UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE INFORMS HOST COUNTRY COMMITTEE OF EFFORTS BY HIS GOVERNMENT TO DEVISE NEW PROGRAMME FOR DIPLOMATIC PARKING

2 July 1997

Press Release
HQ/577

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE INFORMS HOST COUNTRY COMMITTEE OF EFFORTS BY HIS GOVERNMENT TO DEVISE NEW PROGRAMME FOR DIPLOMATIC PARKING

19970702 Travel Restriction Matters, Including Denial of Visa, Among Issues Addressed by Representatives of Cuba, Russian Federation and Iraq

The United States Government had asked the City of New York to devise a "new and comprehensive programme" for diplomatic parking, the Committee on Relations with the Host Country was told this morning as it took up diplomatic parking and host country travel restrictions.

The representative of the United States told the Committee that he was confident that the new diplomatic parking programme would be fair, non- discriminatory, efficient and consistent with local and international law. Problems continued, however, he said. The City had not yet agreed to re- install a number of diplomatic parking signs taken down in the first weeks of April, and diplomatic vehicles still occasionally received parking tickets for lack of inspection or registration stickers or for obscured vehicle identification numbers.

Also this morning, the representative of Cuba told the Committee that the host country had denied requests of Cuban Mission staff to travel within the United States and had even denied a visa to a Cuban Government official seeking to attend a meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Washington, D.C.

The representative of the Russian Federation urged the host country to lift travel restrictions in a manner consistent with international law and with the spirit of the post cold-war era.

Further this morning, the representative of Iraq said that the granting of visas to Iraqi delegates had been delayed. The representative of the United States said that he would inquire, but that the State Department had received an unusually large number of visa requests recently in conjunction with the special session of the General Assembly.

On other matters, the Committee agreed that its Chairman should meet with a health insurance provider which has expressed interest in providing policies to the New York diplomatic community.

The Committee will meet again at a time to be announced in the Journal.

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on Relations with the Host Country met this morning to resume its consideration of transportation issues, including the use of motor vehicles, parking and related matters; host country travel regulations and other matters.

At its last meeting, on 10 April, the Committee, by a vote of 13 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 1 abstention (United Kingdom), recommended that the General Assembly resume, as a matter of urgency, consideration of its report on questions relating to the parking of diplomatic vehicles.

Since the 10 April meeting, the Committee held informal consultations on 18 April and on 2 May. Those meetings were followed by the third meeting of the working group on the use of diplomatic vehicles, parking and related matters, on 7 May.

The Committee has before it a letter from its Chairman, Nicos Agathocleous (Cyprus) (document A/51/880) which transmits an 18 April letter from the representative of the United States addressed to him. The letter states that following consultations with the United Nations Legal Counsel, the host country revised elements of the diplomatic parking programme which, according to the Counsel's opinion, had raised concerns. Discussions between the Permanent Representative of the United States and the Mayor of New York City regarding those changes had not been concluded, according to the letter. Consequently, implementation of the programme has been deferred.

A 24 April letter from the Russian Federation to the Chairman of the Committee (document A/AC.154/312) contains a working paper which states that the new parking programme had been implemented without consultations with the Committee on Relations with the Host Country, as provided for by General Assembly resolution 51/163 of 16 December 1996.

The letter states that maintaining the previously existing parking arrangements would be the "most desirable" alternative. Barring that possibility, it proposes that missions be assigned additional parking spaces; that official vehicles of all permanent representatives be issued special temporary parking permits, placing them all on the same footing; that a necessary quantity of temporary, "bearer" parking permits be issued for use by mission staff; that the level of personal responsibility of police officers for issuing unjustified tickets be raised; and that vehicles without diplomatic plates occupying spaces reserved for diplomatic parking be promptly towed. As for the payment by mission staff of justified tickets for illegal parking, recourse could be had to procedures contained in the recommendations of the Working Group on Indebtedness, according to the paper.

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Regarding host country travel regulations, the Committee has before it a 4 June letter from Cuba (document A/AC.154/313) which transmits two notes verbales from the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United States Mission. The notes describe denials by the host country of requests for authorization for travel within the United States for the Permanent Representative of Cuba and for other Mission staff; and the denial by the United States State Department of a visa for a Cuban government official to participate in a meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Washington, D.C. The notes state that the denial of those requests without explanation were in contradiction with both the letter and the spirit of the Host Country Agreement.

