RANGE OF ISSUES RAISED AT UN HOST COUNTRY

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000380 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR IO/UNP - S. EDMONDSON, CA - T. EDSON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OFDP CVIS PREL CU IN MG EC SY SUBJECT: RANGE OF ISSUES RAISED AT UN HOST COUNTRY COMMITTEE MEETING ¶1. SUMMARY: At the April 22 Host Country Committee meeting, member states discussed chronic visa delays that negatively affect their representation at official UN meetings, NYC taxing UN Mission staff residences, unauthorized blocking of Ecuadorian Mission diplomats' bank accounts, problems of UN Mission chauffeurs in obtaining NY State drivers licenses, and delays in amending NY State gasoline tax exemption law affecting diplomats. USUN and OFM/NY were able to alleviate airport parking fears of diplomats, following discussions with the Port Authority of NY and NJ; however, pressing issues of Visa issuance and NYC attempts to tax UN mission staff residences will require continued Department involvement, as NYC presses missions to pay taxes and warns affected missions they will incur 18% interest on unpaid taxes. Committee Chair and Cypriot PermRep Andreas Mavroyiannis is sufficiently concerned wit the UN Community's growing anger over visa delays that he is seeking consultations with CA and IO principals to discuss the problem. END SUMMARY. VISA DELAYS PREVENT MEMBER STATE DELEGATE ATTENDANCE AT OFFICIAL UN MEETINGS ¶2. Cuban Deputy PermRep Nunez Modoche expressed her "deepest concern" re "unjustified delays" that prevented Cuban delegates from attending official UN meetings recently. Among them was Jose Rufino Menendez Hernandez, who was only issued a visa six days after he was scheduled to attend the meeting of government experts to review the draft international instrument on Conventional Weapons February 11 - 15 at UNHQ. The Cuban DPR urged US authorities to fulfill their obligations to provide visas without delay according to Article IV, Section 11 of the UNHQ agreement, and UNGA Resolution 62/72 (UN HC Committee Report). ¶3. Syria also reported that two members of its three-person delegation had not received visas in time to attend a UN Workshop on Government Equipment February 4 - 12 and that this showed a failure of the US to comply with the UN Headquarters Agreement. ¶4. USUN/HC MinCouns told the Committee that the Host Country takes the issue of visa delays very seriously and that over the last 6 months, USUN had been reviewing the matter closely and concluded that the administrative processing of a growing number of visa applications was not being finalized as quickly as the US Mission would like. He reported that USUN had been addressing the matter more formally and had sent detailed telegrams to Washington. USUN/HC had taken advantage of a visit to New York of a DOS Visa Office Director to schedule a meeting with UN officials to discuss the UN community's concern re visa delays. Those meetings had taken place on April 21 and USDel said that he believed the strong concerns expressed in the face-to-face meeting would be relayed to Washington. Re Cuba, USUN was also requesting the US Interests Section in Havana inform USUN when it received official visa applications so that USUN could track applications, improve coordination, and ensure that visas are issued as promptly as possible. Re the Syrian intervention, USDel responded that it was not aware of the situation described. USDEL reminded the member states present that it continues to encourage delegations experiencing delays to contact the USUN Host Country office for assistance, since it was often able to facilitate resolution. (COMMENT: On the margins of the meeting, Chair of the Committee, Cypriot PermRep Andreas Mavroyiannis, asked USUN to facilitate a meeting for him in Washington with CA and IO principals to discuss growing UN community anger over visa delays. END COMMENT). NEW YORK CITY PROPERTY TAX LAWSUITS India ¶5. The Indian Observer raised the issue of NYC Property taxes. He stated that the Committee was probably aware of the lawsuits filed by the City of New York and that on February 8, a US District Court held that international law supported NYC's view that the real property tax exemption was limited only to the residence of the head of mission and mission offices. India has filed a notice of appeal. He said his Mission had approached the HC Committee Chairman on March 4 to convene an urgent meeting of the Committee on the issue. However, on March 14, the Indian Mission withdrew the request and intended to hold bilateral discussions on the matter in New Delhi. The Indian Observer urged the Host Country to help resolve the issue and bring the matter in line with international practice. He stated that India reserved the option to ask that the Committee take up this issue at a later date, and on an urgent basis. Mongolia ¶6. Mongolian PermRep Ochir also took the floor and gave a detailed but cogent summary of the legal actions since the City of New York's initial suit in Spring 2003. PR Ochir focused on the implications for the wider UN community and