HOST COUNTRY COMMITTEE DISCUSSES HOUSING FOR DIPLOMATIC PERSONNEL

Press Release
HQ/601

HOST COUNTRY COMMITTEE DISCUSSES HOUSING FOR DIPLOMATIC PERSONNEL

The Committee on Relations with the Host Country met this afternoon to discuss a number of issues, including housing for diplomatic personnel.

The United States representative stressed there was a “seller's market” in New York and that the situation lay primarily between private landlords and individual tenants. The demand by landlords that diplomats waive their diplomatic immunity was of concern to his delegation, the Host Country, which had worked hard to reduce diplomatic debt -- a factor making it even harder for diplomats to obtain housing.

Representatives of Iraq, Malaysia and the Russian Federation addressed the difficulties they and their Mission staff had faced in securing accommodations. The representative of Iraq said that most of the real estate agencies had refused to rent to diplomats, in general, and to personnel of the Iraqi Mission, in particular. Since the Mission was first established in New York, it had never had any sort of problem with real estate agencies or owners and had faithfully observed all of its obligations, yet some building managers had actually said they would not rent to an Iraqi official.

Sotirios Zackheos (Cyprus), Committee Chairman, said that it had come to his attention that several diplomats had been required to execute waivers of their diplomatic immunity in order to lease apartments or houses in the New York area. He would attempt to ascertain whether the problem had been “systematic” or merely “anecdotal”. He informed members of his acceptance of an invitation to speak at the Real Estate Board of New York's Rental Committee regarding the leasing to diplomats of so-called luxury apartments.

Delegations also expressed concern about travel restrictions on officials of certain countries, and on the parking situation in New York, which had impeded diplomats' ability to arrive at the United Nations in a timely fashion to discharge their responsibilities. The question of delays in acquiring visas for travel to the United States was also addressed.

In other business, Gergana Arabadjieva (Bulgaria) was elected Chairperson for the Working Group on Financial Indebtedness.

Statements were also made by the representatives Libya, Cuba, and Cote d'Ivoire.

The representative of Syria participated in the discussion as an observer of the Committee.

The Committee will meet again at a date and time to be announced.

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on Relations with the Host Country met this afternoon to consider the question of housing for diplomatic personnel, activities to assist members of the United Nations community, and other matters.

The Committee was established by the General Assembly in 1971. It replaced the Informal Joint Committee on Host Country Relations established by the Assembly in 1969. It is authorized to deal with questions of security of missions accredited to the United Nations and the safety of their staff, the responsibilities of such missions, and issues relating to diplomatic parking. It also advises the host country on issues arising in connection with the implementation of the Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States.

The Committee was formerly composed of the host country and 14 Member States chosen by the General Assembly President. Following an Assembly resolution in 1998, the membership was increased by four members, one each from the African, Asian, Latin American and Caribbean, and Eastern European States), bringing to 19 the total membership, as follows:

From the African States -– Cote d'Ivoire, Libya, Mali and Senegal; from the Asian States -– China, Cyprus, Iraq, and Malaysia; from the Eastern European States –- Bulgaria, Hungary, Russian Federation; from Latin American and the Caribbean States -– Cuba, Costa Rica, and Honduras; from Western European and other States -– Canada, France, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States.

Documents before the Committee

The Committee had before it a letter from the Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, transmitting a note verbale dated 14 February from the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United States (document A/AC.154/329) referring to the late issuance of an entry visa to Norma Goicochea Estenoz, Cuban expert on the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).

The note verbale expresses the Cuban Government's “deep concern” over the late issuance, without justification, of Ms. Goicochea Estenoz 's entry visa. The Cuban expert should have received her entry visa to the United States on 28 January, according to the previously agreed terms for the issuance of visas, but the visa had not been issued until 2 February, preventing Ms. Goicochea Estenoz from attending the winter session of the Advisory Committee from its outset.