The Committee also has before it a 1 July letter from the host country to the Committee Chairman (document A/AC.154/314), which transmits a note verbale of the same date from the United States Mission to the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations. That note verbale states that the United States looks forward to the day when national security concerns were such that all travel restrictions could be lifted. The note states that the applicable principles of conventional and customary international law neither prohibit the imposition of travel restrictions nor entitle affected individuals to unrestricted travel throughout the United States.

Statements

ROBERT MOLLER (United States) said his Mission had received and passed on to some Member States' recommendations on diplomatic parking to the City and asked it to consider them favourably when devising a new and comprehensive programme for diplomatic parking. The United States Mission and the City had held several meetings on the matter, and he was confident that they would agree on a diplomatic parking programme that was fair, non-discriminatory, efficient and consistent with both local and international law.

In the light of the publicity surrounding the issue, there had been indications that the number of parking tickets issued to diplomatic vehicles had dropped substantially in the last three months, he said. That would indicate that the driver of diplomatic cars were trying to avoid parking illegally. On the other hand, the Mission was aware that problems continued. The City had not yet agreed to re-install the number of diplomatic parking signs taken down in the first weeks of April. The United States Mission was also aware that diplomatic vehicles still occasionally received parking tickets for lack of inspection or registration stickers or for lack of or obscured vehicle identification number. Such tickets issued to the diplomatic vehicles were invalid, and the Mission had persuaded the City to dismiss those tickets.

He said the United States Mission had acted as liaison between the City and diplomatic missions to the United Nations. It was concerned that the City had been sending missions and mission members' notices threatening to seize

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diplomatic vehicles or attack property to counteract unpaid parking tickets. Such actions contradicted international law and the principle of diplomatic inviolability. Recipients of those notices should question their validity with the City directly or through the United States Mission. The United States delegation would continue to work with the City to develop a parking programme which satisfied the City's health and traffic concerns, allowed the diplomatic community to perform its tasks and conformed with international law.

He thanked the diplomatic community for its renewed policy of obeying the City's parking laws. "Diplomats are not above the law, and diplomatic immunity is not to be used to avoid complying with the law", he said. "We, as the host country, expect diplomats to conduct themselves in a proper manner when a guest in the United States. The host country also feels strongly that members of the diplomatic community as a group must not and will not receive discriminatory treatment."

BRUNO RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba) asked whether the United States delegation would provide information on the foreign policy bills before both chambers of Congress which would impose sanctions on countries that did not pay their tickets. If adopted, the bills would have the United States cut its aid to offending countries by about 110 per cent of the value of unpaid parking tickets.

Mr. MOLLER (United States) said it was premature to take a position on the bills since they had not yet been enacted into law. "I don't think the Cuban delegation should worry since it doesn't receive any aid from the United States Government", he added.

Mr. RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba) said that the Permanent Mission of Cuba was of the view that the practice of limiting travel without explanation violated the letter and spirit of the Host Country Agreement. It also contravened the spirit of diplomatic privileges and immunities that the host country was obliged to promote, and interfered with the normal functioning of the Permanent Mission of Cuba. The host country should promote compliance with international obligations and agreements, he stressed.

He had carefully read the note verbale of the United States sent yesterday in response to the notes verbales of the Permanent Mission of Cuba, he said. In reading the document, he had had to "double-check" the dates because the language seemed of another letter. The United States note verbale had been a narrow interpretation by the host country of what was lawful and what was not. He found it uncomfortable that staff of the Permanent Mission of Cuba and their families had to fill out a detailed request to travel 100 metres beyond the 25-mile limit restriction established by the host country.

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When the United States Mission refused a travel request, they did so by a telephone call, he said. That practice even extended to travel between Cuban diplomatic offices in New York and Washington, D.C. Cuba was under permanent blockade, he said. United States diplomatic policies were actively placing at risk the normal functioning of the Permanent Mission of Cuba.

