clear sentiment in favor of an American site. In December 1945 Congress formally extended an invitation to the United Nations to locate within the United States, and in February 1946 the General Assembly accepted. New York City was selected as the preferred American site by the General Assembly in December 1946, prompted in part by the donation by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., of funds with which to purchase a site along the East River. Special legal arrangements to facilitate this transaction were undertaken by the city and State of New York in December 1946 and February 1947, respectively, and Congress cooperated by exempting the Rockefeller grant from gift taxes by virtue of Public Law 7, 80th Congress enacted February 26, 1947. To define the rights of the United Nations and of the United States relative to the permanent headquarters site, the U.N. Headquarters Agreement was drafted. It was signed at the U.N. temporary headquarters on Long Island at Lake Success, N.Y., by the U.N. Secretary General and the U.S. Secretary of State on June 26, 1947. Following unanimous passage of Senate Joint Resolution 144 in both Houses, the President signed the bill on August 4, 1947, and brought the agreement into effect. A significant followup measure took the form of the United Nations Loan Agreement, signed for the United Nations and the United States on March 3, 1948. The authorizing legislation, Senate Joint Resolution 212, 80th Congress, 2d session, which became Public Law 903, 80th Congress on August 11, 1948, thereupon enabled the United States to extend $65 million as an interest-free loan for the construction of the U.N. headquarters complex. CONVENTION ON PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS There are several possible explanations for the delay in American approval of the Convention on Privileges 3 and Immunities of the United Nations. In particular Congress was anxious to reserve its rights regarding taxation and military service obligations of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who were employed by the United Nations. As the following hearing shows, there was some fear in Congress over the potential abuse of the privileges and immunities of U.N. status as cover for espionage purposes by Communist countries. Legislation to authorize acceptance of the convention was reported favorably to the House by the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the 80th Congress, but it did not reach the floor. Following committee consideration in the first and second sessions, it appears to have died in the Rules Committee as part of an omnibus bill, H.R. 6802, in the second session. Another U.N. bill, authorizing acceptance of the U.N. Headquarters Loan Agreement, was rescued from the omnibus bill in the subsequent special session, but the convention bill died.* It further appears that the Department of State stopped pressing for approval of the convention by the early 1950's, possibly to avoid an embarrassing clash in Congress, and instead took satisfaction in the status quo of fairly broad privileges and immunities already in effect for most U.N. personnel under terms of the International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 as well as by terms of the United Nations Headquarters Agreement. By the mid-1960's, it was becoming increasingly unbefitting for the host government not accede to the convention, which otherwise enjoyed near universal approval among U.N. members." High U.N. officials, nonresident 3 See the committee's report, House Report 2291, 80th Cong., 2d sess., on H.R. 6802, 80th Cong., 2d sess., To Strengthen the United Nations and Promote International Cooperation for Peace. See the committee's report, House Report 2452, 80th Cong., 2d sess., on S.J. Res. 212, 80th Cong., 2d sess., To authorize the President, following appropriation of the necessary funds by the Congress, to bring into effect on the part of the United States the loan agreement of the United States of America and the United Nations signed at Lake Success, N.Y., Mar. 23, 1948. 5 Before the United States acceded to the convention on Apr. 29, 1970, 101 other states had already done so. 71-567-76—17 representatives of permanent missions to the United Nations, and experts temporarily advising the United Nations objected to inadequacies in the diplomatic privileges and immunities they were accorded in the United States. There was talk of moving certain U.N. operations away from the United States, partly in protest over this issue, and in 1967 Secretary General U Thant requested that American officials act favorably on the long-neglected convention. Moreover, U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2328 (XII), question of diplomatic privileges and immunities, adopted on December 29, 1967, specifically urged all member states, which had not yet acceded to the convention, to do so promptly. In 1970, the 25th anniversary year of the United Nations, the State Department believed it appropriate to act on the convention for "psychological and symbolic" reasons, as an expression of continuing American concern for the United Nations and satisfaction over its planned physical expansion in the United States." 