SIZE AND COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE ON RELATIONS WITH THE HOST COUNTRY REVIEWED

Press Release
HQ/585

SIZE AND COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE ON RELATIONS WITH THE HOST COUNTRY REVIEWED

The proposal to expand the membership of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country received support this morning from Committee members and Member States joining in the deliberations as observers. The Committee was continuing its debate on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 52/159 by which the Committee was asked to review its size and composition and report to the Sixth Committee (Legal) during the current Assembly session.

The representative of Cuba, whose delegation had originally proposed the expansion, suggested the current membership of 15 be expanded and composed as follows: seven members from Africa; six from Asia; four from Latin America and the Caribbean; three from Eastern Europe; five from Western Europe and other States; and the United States, as host country. The representative of Cuba, who participated as an observer, said the proposal was based on the principle of equitable geographical representation and the increasing number of Member States.

The representatives of the United States and the Russian Federation however, questioned the need for expansion and expressed preference for maintaining the present membership. The representative of the Russian Federation said the existing system, by which the General Assembly President appointed Committee members in consultation with regional groups, was an optimal one.

The representative of the United States said that a reason the Committee had worked so well in the past was because of its relatively small membership. He said the idea that the United States had a veto over the Committee's work was false and the Committee had always operated transparently.

Observers from Malta, Libya, Honduras and Malaysia also spoke during the debate.

Sotirios Zackheos (Cyprus), Committee Chairman, reported that the bureau had been unable to reach consensus during its consultations on expanding the membership of the Committee. However, it had been agreed that the discussion should be taken up by the Committee as a whole.

The next meeting of the Committee would be announced in the Journal.

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on Relations with the Host Country met this morning to continue its discussion of questions related to its membership and composition, as requested by General Assembly resolution 52/159 of 15 December 1997. By the terms of that resolution the Assembly also requested that the host country consider lifting travel controls imposed on staff of certain missions and Secretariat staff of certain nationalities.

In that regard, the Committee had before it two letters -- both addressed to the Chairman of the Committee -- from the Permanent Missions of the United States and Cuba to the United Nations (documents A/AC.154/318 and A/AC.154/319, respectively).

The 15 May letter from the United States contains the text of a note verbale to the Permanent Mission of Cuba explaining United States airport inspection policy. Policies with respect to travel emanating from United States airports or on United States-flag carriers had been designed to protect the security of all air travellers, including United Nations diplomats and their families. No United States Government regulations discriminate against diplomats accredited to the United Nations or their families, who had in their possession their United States State Department identification cards and diplomatic passports. Regulations that might impact nationals of certain countries not part of the United Nations diplomatic community did not fall within the obligations of the United States as host country.

The Cuban letter, dated 14 May, contains a note verbale to the United States on travel restrictions and limitations imposed by the host country on members of certain permanent missions accredited to the United Nations -- including the Permanent Mission of Cuba -- as well as limits and restrictions on staff members of the Secretariat of certain nationalities. Cuba states the authorities of the host country had denied a travel authorization request made in May to allow the Permanent Representative of Cuba to attend the funeral in Washington, D.C., of Dr. Benjamin Spock, the paediatrician internationally recognized for his contribution to the well-being of children. The host country had said that trip had no relation whatsoever to official business of the United Nations.

Cuba considered the denial of the travel authorization request as a lack of observance of its humanitarian character, the note said. It also contradicted the letter and spirit of the Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and United States and ignored international legal instruments on diplomatic privileges and immunities. Cuba urged the host country authorities to promote the implementation of the obligations and international arrangements contracted by the United States Government.

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Statements

SOTIRIOS ZACKHEOS (Cyprus) Chairman of the Host Country Committee, reported on consultations he had had with the Committee's bureau on the issue of membership and composition of the Committee. The general view expressed during those consultations was that the Committee had worked well over the years as an open, transparent and flexible body. No Committee member had the right of veto and any interested delegation could participate in its work as an observer.

Bureau members had not been able to reach "a unified vision on the matter" of expanding the Committee's membership, he said. They had, however, decided that the debate should be moved to the Committee as a whole.

ROBERT MOLLER (United States) said the composition of the Committee was of great importance to his delegation and should be of equal importance to others. As the host country, the United States felt that its views on the composition and the size of the Committee should carry some weight. The Committee had worked well over the decades, in part due to its relatively small membership, he continued. States asking to participate in the Committee as observers had never been denied access and many of the Committee's most important decisions had been taken following requests and presentations by observer delegations.

Advocates of major change in the membership and composition of the Committee had alleged that the Committee was less than transparent and that some members -- presumably the host country itself -- had a veto over the Committee's work, he said. That was a falsehood. The Committee tried to work by consensus, which was easier to reach in a smaller committee than in a larger one. While not convinced of the need for expansion, his country agreed that some form of rotation should be considered to give other countries an opportunity to work on host country matters.

BRUNO E. RODRIGUEZ PARRILLA (Cuba), addressing the Committee as an observer, said it was encouraged by the sizeable number of States which preferred modification of the membership and composition of the Committee based on equitable geographical representation. The change, already being reflected in other United Nations bodies, was necessary to ensure democracy and transparency in the Committee's work. His delegation believed that the current composition of the Committee -- which was 15 -- was highly restrictive, he said. The Committee could not continue to operate in the manner it had since its establishment in 1971. He proposed that the Committee should be made up of seven African States; six from Asia; four from Latin America and the Caribbean; three from Eastern Europe; five from Western Europe and other States; and the host country.

VLADIMIR TARABRIN (Russian Federation) expressed his preference for keeping the existing system by which Committee members were appointed in

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consultation with regional groups, taking into account the principle of equitable geographic representation. If the main body of the Committee remained unchanged, his delegation was ready to consider a certain amount of membership rotation. His delegation was also prepared to consider proposals on a small increase of membership.

GEORGE SALIBA (Malta) said the Committee should be more representative, transparent and democratic. The presence and interventions of observers made the work of the Committee more relevant to all. If the Committee remained closed and non-representative, as it was now, it would discourage the presence of the observers in the future.

He urged expansion of the Committee to reflect the growing membership of the Organization. Rotation was not a solution in this case.

MOHAMED H. MATRI (Libya) addressing the Committee as an observer, said reform of the Committee's membership was required because of the increase in United Nations membership. The host country had a "quasi veto" in the Committee. The Committee's membership must be open-ended to ensure transparency and its ability to deal with all problems encountered by Member States.

NOEMI ESPINOZA MADRID (Honduras) said an increase in the Committee's membership would eventually benefit it and it would better reflect the membership of the United Nations.

MOHHAMA RAMEEZ YAHAYA (Malaysia), also participating as an observer, supported an increase in the Committee's membership to reflect the present size of the United Nations. His delegation did not believe that the Committee membership should not be reviewed just because it had done a good job. It was a question of fair representation.

The CHAIRMAN said that the issue would be further discussed in the Sixth Committee (Legal) later in the year.

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