CUBA COMPLAINS OF STREET SIGN POSTED BY NEW YORK CITY AT INTERSECTION NEAR ITS UNITED NATIONS MISSION

14 May 1996

Press Release
HQ/564

CUBA COMPLAINS OF STREET SIGN POSTED BY NEW YORK CITY AT INTERSECTION NEAR ITS UNITED NATIONS MISSION

19960514 Naming of `Brothers to the Rescue Corner' Called Deliberate Affront; United States, Citing Local Responsibility, Says Matter to Be Reviewed

Suggestions for resolving problems faced by diplomats relating to security, claims of financial indebtedness, and vehicle parking were made during this morning's meeting of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country.

The representative of Cuba said the placing of a sign naming a city intersection a few feet away from the Cuban Mission "Brothers to the Rescue Corner" was a deliberate affront, in which the Mayor of New York City was involved, and it went against the host country's duty to protect Member States. The Cuban delegate asked that the sign be removed as soon as possible; if the United States objected, his delegation would request the matter be viewed by the General Assembly.

The representative of the United States said the issue would be reviewed by his Government, and discussed at a later Committee meeting. He said the action was the responsibility of New York City and not of federal authorities. In addition, he emphasized his country's constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech. The representative of the Russian Federation said a recurring problem for diplomats at one of the arrival terminals at JFK airport had been successfully resolved. However, the parking problems remained. The representative of Costa Rica expressed concern over the lack of space at the United Nations garage, mainly affecting diplomats without drivers.

Also this morning, the Chairman of the Working Group on Indebtedness briefed the Committee. The representatives of France, the United Kingdom and the Observer of Switzerland also took part in the discussions. The Committee Chairman, Nicos Agathocleous (Cyprus), announced that appropriate steps were being taken by both the host country Mission and the New York City Commission in order to organize a meeting with the Mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani.

The Committee on Relations with the Host Country will meet again at a time to be announced.

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on Relations with the Host Country met this morning to discuss the security of missions and the safety of their personnel; the responsibilities of permanent missions to the United Nations and their personnel, in particular, the problem of claims of financial indebtedness; the rationalization of the work of the Committee; and other matters.

Statements

BRUNO RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba) invited Committee members to view a three-minute video showing a street sign placed on the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 38th Street, where the Permanent Mission of Cuba is located. He said the sign placed on a lamp post says "Brothers to the Rescue Corner" and was put up on 3 May 1996, at a ceremony presided by the Mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani, within the security zone surrounding the Cuban Mission.

He said Cuba considered the placing of the plaque "a deliberate affront". It also showed "implicit support" on the part of New York City authorities for terrorist activities. The security of the Mission of Cuba and the dignity, security and integrity of its diplomats had already been affected, and would continue to be affected.

On 3 May, he continued, Cuba had denounced the upcoming ceremony through a diplomatic note, but the ceremony went ahead as planned, and included "a slanderous speech" by the Mayor. Placing the plaque within the security zone exacerbated the risks for Cuban diplomats.

He said the host country should act consistently with its responsibilities towards all Missions accredited to the United Nations. This was not the first offence committed by the Mayor of New York City towards Member States of the United Nations. There had been incidents, he said, during the commemoration of the United Nations fiftieth anniversary.

With respect to international diplomatic law, the International Law Commission had made clear that the receiving State or host country should take special measures to maintain order.

The United States Government had said that the placing of the sign, only a few feet from the entrance to the Mission, was a private act. Baptizing that corner "Brothers to the Rescue", he continued, was like calling it "Montana Militia Corner" or "Unabomber Corner". He then invited members to view video images, taken from the news bulletin of a local television station, showing activities of the "Brothers to the Rescue" organization.

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VICTOR MARRERO (United States) said the city of New York had acted entirely on its own when it renamed the street in front of the Permanent Mission of Cuba. The naming of streets in his country was the province of local authorities. Also, arrangements had been made to ensure that the Cuban Mission would be able to carry out its functions. In addition, the Cuban Mission received 24-hour daily police protection, and each of its complaints concerning the safety of its personnel received immediate attention.

Demonstrators would not be permitted to use the north-east corner of Lexington Avenue and 38th Street as a rallying point for demonstrations, Mr. Marrero said. In addition, objects would not be permitted to be left on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 38th Street in front of or below the sign, as a tribute to the victims of the shooting down of the civilian airplane piloted by "Brothers to the Rescue". Furthermore, a second sign would be placed in the approved demonstrations area at the south-west corner of the intersection. He guaranteed the security of all the members of the Mission of Cuba.