6 Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, Senate Executive Report 17, 91st Cong., 1st. sess., Mar. 17, 1970, p. 31 and throughout. UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT (S.J. Res. 144, 80th Cong., 1st Sess.) SATURDAY, JULY 19, 1947 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The subcommittee met at 11 a.m., Hon. Lawrence H. Smith (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. SMITH. The committee will be in order. We have with us Mr. Fahy, the Legal Adviser of the State Department, whom we are glad to hear at this time. STATEMENT OF CHARLES FAHY, LEGAL ADVISER, DEPARTMENT OF STATE Mr. FAHY. Mr. Chairman, I am Legal Adviser of the Department of State. The reason I am the one to come before you on these matters is that the Secretary a little over a year ago placed me in charge of the negotiations with the United Nations of what we call the headquarters agreement, which is before you now. BACKGROUND TO U.N. HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT The headquarters agreement, which would be approved if you approved Senate Joint Resolution 144 is an international agreement which has been negotiated, signed by Secretary Marshall for the United States, subject to congressional approval, governing the relations between the United States and the United Nations with respect to the site of the headquarters in New York City, fixing the status and rights and privileges of the United Nations at that site, and defining the authority of the American authorities in relation to the United Nations. The agreement was negotiated over a period of about a year; in fact, a little longer than that. At that time the General Assembly which met in London first in the winter of 1946 submitted a rough draft and appointed a committee of lawyers of 10 nations to complete the draft, with the authorities of the United States, because that meeting of the Assembly decided that the headquarters was to be in the United States. At the meeting of the General Assembly last fall in New York, the precise location in the United States was fixed in New York City and we continued thereafter the negotiations, having particular reference to the exact location of the site. Into the negotiations the Department of State drew other executive branches of the Government which were interested, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission, the War and Navy Departments. Also Governor Dewey appointed a representative to work with us, as his representative, because the agreement would primarily affect the State of New York; and then, when the city site was selected, the mayor was represented in the negotiations through the corporation counsel's office of the city. The New York State Legislature also appointed a committee on headquarters which followed the course of the negotiations. Then it was approved and signed June 26, 1947, at Lake Success,1 by Secretary Marshall. It was submitted thereafter by the President to the Congress for congressional approval, as is required. We are in a position to state to Congress that not only did all the interested branches of the executive part of the Government agree that it was correct, but also the Governor of New York, the city authorities, and the legislative committee of the Legislature of New York; and Senators Ives and Wagner of New York-the matter first having come up on the Senate side-introduced this resolution authorizing the President to place the agreement in effect. The Senate has had several hearings and during the last week the Senate committee favorably reported, with some modifications, the resolution as introduced; and the Senate, just the day before yesterday unanimously approved the resolution with those modifications." We are extremely anxious that the House concur, because there is a meeting of the General Assembly in New York, one of the regular annual meetings, in September. This General Assembly, on behalf of the United Nations, must also approve the agreement. PROMPT APPROVAL URGED For the United States to complete its constitutional processes with respect to approval, before the Assembly meets, would greatly strengthen our position with the General Assembly in holding the agreement to the terms in it, which have been so approved by the Congress and I think will help us very greatly in preventing any modifications of it by the General Assembly, in which case it would have to be resubmitted-if the changes are of serious characterto the Congress. Also I would like very much to have it approved before the General Assembly meets, because if we have not done so it will weaken the firmness of the position of the United Nations headquarters as having been established in the United States, because the terms of its position here will not have been settled. 1 Lake Success, Long Island, N.Y., was the temporary headquarters of the United Nations from 1946 until completion of the permanent New York City headquarters building in 1951. 2 The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held hearings in executive session on July 10, 12, and 15, 1947 on the United Nations Headquarters Agreement, S.J. Res. 144, 80th Congress; see appendix VI, pp. 316-318, and Senate Report Nos. 522 and 559 in appendix VI, p. 321 and p. 338. |