quoted from the dissenting opinion of Supreme Court Justices Stevens and Breyer that its decision meant "a whole host of routine civil controversies, from sidewalk slip-and-falls to landlord-tenant disputes could be converted into property liens under local law, and then used - as the tax lien was in this case - to pierce foreign sovereign's traditional and sovereign immunity." She reported that in NYC, liens against real property were permitted for pest control, emergency repairs, among other justifications. She pointed out that the burden of answering such complaints would severely affect the ability of foreign sovereigns to function. Such a burden would particularly affect small missions such as Mongolia's, which had limited resources to engage in endless litigation. ¶7. Ochir stated that her Mission had also appealed the monetary judgment ruling on March 17 in favor of the City of New York and establishing the validity of the tax lien. She appealed against the logic of this ruling stating that in NY, property owned by non-profits and hospitals used to house its staff were not taxed and asked why it would be that Permanent Missions were treated differently when the decision to house its diplomatic staff was for mission purposes only and that no contracts were signed. She reasoned that the provision of housing facilitates the performance of the mission since many duties were performed after business hours and that housing of diplomats was widely practiced. She stated that assessment of taxes was not supported by international practice and that it goes against the concept of reciprocity. She pointed out that the US exempts entire multi-apartment buildings used exclusively for staff housing in the Washington DC area and that the US grants to UN member states and their staff the same P&I as it accords diplomatic envoys accredited to it. ¶8. PR Ochir concluded that she understood that the City of New York had already begun to pursue tax claims against dozens of other UN Missions and she called upon the Host Country to uphold the relevant international norms and assist in resolving the disputes with NYC of unduly levied real estate taxes on member states. (Full text of her statement will be emailed to the Department). Libya ¶9. The Libyan Representative supported India and Mongolia in appealing to the Host Country for assistance with tax matters that did not conform to international norms. He also described problems his mission is still facing as a result of the days of the US embargo related to bank account access, maintenance of its building and staff housing. Many floors of Libya House were held vacant during this period and therefore were not used by the Mission. New York City Response ¶10. NYC Mayor's Office Commissioner for the for the UN, Consular Corps and Protocol (NYCC),Marjorie Bloomberg Tiven, asked to address the Committee on Property Taxes (the text of her statement is also being emailed to Department). She assured the Committee that the City always has a policy of respecting international law, and emphasized that the City's recent efforts do not change the tax-exempt status of mission offices, PermRep residences, or existing bilateral agreements. She mentioned that the City had sometimes asked missions how their property is being used and has received cooperation from many missions. She outlined the City's legal efforts and successes in establishing that mission staff housing is taxable and noted the money judgments entered. She appealed to missions to resolve these tax issues with the City and warned that missions should be aware that interest runs at 18 percent per year as long as taxes are not paid. ¶11. USDel took the floor to state that the issue of property taxation was an important and complicated one. USDel indicated that his office had taken note of the discussion and would report back to capital. He said that he was aware that bilateral discussions had taken place in Washington with several affected countries and that he had no instructions to comment further at this time. BLOCKED DIPLOMATIC BANK ACCOUNTS ¶12. The Ecuador PermRep made a strong statement protesting "arbitrary procedures" applied to the personal bank accounts of three mission diplomats by JP Morgan Chase. The accounts had either been restricted or blocked with no explanation from the bank or the Department of State. She noted, in particular, the account of the Mission's former DPR that was blocked on March 3, reportedly on orders from the US Department of Homeland Security. She quoted from information she said was communicated by US authorities that they had the authority to block the accounts since American law superseded international law, including the VCDR. She added that the US attorney's office in Puerto Rico had, in addition, ordered a debit from the DPR's account to cover costs of a money laundering investigation, the apparent cause of the account freeze. She stated that on March 17, following intervention by DOS, the bank lifted the block but that authorities had insisted the DPR sign a form that would violate his P&I in order to be refunded the money that was removed. She