Mr. MOLLER (United States) said that the Permanent Mission of Cuba had implied that New York City police had signalled to demonstrators to initiate a "riot" which subjected Cuban diplomats to violence. But, in fact, the New York City Police Department provided 24-hour per day protection to the Permanent Mission of Cuba, and State Department and Secret Service provided protection to Cuban diplomats travelling in the United States. It was "outrageous" to question the sincerity of United States law enforcement officers who literally placed their lives at risk to protect Cuban diplomats. The United States was not ignoring legal instruments on diplomatic privileges and immunities. The travel limitations imposed did not restrict privileges and immunities as regards the normal functions of the Permanent Mission of Cuba.

ALEXANDRE ZMEEVSKI (Russian Federation) said that his Government shared the concerns expressed by the representative of Cuba regarding lifting of travel restrictions on certain diplomatic missions and on United Nations Secretariat staff of certain nationalities. The host country had noted that in 1996 restrictions on travel had not been lifted with respect of any affected Member States. References to the national security of the host country seemed absurd in the wake of the cold war, he said. The problem of travel restrictions needed to be resolved once and for all. The Russian Federation appealed to the host country to do its utmost for a speedy resolution to the travel restrictions problem in full compliance with international law and with due account taken for the present state of international relations.

Mr. RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba) said, regarding an incident that had occurred last week, that the information sent to the United States Mission had been sufficient. He had a note dated 27 June, which stated that the United States Mission had been informed that a high-ranking official of the New York Police Department had contacted the Cuban Mission to explain the security procedures regarding access to the Cuban Mission during the special session of the General Assembly.

He said the issue that should be considered was a procedure whereby access to the Cuban Mission was impeded, as a result of which a government minister and other delegates were denied access to their mission in the vicinity of demonstrators. To allow them into their own mission, someone had to go out of the building in order to identify them even though they carried appropriate identification cards. Cuba would not accept measures to limit or impede the free movement of Cuban diplomats, particularly into and out of their own mission to the United Nations.

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To defend the actions of a super-Power motivated by force would be ridiculous, he continued. Those actions were obsolete and belonged to another era. The Committee should keep the matter under review and have it addressed at the appropriate forums, including the Assembly.

Mr. MOLLER (United States) said, in response to the Russian Federation's statement, that official United Nations travel had never been restricted. "But, those going fishing in Colorado" might not be treated in the same way as those on official duties. As for the matter brought up by Cuba's representative, what that delegate had said was a restatement of his country's interpretation of security measures. The demonstrators by the Cuban Mission had never been in a position to endanger the diplomats returning to the building. It was sometimes necessary to have someone from the Cuban Mission near its entrance to prevent entry into the building through the use of subterfuge. Whenever the Cuban Mission did not want someone on its premises, he would be removed by the appropriate authorities.

MOWAFAK MAHMOUD AYOUB (Iraq) asked why notifications about the holding of the Committee's meeting were not sent out to his mission. He said no Iraqi officials had been allowed out of New York City because their visas specified that they could not venture outside a 25-mile limit. There had also been delays in granting visas to Iraqi officials heading for meetings in New York, while visas were granted to the delegates to the special session only hours before their scheduled departure for the City.

NICOS AGATHOCLEOUS (Cyprus), the Committee Chairman, said that notifications had not been sent to members of the Committee or of the United Nations. The sending of notifications was not standard practice either, as meetings were usually announced days in advance in the Journal, as was the case for the current one.

Mr. MOLLER (United States) said that the State Department visa office had been "inundated" with requests for visas to attend the recent special session of the General Assembly. He would check with his office with regard to the visa request of Iraq.

Mr. RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba) said that it had been a sign of disrespect for the Committee and for the United Nations that, in light of serious concerns raised by his Government, the United States had responded that the Cuban travel requests had been for the purpose of "fishing in Colorado". He was surprised that the Permanent Mission of the United States had defended actions for which the New York Police Department had apologized.

Mr. AGATHOCLEOUS (Cyprus), the Committee Chairman, told the Committee that a questionnaire had been circulated to all permanent missions last year regarding their health care needs. Those questionnaires had been circulated to health care providers which, unfortunately, had not responded. But a representative of the Wellcare Management Group had requested a meeting. He said he would attend that meeting, along with the Chairman of the Committee's Working Group on Indebtedness.

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