R 102220Z FEB 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE
AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI

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