Also according to the note verbale, the Cuban Government had repeatedly requested that Ms. Goicochea Estenoz be granted a multiple-entry visa in order to facilitate her attendance at that expert body, given that the Advisory Committee meets three times per year. In spite of those requests, the United States Government had only granted the visa once.

The note verbale reiterates the request of the Cuban Government that Ms. Goicochea Estenoz be granted a multiple-entry visa or that she be issued her visa on time, in order for her to attend the working sessions of the Advisory Committee on time.

Introductory Remarks by Chairman

SOTIROS ZACHHEOS, Committee Chairman, said that it has come to his attention that several diplomats had been required to execute waivers of their diplomatic immunity in order to lease apartments or houses in the New York area. He wished to ascertain during today's discussion and judging by the experience of the participants, whether this has been a “systematic” problem or merely an “anecdotal" problem. If there was a systematic problem, the matter should be referred to the Working Group on Financial Indebtedness.

In that connection, he informed members that he had accepted an invitation to speak on 22 March at the Real Estate Board of New York's Rental Committee regarding the leasing to diplomats of so-called luxury apartments. He would report the results of that meeting to the next meeting of the Committee.

With respect to the item on host country activities, he said he was grateful to the host country delegation for its efforts in coordinating another safety briefing by the New York City Commission and also for exploring the possibility of making this year's presentation more general in nature, possibly including other New York City departments. For example, it would be desirable to have a presentation on various aspects of living in New York.

On a related matter, he said that Valentin Fuster, the President of the American Heart Association, had indicated an interest in making another presentation on heart related problems. Given the success of last year's presentation, another presentation would be arranged for 28 April at 3:30 p.m. in the Dag Hammerskjold Auditorium. Dr. Fuster would again address heart related health problems and also describe current efforts to establish heart associations in developing countries.

Statements on Housing Questions

ABDUL MUNIM AL-KADHE (Iraq) said that among the complex matters dealt with by his Mission had been the problem, upon the arrival of diplomats, of housing officials in New York. Indeed, he had been among the “victims”. He had lived for nine months in a hotel without being able to find housing. There had been no explanation other than that he was from the Iraqi Mission. Most of the real estate agencies had refused to rent to diplomats, especially from the Iraqi Mission, yet since the Mission was first established in New York, it had never had any sort of problem with real estate agencies or owners and had faithfully observed all of its obligations.

He said that in some buildings, such as the Rivergate on East 34th Street and First Avenue, the rental agent had informed him that the building management had decided not to lease any apartment to members of the Iraqi Mission, as well as that of another State, which he would not mention. That position was clearly contrary to the United States Constitution and United States law.

Consequently, he said, there had been a substantial problem for those in his Mission seeking accommodations. That difficulty had added to the limitations imposed on the Mission, which stipulated that its members could only move among the five boroughs of New York. Thus, in some cases, very large sums of money had had to be disbursed in order to convince landlords to rent or sell to members of the Iraqi Mission. In an action aimed particularly at the Iraqi Mission, some real estate agencies had imposed such conditions as the waiver of diplomatic immunity as a precondition to renting.

MOHAMMAD KAMAL (Malaysia) said he fully sympathized with the comments made by the representative of Iraq. Malaysian diplomats faced several obstacles upon their arrival in New York: rents were expensive and some buildings told them that they were not meant for diplomats, as diplomats were not good tenants. After managing to get the apartments, his Mission's staff had also faced the problem of the provision of the diplomatic clause.

He said that four months ago, he had had a beautiful apartment with a two-year lease, when the landlord had refused to keep the provision of the diplomat clause after one year. That provision had been important to diplomats, who often had to leave New York after one year. Without that provision in place, missions would have to pay the balance of the lease. It should be ensured that the provision remain in the lease agreement for its entirety.

VLADIMIR TARABRIN (Russian Federation) said the question of providing appropriate living conditions in New York and the related problem of liquidating the diplomatic debt were of great importance. The Committee had been concerned about the debt, which was linked to a number of missions. Indeed, a working group had been especially created in 1995 to focus on that problem and had prepared the necessary recommendations.

