Committee on Relations

with Host Country

207^th Meeting (PM)

HOST COMMITTEE DISCUSSES ‘DISCRIMINATORY’ TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

IMPOSED ON CERTAIN MISSIONS

Delays and denials in visa issuance, parking problems and travel restrictions were among the issues discussed by the Committee on Relations with the Host Country this afternoon.

As the Committee held its regular bi-monthly meeting, the representative of Iraq said that it took the United States authorities at least three weeks to grant entry visas to Iraqi officials and diplomats accredited with the United Nations. While his Government had tried to abide by the required time frame, which the United States justified by reasons of national security, the restrictions caused problems for the Iraqi diplomats.  Many members of the Mission could not perform their official duties and move freely, even for compelling humanitarian reasons, such as passing away or sickness in the family.  As there were no exceptions to the rules imposed on the Iraqi Mission, Iraq's Permanent Representative had been unable to leave during the severe illness of his mother, because it would have taken him a month to obtain an entry visa.

He understood the political reasons that had led the United States to impose restrictions on the Iraqi diplomats, but the United States had the duty of respecting international conventions and agreements that governed diplomatic rights and immunities, particularly the Headquarters Agreement.  The host country had an obligation to provide conditions which would allow the Missions to perform their duties under normal circumstances.  He hoped the United States would review the discriminatory restrictions against certain Missions.

The representative of Cuba also urged the Committee to address the problem of visas, as delays were preventing Missions from doing their work in the host country.  Despite the fact that his Foreign Ministry was extremely serious about compliance with deadlines for visa submission, there were delays in the granting of visas to Cuban delegates.  Among many examples, he cited the fact that Cuban delegates had been unable to participate in the work of the Preparatory Committee for the Conference on Least Developed Countries.  A visa for a delegate who was supposed to take part in the work of the Statistical Committee was granted one day before the end of that body's work.

Continuing, he said that his Mission continued to suffer from discriminatory and selective treatment when it came to travel beyond the 25-mile limit, and recently two diplomats had been prevented from travelling as they wanted.  It was a transgression of human rights and the United Nations Charter, and he wanted the problem resolved as soon as possible.  One member of the Mission had been prevented from going to a seminar on peacekeeping in West Point, organized by a non-governmental organization.  His request for travel was denied, although the topic of

the seminar was relevant to the work at the United Nations.  In the other case, a request for a trip to Amish country for tourist purposes was denied.

On the subject of diplomatic parking, he added that a number of parking spaces had been reduced in the area of his Mission.  A diplomatic parking sign on 39^th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues was removed, and fines were imposed on the members of the Mission who continued parking where they always had.  The Mission had not been notified about the removal of the sign, and no reason was provided for that action.

In response to those complaints, the United States representative said that the host country had, on numerous occasions, provided answers regarding visas and travel, which did not seem to be received with understanding.  The disappearance of the parking sign did not mean that the host country was trying to make it difficult for diplomats to park.  The sign could have fallen down, and he wanted to know why the Mission had not raised the problem with the host country over the phone.

Responding to the statement by the representative of Iraq, he said that the United States Mission had not prevented the ambassador from visiting his sick mother. A visa was not needed to leave the country, and all he would have needed was his passport, which he had submitted for a visa.  The United States Mission had returned the passport and made arrangements for the Permanent Representative to get a visa elsewhere.  As for travel by Cuban diplomats, the restrictions were not discriminatory, and seeing the Amish did not fall under the heading of the United Nations business.

He added that the Committee was deteriorating in a sense, reiterating the same issues without listening to responses from the host country.  Missions could always express their concerns in letters to the Chairman of the Host Country Committee or to the host Mission, which had always been responsive to the issues raised.  Regarding the delay in the issuance of visas to Cuban delegates, he said that they had known about the meetings months in advance and should not have waited until the last moment, expecting the United States Government "to do backflips" for them. 

The representative of Cuba then reiterated that visas for Cuban delegates were always requested in good time, and submission of requests 20 days ahead of the meeting could not be considered "waiting until the last minute".  The United States Mission did not want to hear just and fair requests from delegations which were treated in a discriminatory fashion.  He felt frustrated by the United States’ automatic rejection of the issues presented in the Host Country Committee, which had been created to address issues which hindered the normal work of the Missions.

In conclusion, the representative of Iraq clarified that return visas were extremely important, for leaving without such a visa meant that the delegate would have to wait for a return visa in a third country for up to a month.  That was extremely costly.  The Mission usually coordinated submissions in advance to comply with the restrictions imposed by the United States.  While objecting to such treatment, his Mission had found a way to live with the restrictions.  The case of the Permanent Representative was an example of arbitrary treatment of staff accredited to the Mission in Mew York, and that adversely affected the smooth functioning of the Mission and caused some personal problems.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held at a date to be announced.