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### Viewing cable 08USUNNEWYORK380, RANGE OF ISSUES RAISED AT UN HOST COUNTRY

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
08USUNNEWYORK380 | 2008-04-28 23:38 | 2011-05-02 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | USUN New York

`

    VZCZCXYZ0005
    PP RUEHWEB

    DE RUCNDT #0380/01 1192338
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    P 282338Z APR 08
    FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4175
    INFO RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 0397
    RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2173
    RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 0138
    RUEHUM/AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR 0505
    RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0263

` `

    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

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