Some time ago, at a meeting in your office attended by
representatives of CON, UNA, and L, it was agreed that the Office of the Legal Adviser
would draft a letter to the Attorney General outlining a proposed
procedure for treatment of the United Nations laissez-passer by the United States. In accordance with
the discussion which took place at that time, I have drafted the
attached letter, which has been approved by Mr. Tate and Mr.
Sandifer. It is now sent to you for your clearance.
[Attachment]
My Dear Mr. Attorney General: Over a
considerable period of time the Department of State has had
under consideration proposals and requests from the United
Nations that the United States recognize and treat the United
Nations laissez-passer as a valid travel
document for officials of the United Nations traveling on
business of the Organization.
The United Nations laissez-passer is
provided for in Section 24 of the Convention on the Privileges
and Immunities of the United Nations. That section reads:
“The United Nations may issue United Nations laissez-passer to its officials.
These laissez-passer shall be
recognized and accepted as valid travel documents by the
authorities of members, taking into account the
provisions of Section 25.”*
This Convention, approved by the General Assembly pursuant to
Article 105(3) of the Charter, has now been ratified by a large
number of the members of the United Nations. In transmitting the
Convention [Page 63] to Congress
for approval, the Department of State said, inter alia, that the laissez-passer contemplated by Section 24 was to be
not “a substitute for a passport or other document of
nationality” but “a certificate attesting to the United Nations
affiliation of the bearer ir respect to travel”. When the Senate
passed S.J. Res. 136 during the 80th Congress (a joint
resolution approving the Convention), it incorporated into the
resolution specific language construing Section 24 as not
“amending or modifying the existing or future provisions of
United States law with respect to the requirement or issuance of
passports or of other documents evidencing nationality”.
Officials of the United Nations, in subsequent discussions with
officers of the Department of State, have communicated the
United Nations view that this construction of Section 24 is not
in accord with the intent and purpose of the Convention
concerning United Nations laissez-passer.
Since the House of Representatives had not completed action on
S.J. Res. 136 when the 80th Congress adjourned, it was necessary
to resubmit the Convention to the 81st Congress. This was done
in January, 1949, in a letter from the Department of State which
recorded the history so far of the laissez-passer provision. While the Department made no
explicit recommendation to Congress on this point, the draft
resolution proposed to Congress contained no interpretation or
reservation on Section 24 of the Convention.
The question of recognition and treatment of laissez-passer as a valid travel document for
officials of the United Nations traveling on business of the
Organization, so far as American citizens are concerned, is
affected by certain provisions of United States law currently
applicable because of the existence of a state of war or
national emergency. These provisions make it unlawful for an
American citizen to leave the United States without a passport,
unless he comes within certain specified categories (such as
travelers bound for destinations in the Western Hemisphere). Act
of May 22, 1918 as amended (40 Stat. 559, 55 Stat. 252);
Presidential Proclamation No. 2523 dated November 14, 1941;
Regulations Promulgated by the Secretary of State January 15,
1942 (22 C.F.R., secs.
58.2–58.11). In the opinion of the Legal Adviser of the
Department of State, the United States is obligated by the
United Nations Charter to permit the travel abroad on official
business of United Nations officials who are American citizens.
Under this view, the Secretary of State must either issue a
passport to such an official for travel abroad on United Nations
business or permit the official to go without a passport. The
official might in either case be the bearer of a United Nations
laissez-passer.
While Congress has not yet taken action with regard to the
Convention, such action is not necessary to recognition by the
United States of the laissez-passer as a
valid travel document. Particularly in view [Page 64] of the role of the United
States as host to the United Nations, the United Nations has
expressed the hope that, regardless of Congressional action on
the Convention, the United States Government would, by executive
action, give the laissez-passer the
recognition intended for it by the Convention on the Privileges
and Immunities of the United Nations.
Under the existing circumstances, the Department of State intends
now to establish a regular procedure in regard to use of the laissez-passer by United Nations
officials who are American citizens.
Under this procedure, the Department would be notified by the
United Nations in each case of the issuance of a laissez-passer to a United Nations
official who claims United States nationality. When such an
official is to leave the United States on United Nations
business, the United Nations would notify the Department as far
in advance of departure as practicable, giving information as to
identity of the official, place and time of departure,
destination, and probable length of absence from the United
States. The Department of State would communicate such
information, immediately upon receipt, to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice, so that no
obstacles will be placed in the way of the individual’s
departure or subsequent return. Any such official concerning
whom the United Nations had furnished the required notifications
would then be able to leave the United States without further
formality. The only exception would be in a situation where the
Secretary of State considered that departure of such an official
clearly and presently threatened the national safety of the
United States, so as to warrant the United States in preventing
departure.
The Department envisages the establishment of the above-outlined
procedure through amendment of the Departmental Regulations
referred to earlier in this letter, and through agreement with
the Secretary-General that the United Nations shall give the
necessary notifications to the Department of State.
Nothing in the procedure contemplated would preclude a United
Nations official who is an American citizen from applying, as
before, for a United States passport; and one would be issued to
him if he qualified.
The Department of State intends to hold discussions on the
question of laissez-passer with officials
of the United Nations Secretariat in July, and would be
interested in any comments which the Department of Justice may
have on the proposed procedure.1
Sincerely yours,
Acting Secretary