He said that those recommendations had charged the heads of diplomatic missions with the duty to adopt all necessary measures to guarantee the payment of any money owed, including by Mission staff. On the other hand, concern had been expressed that landlords were presenting such demands as waiving diplomatic immunity as a precondition to housing rentals. Special caution and care was needed to settle the matter. Placing diplomats under the jurisdiction of the host country was illegal and ran counter to international law.

A reasonable balance must be found between the legitimate interest of the citizens of the host country and the diplomatic community. “Housing blackmail” was unacceptable, as was hiding beneath the diplomatic shield. The Government of the host country had the direct obligation to render assistance to mission staff. Hopefully, the relevant organizations in the host country would strive to meet the interests and requirements of mission staff, in order to create a hospitable atmosphere. That included housing, a requirement for the normal functioning of diplomatic missions.

For many years, the relevant authorities had created artificial obstacles, he said. An example had been the case of his housing complex in Riverdale, New York,. which had been issued a permit and then had it recalled under a “trumped up” pretext. At the same time, the engineering status of the building had been extremely unsatisfactory, giving rise to justifiable alarm. A rapid solution to that problem was needed. He welcomed an improvement of the overall situation by the United States, together with local authorities, in order that the host country could fulfil its international obligations.

ROBERT C. MOLLER (United States) said the issue had been a concern of the working group. The Committee Chairman had announced that he would speak before the Real Estate Board in New York, and had been looking for instances of housing problems to bring to that body. However, members should stop using words like “discrimination” and “"trumped up” decisions made by the city to deny permits, without supporting those charges in writing. In some instances, such as in the case of the Russian Federation, the Mission had written to the host country, which had responded. To make a statement to the contrary in the Committee had been inappropriate.

In terms of housing, he said there was a “seller's market” in New York, and those individuals did not take orders from the United States Government. His country's international obligations had also been mentioned in the Committee. Again, such complaints should be made in writing. He could guarantee that, if the United States had violated its international obligations, action would be taken, but the housing situation was between private landlords and individual tenants. The demand by landlords that diplomats waive their diplomatic immunity had been of concern to the host country and the working group. Again, such complaints should be put in writing and sent to either the Committee Chairman or the host country.

He said his country had worked hard to avoid diplomatic debt, but to say it was doing nothing else but that, was erroneous. The diplomatic debt made it harder for diplomats to obtain housing. His country had reduced that debt to a negligible total. The landlords now dealt directly with the United States Mission, which was there to provide advice and make decisions with regard to renting. Just today, he said, he had received a telephone call from a landlord in New Jersey who was trying to decide whether to delete the provision about diplomatic immunity in the lease of a consulate. He had told the landlord that that was “not the way to go”, a position supported by the United States Government and the Mission.

BRADFORD BILLET, of the Office of the New York City Commissioner for the United Nations Consular Corps and Protocol, told the Committee that his office would like to sponsor an educational forum to evaluate and describe city services available to delegations and their families. Some of the topics of the forum might include tips on crime prevention and an explanation of parking and traffic procedures.

He said he thought that the programme might also include experts on specific subjects, such as landlord-tenant obligations. He told the Committee that his office also had legal services at its disposal. He noted, however, that the legal experts could only give advice, not representation.

The CHAIRMAN told the members of the Committee that they must work with the City Commissioner’s Office to coordinate a time for such a presentation. It was his opinion that at least six weeks notice should be given due to the varied commitments of all the delegations.

Mr. Billet told the Committee members that if they could perhaps provide him with a list of ideas about what needs they had or topics they might find interesting or helpful, it would be an important tool his office could use to design a programme to suit their needs.

The Chairman assured Mr. Billet that the Committee would get back to him at a later date.