said that she had not received a response to three notes sent to DOS and that the money had still not been returned. She questioned whether three instances could all have been mistakes and strongly protested these violations of diplomatic privilege that had caused economic harm and injury. She requested an explanation, reconfirmation that the host country observes diplomatic P&I under the VCDR, and asked that the matter be investigated. ¶13. USDel stated that he was informed of the block on the DPR's account a week before the diplomat left the US. USUN had been aware of an account problem a few years before but was not sure if this previous instance was also what the Ecuador Rep referred to regarding other accounts. He said his deputy had been in close contact with the Ecuador Mission over the time it took to unblock the DPR's account. USDel said that he expected the money to be returned to the account this week and he explained that the State Department of course took the position that authorities in Puerto Rico did not have the authority to block inviolable accounts. (COMMENT: Ecuador MUN confirmed to USUN later that it became aware funds had been received on April 22, the day of the Committee meeting. DOS succeeded in getting the request to sign the objectionable portion of the form waived). The Ecuador delegate thanked the USDel for his office's assistance and admitted that the mission had not reported the first two of the three incidents since it believed them to be mistakes and they had been resolved quickly. However, after the third incident, the mission became extremely concerned. She requested a written response to the issue. NY STATE DRIVERS' LICENSES FOR CHAUFFEURS, GAS CARD TAX LAW, PARKING AT NYC AREA AIRPORTS, NYC CONGESTION CHARGE ¶14. Poland, supported by the Russian Federation, complained that the decision by OFM/NY to no longer issue DOS drivers' licenses to UN Mission chauffeurs was problematic. He reported that his chauffeur was told he needed a Social Security Number to obtain a NY State license, something not available to him. He also complained that the required testing could take as long as 2 months to complete, affecting his mission's ability to function. USDel reported that SSNs were NOT required for drivers' licenses though applicants did need to provide adequate identification worth a certain number of points for the application process. He suggested further contact with OFM/NY on the issue. ¶15. Russian Federation, China and Trinidad/Tobago all complained about parking fees at area airports, particularly JFK, and called on the host country to report on progress in re-establishing free parking for missions conducting official business, a practice that had been in place for many years. China and Russia also asked for a status report on NYS legislative efforts to amend the law prohibiting gasoline vendors to rebate taxes on gas bought using gasoline credit cards. ¶16. USDel informed the committee that since the last meeting, USUN and OFM/NY met with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in late February and had written to the PA requesting it revise its policy to reflect the long-standing practice allowing diplomatic vehicles to park for free while conducting official business. The PA has agreed, and while the official written policy change allowing diplomatic and consular vehicles to use airport parking areas without charge will likely take some time to complete, the PA stated that free parking for diplomatic vehicles will be re-instated in practice during the week of April 21. The agreed policy is as follows: All vehicles with A, C and D series DOS plates will be allowed free parking for 24 hours at area airports (JFK, LGA, Newark and Stewart). Vehicles remaining in the parking lots/garages for more than 24 hours will be charged fees for the entire period. USDel requested that missions contact the USUN if there are further problems. He indicated a circular diplomatic note could be circulated if and when the PA provides written confirmation of its policy change. ¶17. Re NY State gasoline tax laws, OFM/NY had informed USUN that the NY State legislator in charge of the issue had assured the USG that the amended legislation should be completed by Albany's recess in June. USUN/HC had earlier distributed a circular note explaining how gasoline taxes could be reimbursed and, USDel agreed to re-circulate this diplomatic note as several delegations indicated that it had not been received. ¶18. The Cuban Rep also raised security at the Cuban Mission and asked for a written explanation of new security procedures discussed in a meeting held at the Cuban Mission with NYPD and DS officials. USDel responded with details of the substantial NYPD coverage of the Mission. The Cuban Mission continued to request written explanation of the new procedures and sought a review of their effectiveness and further coordination on the daily visits by NYPD since the mission security officer was not available for unscheduled visits. ¶19. The meeting concluded and the Chair indicated the next Committee meeting would be scheduled for July. Khalilzad