501.AD/6–3047
The Secretary of State to President Truman 1.
The President: There is enclosed for your consideration and for transmission to the Congress, if you approve, an Agreement between the United States and the United Nations regarding the control and administration of the Headquarters of the United Nations in The City of New York.2
This Agreement has been signed on behalf of the United States by the Secretary of State and on behalf of the United Nations by the Secretary-General. By its terms, it is to be brought into effect by an exchange of notes duly authorized pursuant to appropriate action by the Congress of the United States and by the General Assembly of the United Nations which is to convene in September.
[Here follows a short summary of relevant events that took place between January 1946 and the conclusion of the agreement.]
I desire at this time, to invite your attention to certain provisions of the Agreement.
Article III, which concerns law and authority in the headquarters district, is the result of a careful attempt to grant to the United Nations the freedom from certain types of regulation which is necessary to assure that the Organization may exercise its functions and fulfill its purposes without restraint, and in all other respects to preserve the normal operation of federal, state and local law.
Section 7 states that the federal, state and local law of the United States is generally applicable within the headquarters district and that [Page 44] federal, state and local courts have jurisdiction over acts done and transactions taking place in the headquarters district. The United Nations is given authority by Section 8 to make regulations within the headquarters district for the purpose of establishing conditions therein necessary for the fulfillment of its functions. Federal, state or local laws which are inconsistent with such regulations shall be inapplicable to the extent of such inconsistency. However, any question which the American authorities may have as to whether such regulations go beyond the necessities of the United Nations, and which cannot be settled by agreement, may be resolved by arbitration or by reference to the International Court of Justice.
The headquarters district, which consists of an area of six city blocks, is to be inviolable as provided in Section 9(a). This means that federal, state or local officers shall not enter the district to perform official functions therein except with the consent of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. This inviolability is similar to that which is extended to diplomatic missions in Washington. It does not transfer sovereignty over United States territory to the United Nations.
Section 9(b) makes it clear that the headquarters district is not to become a refuge for persons avoiding arrest.
It is necessary for the United Nations to be assured that persons having legitimate business with the Organization can have access to the headquarters district. Thus, Section 11 provides that the federal, state or local authorities are not to impose any impediments to transit to or from the headquarters district by certain limited categories of persons set forth in that Section.
Section 13(b), however, makes it clear that persons who abuse these privileges may be deported either in accordance with the deportation laws of the United States (subject to the approval of the Secretary of State) or may be required to leave the United States in accordance with the customary procedure applicable to diplomatic envoys accredited to the United States. Section 13(b) makes it clear that the United States may issue limited visas valid only for the area comprising the headquarters district and its immediate vicinity.
Other provisions of the Agreement concern such matters as telecommunications facilities (Section 4), police protection (Article VI), diplomatic privileges and immunities for a limited group of representatives of foreign governments (Section 15), the settlement of disputes arising under the Agreement (Section 21) and the disposition of the headquarters if it should cease to be used for the headquarters of the United Nations (Section 22).
In most cases the obligations assumed by the United States under the Agreement are made the responsibility of the “appropriate American authorities” who are defined in Section 1(b) as “such federal, [Page 45] state or local authorities in the United States as may be appropriate in the context and in accordance with the laws and customs of the United States, including the laws and customs of the state and local government involved.” Section 25, however, makes it clear that the ultimate responsibility for compliance with the Agreement on the part of the United States rests with the Federal Government.
The Agreement provides, in Section 20, for such supplemental agreements with the appropriate American authorities as may be necessary to fulfill the purposes of the Agreement. Thus, detailed arrangements with respect to police and fire protection and similar matters may be made directly with the local authorities. I suggest that the joint resolution authorizing the President to make the Agreement effective, include authorization to the local authorities to enter into such supplemental agreements subject, except in emergency or in case of routine matters, to the approval of the Secretary of State.
This Government has taken a leading role in the creation of the United Nations. The enclosed Agreement will make clear to the United Nations that the United States is prepared to discharge fully its responsibilities as the host of the organization on which rest the hopes of the world for lasting peace.
Respectfully submitted,