PEACE CORPS-STATE DEPARTMENT RELATIONS

UNCLAS STATE 012309


FROM THE SECRETARY TO ALL CHIEFS OF MISSION

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AODE AMGT
SUBJECT: PEACE CORPS-STATE DEPARTMENT RELATIONS

REF: 07 STATE 78240



1. INTRODUCTION: In the context of this
Administration's foreign assistance programs and
initiatives to manage those programs and the U.S.
presence overseas, I am delighted to take this
opportunity to reaffirm to all Chiefs of Mission the
basic principles that guide the Department's dealings
with the Peace Corps. The President and I strongly
support the objectives and purposes of the Peace Corps
and wish to strengthen its capabilities and
effectiveness in the years ahead. The Peace Corps is
pursuing new opportunities in the twenty-first century,
while also ensuring the safety and security of Peace
Corps volunteers to the maximum extent possible. The
State Department and all of our overseas missions are
committed to helping in every way possible.


2. PEACE CORPS' PURPOSE: As stated in the Peace Corps
Act, the purpose of the Peace Corps is to promote world
peace and friendship. The agency's essential role is
threefold:


A. to provide American volunteers to help meet the needs
of the people of the host countries for trained
manpower;


B. to help promote a better understanding of the
American people on the part of the people served; and


C. to help promote a better understanding of other
people on the part of the American people. The Peace
Corps makes a significant contribution to building
international understanding and sympathy among people,
an integral long-term objective of American foreign
policy.


3. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE U.S. MISSION AND PEACE CORPS
STAFF:


A. To fulfill its responsibilities successfully and to
retain its unique people-to-people character, the Peace
Corps must remain substantially separate from the day-
to-day conduct and concerns of our foreign policy. The
Peace Corps' role and its need for separation from the
day-to-day activities of the mission are not comparable
to those of other U.S. Government agencies.


B. The President's Letter of Instruction and other
relevant laws and regulations (including your delegated
duties under the Diplomatic Security Act) outline your
authority over and responsibilities for all Executive
Branch employees, including Peace Corps staff. As
Secretary of State, I am responsible for the "continuous
supervision and general direction" of Peace Corps
programs to ensure they are effectively integrated both
at home and abroad, and "the foreign policy of the
United States is best served thereby." Like my
predecessors, I ask that you join me in exercising these
authorities so as to provide the Peace Corps with as
much autonomy and flexibility in its day-to-day
operations as possible, so long as this does not
conflict with U.S. objectives and policies. As
Secretary Rusk stated in 1961, "The Peace Corps is not
an instrument of foreign policy because to make it so
would rob it of its contribution to foreign policy~."


C. The Peace Corps Director will notify you of the
selection of the Country Director to be assigned to the
Mission, a decision reserved to the Director
exclusively. Peace Corps Country Directors and staff
members are U.S. officials and are a part of the U.S.
Mission; as such they are covered by NSDD-38.


D. Peace Corps Country Directors and staff members are
present in the country under a separate Peace Corps
country agreement under which they have certain
privileges, including tax and customs duties exemptions,
but no immunities from the jurisdiction of the host
government. Peace Corps employees should not be placed
on the Mission duty roster or asked to assume Mission
administrative functions or other responsibilities
outside their Peace Corps duties except in unusual
situations. Peace Corps officials are provided with
official passports, not diplomatic passports. With
regard to Mission descriptions of USG activities
overseas, reference to Peace Corps activities in a
Mission Strategic Plan should be limited, and confined
to the Chief of Mission statement. The Peace Corps
welcomes the Chief of Mission's assessment of the
Country Director's or other staff members' performance
for incorporation into the annual and on-going
evaluation process by the Peace Corps of its employees.


E. The Peace Corps expects its employees to live at a
level that appropriately reflects the Peace Corps'
status as a grassroots, people-to-people, volunteer
organization. Traditionally Peace Corps offices and
staff residences have not been located in Mission
compounds or in areas predominantly frequented by
foreigners. As provided in section 691 of the Foreign
Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003, Public
Law 107-228, to the degree permitted by security
considerations, you should give favorable consideration
to requests from the Peace Corps to maintain its offices
at locations separate from the Mission and thus preserve
this autonomy.


4. PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS:


A. For all relevant purposes, volunteers are not
considered to be U.S. Government employees. They are
not official members of the Mission and do not have
diplomatic immunity. Generally you and other members of
the Mission should not treat them as employees, but
should treat them in the same manner as you do all other
private American citizens resident in your area.


B. Volunteers are selected on the basis of technical
expertise, motivation, and personal characteristics
relevant to the Peace Corps' purposes of providing
technical assistance and fostering improved
understanding of the American people by host-country
citizens and of host-country peoples on the part of the
American people. They are expected to maintain an
apolitical stance with respect to the political affairs
in their countries of service.


C. In the absence of overriding security concerns, the
Peace Corps is responsible for determining what
volunteers will do and where they will be located in-
country.


D. Peace Corps activities must be completely and
absolutely separated from intelligence activities.
There should be no contact whatsoever between anyone in
the intelligence community and any Peace Corps volunteer
or trainee. Peace Corps staff should not be included in
meetings where defense or intelligence issues are
discussed, unless volunteer safety is at issue.


5. COUNTRY AGREEMENTS: The Peace Corps must obtain the
Department of State's advice and approval before new
programs are proposed or country agreements are
negotiated. Embassies work closely with Peace Corps
representatives in the process of negotiating,
concluding, and when appropriate, terminating Peace
Corps country agreements. The Department will follow
the Circular 175 procedure set out in 11 FAM 700 in
approving negotiation, conclusion, or termination of
country agreements. Thereafter, the Peace Corps will
ordinarily make direct contact with host governments and
arrange for the implementation of country agreements.
The Peace Corps representative will keep you fully
informed and appropriately consult with you regarding
the programs being planned and the number of volunteers
involved. Before making a decision about terminating
activity in a given country, the Peace Corps will
conduct a thorough review in consultation with you and
the Department of State. (As mentioned above,
terminating a country agreement requires Department
approval under Circular 175 procedures.)


6. CLOSING: For nearly 50 years, Ambassadors and
overseas Missions have assisted the Peace Corps,
enabling more than 195,000 volunteers to demonstrate the
American people's concern for the welfare of the
citizens of other countries and their commitment to
peace. The volunteers' success in those endeavors has
enhanced significantly the image of the United States
abroad. With your assistance, the Peace Corps will
continue to fulfill its important mission. I rely on
you to manage constructively the Peace Corps
relationship at your post.


7. Minimize considered.


CLINTON