Unable to Adopt Programme of Work, Sixth Committee Adjourns Meeting as Iran Accuses Host Country of Silencing Its Mission by Delaying Travel Visas

Due to visa issuance problems experienced by the delegation of Iran, the Sixth Committee (Legal), in two brief organizational meetings, was unable to adopt its programme of work for the seventy‑fourth session, resulting in the Chair adjourning the meeting to the following day.

Chair of the Sixth Committee, Michal Mlynár (Slovakia), assuring delegations he understood their concerns regarding the absence of delegates due to visa issues, opened the floor for comments before adjourning the meeting to allow time for consultations between delegations.

Ali Nasimfar (Iran) pointed out that none of the members of his delegation, who had applied well in advance, had been issued visas by the host country in time to attend the meeting.  In addition, members of the delegation were being confined to three buildings in New York.  Such actions were a systematic attempt to silence his Mission, he said, adding that the seat of the United Nations Headquarters is being used as political leverage.

This is the United Nations, he stressed, not “the united of powerful or the united of privileges”, and he called on the host country to withdraw these illegal measures that are not in compliance with the Headquarters Agreement.  Just last week, the United States Consulate rejected a visa request to two members of an Iranian delegate’s household.  If the host country is unable to perform its duty, Member States should hold the United Nations meetings elsewhere, he said.

Gennady V. Kuzmin (Russian Federation), along with other delegations, echoed those concerns regarding the recent actions by the host country, saying that by unilaterally introducing visa restrictions, the host country has abrogated to itself the right to decide who is or is not a member of a national delegation.

Edgar Daniel Leal Matta (Guatemala), however, said these are bilateral issues that should not hold up the work of the Sixth Committee.  Work should begin without delay and the agenda must not be postponed for administrative rather than substantial issues.  Interrupting the Committee’s work would set a wrong precedent and constitute a misuse of preassigned resources, he stressed.

In response, Emily Pierce (United States) underscored that the organization of work was not the proper forum to raise the matter of visas.  The matter fell under the purview of the Host Country Committee.  Nonetheless, this past Saturday, the United States Mission had informed Iran that the majority of visas were ready to be processed in Vienna.  Furthermore, the travel controls are consistent with the Headquarters Agreement, which does not include unrestricted right to travel or reside in the United States, she said.

Although the Committee was unable to adopt its programme of work, it did take up other organizational matters, with Mr. Mlynár noting that at a meeting on 5 June, three Vice Chairpersons had been elected:  Amadou Jaiteh (Gambia), Pablo Arrocha (Mexico) and Cecilia Anderberg (Sweden).  The Committee had also elected Mohamed Hamad S. J. al-Thani (Qatar) as Rapporteur.

In addition, he said that the Committee established four working groups for the seventy‑fourth session:  responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts, to be chaired by Maitê de Souza Schmitz (Brazil); diplomatic protection, to be chaired by Thabo Molefe (South Africa); the scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction, to be chaired by Christian Guillermet‑Fernandez (Costa Rica); and measures to eliminate international terrorism, to be chaired by Rohan Perera (Sri Lanka).

Also speaking today were representatives of Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nicaragua and Pakistan.

The Committee will next meet at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, 8 October.