Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, United Nations Affairs, Volume III

USUN files, “IO, Privileges & Immunities, Delegations (Apr. 1949–1955)”

¹

Memorandum of Conversation, by Albert F. Bender, Jr.,² of the Mission at the United Nations

confidential

New York, May 16, 1952.

• Subject:
• Visa Application by Jiri Stary, Representative of Czechoslovakia to ECOSOC.

• Participants: Mr. A. H. Feller,³ UN Legal Department
• USUN—Albert F. Bender, Jr.

Yesterday Feller asked me to come to his office to discuss this matter. He said that he was anxious to know how the U.S. Government intended to proceed should it find it necessary to deny Stary’s visa application. I said that at the present time I could not answer his question for no decision had as yet been reached concerning the issuance or denial of the visa.

Feller said that he hoped that if the U.S. found it necessary to deny the visa, it would not find it necessary to invoke the Section 6 reservation of the Headquarters agreement. He said that he hoped that the Department realized that such an action would cause real difficulty for the UN. He said that he believed that the Secretariat would eventually be compelled to contest the U.S. position and request arbitration. In such an arbitration proceeding he believed it most unlikely that the State Department interpretation of the Section 6 reservation would be upheld, that is, he did not believe that the reservation would be read as entitling the U.S. to bar persons covered by Section 11 of the Agreement from the Headquarters District on the basis that such action was necessary to safeguard the national security. He said that if the reservation were interpreted in line with State Department views, it would vitiate the entire Headquarters Agreement.

We then discussed the possibility of justifying the denial of Stary’s visa on the basis of the principle of Section 13 of the Agreement dealing with the deportation of persons covered by Section 11 who abuse their privileges of residence. Feller said that he thought that such a course of action would make it much more easy for the Secretariat to go along with us. He said that it was clear that there was a gap in the Agreement, and that the framers thereof had not envisaged a case such as Stary’s. He said that while the decision would be a close one, he did not think he could take the position that Stary, if he had abused his privileges of residence while here previously, was entitled to a “second bite” at the host country. He felt that if we did base our action on Section 13 we should follow by analogy the procedures set forth in that Section with reference to deportation proceedings.

Feller said that, because of the SYG’s present strong feelings against the Czechoslovakian Government, he would not take the initiative in contesting U.S. action with reference to Stary whether it was based on the Section 6 reservation or on Section 13. The Secretarist’s hand would be forced, however, if ECOSOC requested the SYG for a report, as it had done in previous cases.Feller believed that the SYG would act only on the basis of such a request for a report, or on the basis of a Resolution of ECOSOC or the GA.

1. Files of the United States Mission to the United Nations, New York; specifically the USUN Reference Section file.
2. Bender was Special Assistant to Richard S. Winslow, Secretary-General of the United States Mission to the United Nations.
3. Feller was General Counsel and Principal Director, Legal Department, Secretariat of the United Nations.