Mr. RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba), replying, said it was not the business of the Cuban Mission to remove the offensive sign, and the implementation of international legal obligations could be measured in meters or yards. The step taken by the Mayor was particularly serious because of the context, namely, terrorist activities against Cuba, and specifically the incident of 24 February which had had tragic consequences, and the new violations of Cuban air space on 23-24 March.

The placing of the plaque was a public activity by the public authorities; it did not have anything to do with freedom of speech or freedom of assembly. If the United States would not object, Cuba would ask the authorities to remove the sign as soon as possible, as a step towards implementation by the host country of its obligations to protect the security of Member States and the physical and moral integrity of diplomats. If there was an objection from the United States, Cuba would use all means available to ensure that the matter was examined by the General Assembly.

Mr. MARRERO (United States) said the whole matter should be considered by the Committee; his delegation was in contact with local authorities about it.

Mr. RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba) asked if anyone had any objection to the removal of the plaque. And for how long would the Committee consider the question?

HUBERT LEGAL (France) said that even though the legal merits of the removal of the plaque could not be discussed, the matter deserved certain consideration. The issue was clearly not the responsibility of the federal

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authorities but of local authorities. However, he hoped the federal authorities would react.

ELIZABETH WILMSHURST (United Kingdom) suggested that the Committee wait until after the United States discussed the matter, and then held a meeting on it.

Mr. MARRERO (United States) said his Government took such issues very seriously, but the matter of free speech should be kept in mind.

JORGE SANCHEZ, Chairman of the Working Group on Indebtedness, said the lack of knowledge of fiscal and tax immunity brought about many problems. The Working Group would continue to deal with such issues and was open to suggestions.

DIDIER PFIRTER (Switzerland) said the matter of indebtedness was of concern not only in New York, but in Geneva as well. He hoped that in the future the figures from Geneva would be published together with those of New York. The Geneva figures indicated that the total debt of Missions was $4.7 million. His country hoped that in the future the United Nations would take up the issue from a global view point.

ROBERT MOLLER (United States) said that in the area of indebtedness, what stood out was the lack of health care and health plans for diplomats who came to the United States without health insurance. The high cost of medical treatment in the United States caused individual hardship as well. The solution could be found by working together. The Chairman of the Committee could address a letter and questionnaire to Member States, soliciting information on local health care needs and suggestions for a primary health care system. A synthesis of all suggestions could be made and the results made known to the Committee.

Mr. LEGAL (France) welcomed the United States initiative and suggested that the health problem be separated from indebtedness, as they were two distinct issues.

Mr. MOLLER (United States) said that most of the debt incurred by the Missions involved health and hospital bills. "If we can remove it, we will reduce the debt." At this time, it would not be appropriate to separate the two issues.

The Committee CHAIRMAN said that France had only suggested separating the issue as an item within the indebtedness problem. He also suggested that the Committee study prospects for cheaper insurance.

NICOS AGATHOCLEONS (Cyprus), the Committee Chairman, said that in light of the severe budget constraints faced by the Organization, three

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recommendations had been set out by General Assembly resolution 50/206 C -- that the Committee should endeavour to finish its work in four regular meetings, that it should meet on time, and that its annual report be shorter.

SERGUEI KAREV (Russian Federation) agreed in principle with the recommendations made by the Bureau, in the sense that efforts should be made to reduce the number of meetings. But the Committee should at least meet once every quarter, and at least one of those meetings would be devoted to the adoption of its report, which meant that there would probably be five meetings, he said. He agreed with all other recommendations.

EMILIA CASTRO DE BARISH (Costa Rica) said that when an urgent need arose, an extraordinary meeting could be requested; meetings could perhaps be made more succinct.

Mr. KAREV (Russian Federation) noted that the matter of going through the Delta terminal at JFK airport was resolved successfully; a line for diplomats had been established, though at present the sign indicating the line was only visible to immigration officials and not to the public.

There was still a problem with parking, he said; as of the 10 assigned places, seven were taken by squad cars and only three by Russian Mission vehicles, which caused problems resulting in many parking tickets being issued. He did not doubt that the number of tickets issued to diplomats found their way to local newspapers, which published every so often "what awful diplomats" they were.

Mrs. CASTRO DE BARISH (Costa Rica) asked why diplomatic cars received fines when they parked in non-diplomatic spots, but those who were not diplomats did not get tickets when they parked in diplomatic spots. She expressed concern for those diplomats who did not have the "luxury" of having drivers to wait for them while they parked in illegal areas.

Mr. MOLLER (United States) suggested that a meeting be held with the new Police Commissioner in order to discuss several issues of concern to the Missions.

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