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