groups in Iraq in fiscal year 2012. However, the officials could 

 

16We met with Iraqi recipients of assistance who collectively represented about 30 percent 

of the total assistance provided in response to the 2008 supplemental and 2010 directives.

USAID and State Continue 

to Provide and Track 

Assistance to Iraq’s 

Minority Groups
 

Page 14 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

not discuss State’s plans for providing assistance because, as of March 

20, 2012, State had not yet determined its funding allocations for Iraq for 

fiscal year 2012.

We provided drafts of this report to State and USAID. Both agencies 

submitted technical comments on the draft that were incorporated, as 

appropriate. State did not submit an agency comment letter in response 

to the draft. In its agency comment letter, USAID remarked that despite 

GAO’s findings, USAID met the needs of internally displaced persons and 

religious minorities to a greater extent than is presented in this report (see 

app. II). However, USAID did not provide additional documentation to 

support its statement. We continue to believe that USAID could not 

demonstrate how its reported assistance met the provisions of the 2008 

directive.

We are sending copies of this report to interested congressional 

committees, the Secretary of State, and the Administrator of USAID. The 

report is also available at no charge on the GAO Web site at 

http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff members have any questions, please contact me at 

(202) 512-3149 or gootnickd@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of 

Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page 

of this report. GAO staff who made key contributions to this report are 

listed in appendix III.

David Gootnick

Director, International Affairs and Trade

Agency Comments 

and Our Evaluation
 

Page 15 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

List of Requesters

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith

Chairman

Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, 

 and Human Rights

Committee on Foreign Affairs

House of Representatives

The Honorable Thomas A. Coburn

United States Senate

The Honorable Richard J. Durbin

United States Senate

The Honorable Mark Kirk

United States Senate

The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse

United States Senate

The Honorable Gus Bilirakis

House of Representatives

The Honorable Dan Burton

House of Representatives

The Honorable Dennis Cardoza

House of Representatives

The Honorable Anna G. Eshoo

House of Representatives

The Honorable Trent Franks

House of Representatives

The Honorable Jim Moran

House of Representatives

The Honorable Sue Myrick

House of Representatives
 

Page 16 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

The Honorable Gary C. Peters

House of Representatives

The Honorable Ted Poe

House of Representatives

The Honorable Jan Schakowsky

House of Representatives

The Honorable Frank R. Wolf

House of Representatives
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 17 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

Our objectives were to examine the extent to which (1) the U.S. Agency 

for International Development (USAID) demonstrated that the assistance 

it reported to Congress met the 2008 directive and (2) USAID and the 

Department of State (State) demonstrated that the assistance they 

reported to Congress met the 2008 supplemental and 2010 directives. 

This report is a publicly releasable version of a prior GAO report, issued 

in May 2012, that State and USAID had designated Sensitive But 

Unclassified.

To address the first objective, we reviewed the provisions of the 2008 

directive and analyzed USAID’s report to Congress and a list of projects 

summarizing the reported amount of assistance provided in response to 

the 2008 directive. To determine (1) the amount of assistance that USAID 

provided in the Ninewa plain region and (2) if minority groups were 

among the beneficiaries, we analyzed the list of projects and project 

descriptions to identify locations where possible and beneficiaries where 

identified. We also reviewed program documents, including program 

evaluations and contracts. We interviewed USAID officials in Washington, 

D.C., and Iraq, as well as former USAID-Iraq program managers in 

Washington, D.C., and via teleconference in Cairo, Egypt.

To address the second objective, we analyzed (1) the provisions of the 

2008 supplemental and 2010 directives; (2) State’s report to Congress 

summarizing assistance in response to the 2008 supplemental and 2010 

directives; and (3) USAID and State’s project lists. The project lists for the 

2008 supplemental and the 2010 directives included information such as 

the project name, grant identification number, project description, project 

location, minority group served, and the initial approved estimate of each 

project’s cost. We asked State to provide us with project lists that 

included the recipient’s name. State officials told us that they could not 

provide us with this information due to security concerns. However, we 

determined that the project lists were sufficiently reliable for our purposes 

by interviewing agency officials in Washington, D.C., and reviewing the 

QRF database, in Iraq, that was used to create the lists. To address the 

second objective, we also (1) interviewed USAID and State officials in 

Washington, D.C., and Iraq; (2) conducted a spotcheck of project 

documents, such as proposals and close-out reports; and (3) conducted 

fieldwork in Baghdad and Erbil, Iraq, in October 2011. For the spotcheck, 

we judgmentally selected 14 of the 126 projects to include a crosssection 

of characteristics such as year (2008 or 2010), funding amount, and type 

of project (i.e., procurement, training, etc.). We also interviewed USAID 

and State officials in Washington, D.C., and Iraq (including former 

Provincial Reconstruction Team staff); USAID and State’s implementing 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 18 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

partner; and Iraqi recipients of assistance, such as officials of religious 

and nongovernmental organizations. During our fieldwork, we met with 14 

Iraqi recipients of assistance who received funding for 28 of the 126

projects and collectively represented about 30 percent of the $26.9 million 

in assistance provided in response to the 2008 supplemental and 2010 

directives. However, their views are not generalizable to all recipients of 

this assistance. Due to security constraints, we were able to visit only one 

project site in Iraq, which is located in Baghdad. This site received one of 

the largest amounts of funds for the 2008 supplemental and 2010 

directives.

We conducted this performance audit from June 2011 to July 2012 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 

sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives. 
Appendix II: Comments from the U.S. Agency 

for International Development

Page 19 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

Appendix II: Comments from the U.S. Agency 

for International Development
Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

Page 20 GAO-12-834 Iraqi Minority Groups

David Gootnick, (202) 512-3149, gootnickd@gao.gov

Key contributors to this report include Judith McCloskey (Assistant 

Director), Jenna Beveridge, Lisa McMillen, and Sushmita Srikanth. In 

addition, Debbie Chung, Martin De Alteriis, Etana Finkler, Mary Moutsos, 

and Michael Rohrback provided technical assistance.

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments 

GAO Contact

Staff 

Acknowledgments

(320910)
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