HOST COUNTRY COMMITTEE ELECTS CHAIRMAN, DISCUSSES PARKING, SECURITY FOR DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS

Committee on Relations

with Host Country

217^th Meeting (PM)           

HOST COUNTRY COMMITTEE ELECTS CHAIRMAN, DISCUSSES PARKING,

SECURITY FOR DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS

The Committee on Relations with the Host Country this afternoon elected a new Chairman and discussed several other matters, including parking and security for diplomatic missions.

At the start of the meeting, Andreas Mavroyiannis (Cyprus) was elected Committee Chairman without a vote.  After expressing his confidence that the host country would continue its best efforts to respond to the interests of Member States, he was welcomed by Ralph Zacklin, Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Emilia Castro de Barish (Costa Rica), Rapporteur of the Committee, and the representative of the United States, the host country.

Turning to parking matters, the representative from Costa Rica said her mission had been very careful to avoid tickets and discuss problems when they arose.  In that context, she mentioned that the Committee on Reconciliation had acknowledged that, in most parking disputes, her Mission had been in the right.  Nevertheless, the same trucks, although often ticketed, continued to park in her Mission’s spaces.

In that regard, she added, a new solution had to be found, and the City of New York had to better meet its responsibilities.  Declaring that mission staff regularly faxed information about parking violations to the host country representatives, she stressed that her colleagues had other more important work to do and could, therefore, not continue to concern themselves with parking and police matters.

The representative of China added that the reduction in parking spaces for diplomatic vehicles was inconvenient for mission staff.  Stressing the importance of respecting the host country’s laws, he, nevertheless, drew attention to discriminatory fines against diplomatic cars.  During one incident, for example, a car waiting for the Chinese Permanent Representative was fined even though vehicles in front of and behind it did not receive such treatment. In that regard, he emphasized that diplomats should be treated courteously in accordance with international and United States law.

The representative of Bulgaria referred to a recent parking ticket that stated that her Mission needed to pay a fine, or request a diplomatic review.  However, the Diplomatic Parking Review Panel had never given any clear explanation.

Also addressing the parking programme, the representative of the Russian Federation said it was far from perfect.  While he welcomed the host country’s attempt to resolve the issue, the method it had used was not quite the current one.  Diplomatic missions were being asked to act as police officers.  That ran counter to international law and was not part of their work.  Demanding to know why a diplomat should waste time looking for parking spots, he proposed that the issue be a separate agenda item at the Committee’s next meeting.

The representative of the United States noted that it had been almost one year since the successful parking programme had been put in place.  Traffic congestion had decreased and there was more parking -- not less -- under the new system.  He said his Mission had worked with others, and the Mayor’s office, to resolve problems related to the programme’s implementation, and he expressed satisfaction with the results.  Nevertheless, he would continue to welcome input and be ready to respond to issues brought to his attention.

Having circulated information about the programme to the missions, including a reminder that missions should respond to parking violations within 30 days, he also told the Committee that his Mission had hosted an information session with the City, invited comments from missions, created an e-mail address for inquiries and complaints, and appointed a staff member as parking coordinator.  He also stressed the importance of responding to parking violation notices in a timely manner.

Responding to the delegate from Costa Rica, he said his Mission had followed up on the problem since the Committee’s last meeting.  For example, staff from his delegation had personally gone to the area every day, and an increased police presence could be noted.  The City had made much progress vis-à-vis the Costa Rican problem and had been successful in many areas.  Nevertheless, some complaints could not be substantiated and a tow resource was not always available.  He stated that, overall, legal counsel had confirmed that the host country’s obligations had been met.  It would be impossible to solve the problems of all the missions in one year.  Asking for more time was not unreasonable.

The representative of Costa Rica responded by thanking the host country representative for his patience, even though it was his responsibility to be patient.  Nevertheless, her Mission had been dealing with the same problems for a whole year, and that was unacceptable.

Turning to matters of security and protection of diplomatic missions, the representative of China said that, in light of recent terrorist incidents throughout the world, the protection of delegations should be a priority.  He noted that near the Chinese Mission on 35^th Street several unidentified cargo trucks were parked.  In that regard, he requested that certain sections of 35^th Street be made into a no-parking zone, with clear traffic signs.  He also called for a regular police force around all of the missions.  The problem of security, after all, was not only a Chinese one.

The Committee on Relations with the Host Country was established in 1971 to deal with the security of diplomatic missions accredited to the United Nations, the safety of their personnel, and the responsibilities of the delegations.  Committee members include:  Bulgaria; Canada; China; Costa Rica; Côte d’Ivoire; Cuba; Cyprus; France; Honduras; Hungary; Iraq; Libya; Malaysia; Mali; Russian Federation; Senegal; Spain; United Kingdom; and the host country, the United States.

Also present at the meeting were Margaret Tiven, the New York City Commissioner for the United Nations and Consular Corps, and observers from the following delegations:  Bahrain; Dominican Republic; Ghana; Holy See; Iran; Kuwait; Latvia; Madagascar; Netherlands; Saudi Arabia; Ukraine; and Zambia.

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

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