Statements on Other Matters

ISA AYAD BABAA (Libya) said it should be a high priority for representatives of the host country to create a “good climate” in which all delegations could discharge their international duties without discrimination or differentiation. In that regard, his delegation was deeply concerned about the arbitrary issuance of visas. It was urgent that this problem be addressed and solved as quickly as possible. On the subject of entry visas, he said that it was unfair that visas be restricted to just one member of a family at a time. The delay was often very long, which sometimes left relatives stranded in different parts of the globe. He gave an example of a daughter who had wished to join her family in the United States. The girl was told she had to go to Tunisia to apply for her visa, and, once there, was asked to answer a long list of questions. She was eventually issued a diplomatic passport, but was told that her visa would come from Washington, D.C. The visa had never arrived.

He said that the policy of restricted movement applied to some delegations severely hampered their ability to discharge their international obligations. The members of the Libyan delegation themselves were restricted to movement only within the five boroughs of New York. This frequently prevented delegates from attending out-of-state meetings and conferences. The representative urged the Committee to remove these restrictions so that his and other delegations could be more effective at their jobs. He also suggested the issuance of multiple visas for family members.

He said that there had been some progress achieved in these areas lately. But this was only a “first step” in the right direction. The Committee should urge the Host Country to show flexibility so that those restrictions could be removed gradually. Finally, he said that a colleague had asked him to draw the attention of the Committee to the issue that his car had been towed while parked on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. That delegate was not present, but he hoped to revisit the issue at another meeting.

RAFAEL DAUSA CESPEDES (Cuba) said that he was “in solidarity” with the statement made by the representative of Libya. He denounced the selective discriminatory policies of the authorities of the Host Country, which were not justified and could only be described as politically motivated. The Cuban delegation had suffered from some of the same difficulties, such as travel restrictions, traffic penalties and delays in visa issuance.

He said that he was “profoundly concerned” about the unjustified delay of entry visas to certain Cuban officials. It was the requirement of the Host Country to provide visas to Cuban nationals, or officials from other countries who wished to participate in United Nations functions. He gave several examples, including that of the Cuban budgetary expert who had applied repeatedly for a visa to come to the United Nations to speak before the ACABQ.

This type of irregularity violated United Nations policy with respect to entry of foreigners, he continued. One of the principles of international law was the respect granted foreigners attempting to discharge their duties in good faith. He urged the Host Country to reconsider its current practices in this area.

AHIPEAUD GUEBO (Cote D'Ivoire) said that he wished to remind the Committee Chairman about a change in the format of the diplomatic identification cards that had been raised at a previous meeting.

Mr. TARABRIN (Russian Federation) drew the attention of the Committee to the Vienna Convention, which specifically noted that movement of international contingents could be restricted by the Host Country, but that such restriction could not be of a discriminatory nature. He urged the Host Country to reject its discriminatory practices and attitudes.

Mr. MOLLER (United States) said that regarding the concerns expressed by his Libyan colleague, the issue of restrictions on the Libyan Mission had been dealt with in the Committee for many years, and the answer had been straightforward. Those measures had been imposed for reasons of national security and predated Security Council resolution 748 (1992). His Government maintained that there was no contradiction between its Treaty obligations as the Host Country and its right to take legal steps to safeguard its national security.

Regarding the request for unofficial travel for officials and their dependants outside the five boroughs, such requests were considered on an individual basis. The restriction was guaranteed under the relevant Treaty obligation and consistent under the Headquarters Agreement; however, personal travel beyond those limits had been authorized for medical and other humanitarian purposes.

To his Russian colleague, he said that official travel by members of his delegation had not been restricted, although unofficial travel had some sort of restriction on it. Again, the Host Country's obligations had in no way been contradicted.

Concerning the issuance of visas to Cuban officials, he said his country had been proud of its hard work in ensuring that officials had been present at United Nations meetings, but that had required a processing period of up to fifteen working days. The United Nations Secretariat considered that to be a reasonable time period. Most visas had been issued in fewer than fifteen working days.

Regarding the delay of the issuance of a visa to the daughter of a Libyan official who had wished to join her father's household as a “"D-1” dependant, he said that was proceeding, a fact that could be made known at this point. It had been a complicated matter, since under diplomatic law, once a child had married, he or she could not then come back as the father's dependant.

