MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON RELATIONS WITH THE

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000582 SIPDIS SIPDIS IO/UNP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OFDP UN CVIS SY SUBJECT: MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON RELATIONS WITH THE HOST COUNTRY 9 JULY 2007 REF: A. STATE 94528 ¶B. DAMASCUS 00650 ¶1. Summary. On July 9, 2007 the Committee on Relations with the Host Country convened its 233rd meeting to address, inter alia, Host Country travel regulations, acceleration of immigration and customs procedures, and entry visas issued by the Host Country. Briefly mentioned were New York,s congestion pricing plan and the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision confirming that New York courts have jurisdiction in cases involving New York,s attempt to tax foreign states, real property containing the staff residences of UN Missions. Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, the Russian Federation and Venezuela took the floor to characterize both U.S. delays/non-issuance of visas to foreign officials coming to the UN and U.S.imposed travel restrictions on nationals from certain UN Missions and the Secretariat as provocative, unjust, discriminatory, in contravention of international practice, and as violating the UN Headquarters Agreement, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and other relevant international legal instruments to which the U.S. is a party. The U.S. responded to each allegation based on the facts of each example raised in regard to visa issuances and travel restrictions, but did not engage substantively regarding congestion pricing or real property taxation. End summary. Host Country Travel Regulations ¶2. Cuba, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela expressed deep concern that the Host Country has unjustly denied travel to their government officials for UN meetings. They argued that such restrictions are discriminatory, politically motivated, and that these limitations violate the Vienna Convention and the U.S. UN Headquarters Agreement. Such restrictions, they argued, put these countries at a significant disadvantage in fulfilling their diplomatic duties. USUN's MinCounselor Graham assured the committee that the U.S. considers all travel requests seriously and on an individual basis, noting that the Host Country has an obligation to allow unimpeded travel to and from the UN Headquarters District for official United Nations meetings, which the U.S. has fulfilled and will continue to do so. Acceleration of Immigration and Customs Procedures ¶3. Syria, Russia, Venezuela and others expressed their extreme, ongoing displeasure with officials at New York area airports subjecting their diplomats and family members to intrusive and excessive additional security screening upon departure. The delegates acknowledged the need for security measures, but questioned the randomness of the screening as the same people continue to be selected for secondary screening. Cuba and the Russian Federation asked that the Host Country comply with UN Resolution 61/41 Paragraph 2 that calls upon the Host Country to train its security and immigration officers at airports regarding the privileges and immunities extended to diplomats. ¶4. Describing a particularly egregious incident, the Syrian Permanent Representative (PermRep) stated that his wife and two twelve year old children went through normal security procedure and were allowed to board the airplane with no problems. Once on the plane, however, they were subjected to physical inspections in front of passengers and crew without apparent reason, unnecessarily frightening his family and other travelers. Additionally, while most of their luggage arrived after a 10 day delay (some of it is still missing), it was returned in poor condition, with clothes appearing to have been torn by a sharp instrument and stained with chemicals, perhaps from tests conducted on them. Syria believes the actions to be irresponsible and disrespectful, but the PermRep noted that the American Embassy in Damascus had apologized. USUN's MinCounselor Graham conveyed his personal apology, indicated that the U.S. would investigate the matter further, and asked the Syrian Arab Republic to provide the details in writing, as until now, the United States Mission was unaware of the damage done to the luggage or its contents. ¶5. The United States also informed the Committee that if diplomats accredited to the United Nations present, together with their boarding pass, their diplomatic passport and their blue-bordered, State Department issued ID card, to the supervisor at secondary screening at the beginning of the secondary screening process, they should be able to avoid the problems they have encountered previously. MinCounselor Graham noted that security screeners and relevant authorities at New York area airports would soon be informed and briefed on the procedure. Entry Visas Issued by the Host Country ¶6. Sudan, Cuba, Indonesia, Iran, and Venezuela claimed to have experienced unacceptable delays in their officials being issued visas or being denied visas to come to the UN, noting that, often, visas are not approved in time for the officials to attend their intended meetings. The delegates sought to remind the United States of its obligations under the Headquarters Agreements, and as a result, asked the Host Country to take appropriate measures to keep delays in visa issuance from recurring. The United States stressed that it has worked closely with missions experiencing such delays in order to expedite the necessary visa issuances, and would do so for any mission with similar concerns. However, the only way the U.S. Mission can help is if it is alerted to delays immediately, and not after the fact. Congestion Pricing, Taxing UN Missions' Staff Residences, UN Fire Code Violations, Parking Program Implementation Review ¶7. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Russia sought clarification on how their missions will be affected by the "congestion tax" plan put forward by NYC Mayor Bloomberg. They also asked for the United States Mission's views. The U.S. noted that the plan at present calls for congestion pricing rather than a congestion tax, and that since it had not been approved by the NY State Assembly, their discussion of the issue was premature. The Chair requested that New York City officials (also attending the meeting - NYC Commissioner for the United Nations, Consular Corps, and Protocol) keep the Committee informed of any further developments. ¶8. India, although not expecting a substantive reply at the meeting, asked the Host Country to give its views regarding the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding NYC's effort to tax diplomatic property of UN Missions in New York City, and expressed the hope that the Host Country would have a role in aiding the missions. ¶9. The Chair briefed the Committee on a meeting of June 28, 2007 at which NYC Commissioner for the United Nations, Consular Corps and Protocol, Majorie Tiven, and her deputy, Brad Billet, spoke to the Committee's Bureau about safety and security at the United Nations, specifically fire safety. The Chair noted that the Secretariat has corrected many of the outstanding fire code violations; however, the Capital Master Plan will address some of those still remaining. The City is especially concerned , prompting the Chair to work with the Secretariat and New York City to resolve the matter. ¶10. The Chair noted that regarding the recently concluded second review of the implementation of the New York Diplomatic Parking Program, the Chair had requested modifying proposals by a date certain, and having received none, regarded the agenda item as concluded. KHALILZAD