KUWAITI COMPLAINS RE DIPLOMATIC PARKING PROGRAM,

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001094 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT. FOR IO/UNP - S EDMONDSON, L/DL, DS/OFM, NEA/ARP. E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OFDP UN KU SUBJECT: KUWAITI COMPLAINS RE DIPLOMATIC PARKING PROGRAM, THREATENS RECIPROCITY ¶1. On November 27, 2007, USUN received a diplomatic note from the Kuwait Mission to the UN (text in paragraph 2 below) objecting to the New York City Parking Program for Diplomatic Vehicles because its application does not correspond to Kuwait's treatment of American Embassy vehicles in Kuwait. This note was sent in response to a USUN note (HC-111-07) advising the Kuwait MUN that, pursuant to the Parking Program for Diplomatic Vehicles, the number of the Kuwaiti Mission's outstanding parking tickets would prevent the registration renewal of a Mission vehicle at the end of the month. While Kuwait has paid its outstanding tickets to the City of New York as requested, the Mission will recommend that its Ministry of Foreign Affairs apply the same procedures of the Parking Program for Diplomatic Vehicles to American Embassy vehicles in Kuwait City. ¶2. Text of Kuwaiti note 611/2007: The Permanent Mission of the State of Kuwait to the United Nations presents its compliments to the United States Mission to the United Nations and with reference to the latter's note HC-111-07 dated 13 November 2007, wishes to convey the remittance of the outstanding summonses on license plate numbers 0001JCD and 044JCD (attached is a copy of a receipt from the NYC Department of Finance - $1,280.00). Furthermore, the Permanent Mission of Kuwait wishes to draw to the attention of the United States Mission that this Mission does not condone violations of the law but nevertheless finds the Diplomatic Parking Program unacceptable for the fact that it is not the same practice of the Kuwaiti authorities towards the American Embassy in Kuwait City. For that, the Mission regrets that it will recommend to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait a reciprocity process wherein the American Embassy vehicles will go through the same process subjected to the Mission's vehicles in New York city. The Permanent Mission of the State of Kuwait to the United Nations avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the United States Mission to the United Nations the assurances of its highest consideration. ¶3. Comment: In November 2002, USUN, OFM/NY and the NYC Commission for the UN, Consular Corps and Protocol established the current Parking Program for Diplomatic Vehicles in New York. The Program, which provides two dedicated and marked parking spaces for each Permanent Mission in the proximity of that Mission, and also includes a review and appeals process for traffic and parking tickets, was designed in part to ensure that UN missions respected local parking and traffic laws by requiring Missions and their employees to pay fines associated with validly issued parking and traffic summonses. While the Program is successful, several UN Missions dislike the Program either because they object on principle to submiting to a host country (NYC) jurisdiction or because they perceive the review and appeals process regarding summonses as cumbersome or arbitrary. Khalilzad