Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, General; The United Nations, Volume I

Lot 71–D 440, Box 19230

¹

Memorandum by Mr. Carl M. Marcy of the Office of the Legislative Counsel²

[Washington,] August 6, 1947.

Comment Paper

Agreement Between the United Nations and the United States Regarding the United Nations Headquarters: Report of the Secretary-General

the problem

The Secretary-General under instructions from the General Assembly (Document A/271, 13 December 1946) was authorized “to negotiate and conclude with the appropriate” American authorities “an agreement concerning the arrangements required as a result of the establishment of the permanent headquarters of the United Nations in the City of New York”. In these negotiations he was to be guided by the provisions of the draft Agreement set forth in Document A/271. These negotiations have now been completed and the United States Congress has authorized the President to bring the Agreement into effect on the part of the United States in accordance with its terms. (See attachment, S.J. Res. 144.)³ Since the report of the Secretary-General on the negotiations with the United States and upon the resolution as passed by the Congress is not yet available, a definitive recommendation as to the position which the United States Delegation should take with respect to the report cannot be made. It is expected, however, that the Secretary-General will recommend that the General Assembly accept the Headquarters Agreement.

Pending the coming into force of the Agreement, the Secretary-General was authorized by the Assembly to conclude arrangements with the United States to determine on a provisional basis the privileges, immunities and facilities needed in connection with the temporary headquarters of the United Nations.

recommendations

(1) It is recommended that the United States Delegation take the position that the Agreement, as approved by the United States Congress, should be accepted by the General Assembly without change.

(2) If the question arises as to whether the United States is ready to extend privileges and immunities to the United Nations at its temporary headquarters, it is recommended that the United States Delegation state that it is ready to make arrangements to extend such privileges and immunities as may be appropriate.

discussion

The Agreement as signed on June 26 by the Secretary of State and the Secretary-General provides in Section 28 that it is to be brought into effect by an exchange of notes authorized respectively by the United States Congress and the General Assembly. The attached resolution (S.J. Res. 144) constitutes such authorization for the President of the United States. The General Assembly must give similar authority to the Secretary-General.

The attached resolution contains in addition to the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States several provisions which are necessary in order to enable the United States Government to give effect to the Agreement (see Sections 2, 3, 4 and 5). It also contains in Section 6 a provision which may be construed as a limitation upon the Agreement as negotiated by representatives of the United States and the United Nations and as signed by the Secretary of State and the Secretary-General on June 26, 1947. Section 6 provides that nothing in the Agreement is to weaken the right of the United States to safeguard its own security and completely to control the entrance of aliens into any territory of the United States other than the Headquarters District and its immediate vicinity. It also provides that Section 14 of the Agreement is not to be construed as amending in any way the immigration laws of the United States. Section 6 was added by the Congress. Its addition was necessary in order to assure the support of certain Congressmen who were fearful that the Headquarters Agreement might be used as a device for evading United States immigration laws or endangering our national security. It is possible that some Members of the United Nations may object strongly to this provision and it may be necessary for the United States Delegation to defend it.

In this connection it may be recalled that Section 24 of the draft Convention on the Headquarters submitted by the General Assembly contained a provision which stated that Article IV, concerning communications and transit to and from the zone, “shall not prevent the Government of the United States of America from taking precautions in the interests of national security, providing that such precautions shall not have the effect of interfering with the rights preferred to in Sections 19 (free access to the zone), 20 (transit of representatives of Members to the zone), and 21 (transit of press representatives to and from the zone)”.

Attention is invited to Section 5 of S.J. Res. 144 which authorizes the President to make effective with respect to the temporary headquarters, on a provisional basis, such of the provisions of the Headquarters Agreement as he may deem appropriate.

The General Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations

The Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations was submitted to the Congress with the request that the President be authorized to deposit the United States accession to the Convent ion. The Senate in S.J. Res. 136 (copy attached)⁴ authorized the President to accede to the Convention on behalf of the United States subject to the reservations contained in Section 1 of the Senate resolution concerning tax exemptions on the salaries of American nationals employed by the United Nations and regarding immunity from national service obligations. Hearings on the resolution were held before a Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. That Committee indicated that it would insist on the same reservations as the Senate with respect to taxation and immunity from national service obligations. The adjournment of this session of the Congress prevented final consideration being given to the resolution concerning the General Convention, It is believed, however, that final favorable consideration may be expected when the Congress reconvenes in January 1948.

1. Folder “Committee 6, Privileges and Immunities of Member States and Staffs”. The IO documentation located in Lot 71–D 440 was retired to the central files from the master files of the Reference and Documents Section of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs (“the IO Files”) in 1971.
2. This was a briefing paper prepared for the information of the United States Delegation to the General Assembly for use at the General Assembly session that was to convene at New York in September. Mr. Marcy was subsequently attached to the Advisory Staff of the Delegation.
3. Not printed.
4. Attachment not printed, but see text on p. 48.