Returning to the Cuban visa question, he said he would admit that there had been a delay of two days, and he would do so in writing. In the case of Mr. Fernandez, he had been in the country on 6 January with a visa and had decided to return to Cuba, and then reapply for a visa to the United States. The delay had begun at that point. He apologized for that administrative delay, which had had something to do with snow days in Washington, D.C. After all, if it snowed in Havana, Cuba, things would also slow down.

Regarding the request for a visa from the representative to attend the meeting of the ACABQ, he said the person had known the schedule of the meeting for many months, yet had applied for a visa at the last moment. The visa had been issued, but again, there had been delays of one or two days. The individual had chosen not to come to New York, even though the meeting was still going on. There would be times when diplomats had to come to New York at the last moment, so visas -- not multiple visas -- had to be issued. The question of multiple visas had been an immigration decision. In those last minute cases, his office would do everything possible to get that visa issued, and it had done that.

He said it had been unfair to say that his country would not allow someone from the Libyan Mission to attend a social function. Those officials had been allowed to attend United Nations functions. The Libyan colleague had asked whether the permission granted to an Ambassador to travel to Washington, D.C. had been an indication of some sort of change in policy. It had not signalled a policy change; that had been a United Nations function. Officials who felt unjustly stopped or impeded could raise the problem with a legal officer. His country did not believe it was imposing obstacles; it had its national security concerns. Moreover, to say it was going to change its policy because of a recommendation appearing at the end of a host country report was not the way to handle the problem.

Mr. DAUSA CESPEDES (Cuba) said that the delay by the United States Department of State in issuing visas was important because in many United Nations meetings of one to two weeks, a delay of two days was substantial. The official in question had been here in January, and for work reasons, had gone back to Havana. He had not received a multiple re-entry visa, so he had to make a fresh application. He thanked the representative of the United States for recognizing those delays and looked forward to a written reply to that effect.

GHASSAN OBEID (Syria), participating in the meeting as an observer, said he had appreciated the efforts made by the Host Country office to ensure the best possible conditions for officials of other countries and to concern itself with their expressed difficulties. He fully supported the statements made today concerning the difficulties encountered by such officials, and asked that those difficulties be alleviated to make their work more effective. His Mission shared some of those concerns.

He said he looked forward to a reply by the representative of the Host Country on parking problems, which had been of daily concern to all United Nations diplomats, especially in New York City. The host country had promised to smooth the way, and some improvement had been seen. Nonetheless, parking spaces had been further restricted or had been moved to more restrictive areas, and there was insufficient space at nearby parking garages. The parking problem posed an obstacle to diplomats' ability to discharge their responsibilities. The city should give more attention to that matter.

Mr. DAUSA CESPEDES (Cuba) said that he was satisfied that the Host Country recognized that there had been a delay on the part of the Department of State in issuing certain visas to Cuban nationals wishing to attend United Nations functions. However, it was important to note that missing two days of a meeting that lasted for only a week was significant.

Mr. GUEBO (Cote D'Ivoire) took the floor again to draw the attention of the Committee to the issue of the diplomatic identification card. He made specific reference to the phrase “penal immunity” as it currently appeared on the back of the card. Apologizing for not addressing the issue earlier, Mr. Moller (United States) said that the entire diplomatic identification process was currently under review and that the format of the card would be changed. He would get back to the Committee with more information as details became clearer.

Mr. BABAA (Libya) said that after listening with interest to Mr. Moller's comments, he felt it was necessary to assert that there was absolutely no way that a small nation like Libya could be a threat to the United States, “the only superpower in the world”. Returning to the issue of the daughter that had been denied an entry visa, he said that regardless of age or marital status, “a daughter is a daughter”. The Host Country should respect the social values of other nations.

Mr. MOLLER (United States) said he would like to assure the Libyan representative that if the United Nations were not in the United States, the Libyan delegation would not be in this country.

* *** *