Amid
US-Cuba Thaw,
UN's Cuban
Staff
Restricted to
25 Miles From
NYC
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
1 -- On the
day the US'
Jeffrey
DeLaurentis
handed
President
Barack Obama's
letter to Raul
Castro,
setting July
20 for the
re-opening of
embassies,
Inner City Press
asked a Cuban
diplomat in
New York if
the restrictions
on him, and on
Cuban UN
staff, to stay
within 25
miles of Columbus
Circle would
remain in place.
Yes, was the
reply, with a
shaking of the
head. How this
is legal under
the Host
Country
Agreement
between the US
and UN is not
clear. But the
UN says
nothing about
it.
Later on July
1, UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon issued
a statement
welcoming the
move, but
saying nothing
about the US'
restrictions
not only on
Cuban
diplomats but
also on UN
staff of Cuban
nationality,
who work for
Ban. Ah,
leadership.
Ban said (with
the bracketed
word "more"
crossed out)
--
"The
Secretary-General
welcomes the
announcement
today that
Cuba and the
United States
will reopen
embassies in
Havana and
Washington,
D.C.. The
restoration of
diplomatic
ties is an
important step
on the path
toward the
normalization
of relations.
"In keeping
with the
principles of
its founding
Charter, the
United Nations
supports
efforts to
promote [more]
harmonious and
good
neighbourly
relations
among States.
The
Secretary-General
hopes that
this historic
step will
benefit the
peoples of
both
countries."
Back on April
1 as talks
continued
between Cuba
and the US,
including in
Havana on
telecommunications,
Inner City
Press on April
1 asked the UN
to confirm
that Cuban
nationals who
are UN staff
members are
for now
required to
seek prior
approval
before
venturing more
than 25 miles
from Columbus
Circle in
Manhattan.
While the UN
openly
complains when
restricted in
certain other
countries,
this
restriction it
refuses to
confirm or
discuss. From
the UN's
April 1
transcript:
Inner
City Press: I
wanted to ask
you about UN
staff's
ability to
travel more
than 25 miles
outside of New
York... I'd
like you to
comment on
whether Cuban
staff, i.e.,
employed by
the UN, but
from Cuba, are
subject to
that
restriction,
and what the
Secretariat
has done
either
historically
or recently to
oppose that,
and your
position on
the legality
of the host
country
limiting UN
staff to a
certain
distance from
Manhattan.
Deputy
Spokesman
Farhan
Haq: As
you know,
there's a
Convention on
the privileges
and immunities
of UN and
associated
staff, so I
would just
refer to you
that. So
for any
problems that
we have in any
of the
countries
where we
operate, we
take them up
with the local
authorities,
and in this
case, it would
also be an
issue for the
Host Country
Committee.
Inner City
Press:
Right, but can
we either now
or later today
just get an
answer from
the UN, maybe
it's OHRM or
OLA, are you
aware, because
I am, of
restrictions
imposed by the
host country
on UN staff
members from
particular
countries, and
what's your
position on
that?
[overlapping
talking]
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
Like I said,
our position
is in line
with the
Convention on
the privileges
and immunities
of the United
Nations and
associated
staff.
So we have
that as a
clear
point.
And then if we
have concerns
with any
countries, we
take them up
at different
levels.
And like I
said, in this
case,
sometimes
there would be
issues for the
Host Country
Committee and
we'd take it
up there.
Inner City
Press:
I'm just
wondering, can
the UN not say
whether it has
staff members
based here in
New York who
are restricted
from
traveling?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Whenever we
have any
concerns, we
take them up
with the
authorities as
need be,
including with
the Host
Country
Committee.
Back on March
26 Inner City
Press asked US
State
Department
spokesperson
Jeff Rathke
about US
limitations on
Cuban
diplomats.
From the State
Department
transcript:
Inner
City
Press:
Cuba has
complained
that its
diplomats
accredited to
the UN in New
York are not
allowed to go
more than 25
miles outside
of the city or
from Columbus
Circle.
And I wanted
to know
whether this
restriction is
one of the
things that’s
being
negotiated.
Is it
considered
being
lifted?
Is it – where
does it stand,
and how do –
and what’s the
U.S. – given
that generally
people
accredited to
the UN can
travel freely,
how does the
U.S. justify
it?
MR.
RATHKE:
Well, we’ve
said from the
very start of
our rounds of
talks with the
Cuban
Government
that one of
the topics we
want to
discuss is the
ability of
American
diplomats in
Cuba to move
around freely
and, of
course, the
Cubans have a
similar
concern.
I’m not going
to get into
the state of
those
discussions,
but that’s
clearly a
topic that
we’ve been
talking about
over the last
few rounds.
Rathke went on
to say it is
part of the
negotiations.
Back
on March 13,
after Cuba
came out in
strong defense
of Venezuela
after US
President
Obama's
executive
order, the US
was
disappointed
but not
surprised, a
senior State
Department
official told
reporters on a
background
call.
Inner City
Press wondered
from the UN,
what of the
US'
requirement
that Cuban
diplomats --
and even Cuban
UN
staff members
-- must stay
without 25
miles of
Columbus
Circle in
Manhattan?
Will that
restriction,
which seems
contrary to
the Host
Country
Agreement
between the US
and UN and the
Vienna
Conventions,
be removed?
Currently in
charge of the
US' “interest
section” is Jeffrey
Delaurentis,
formerly with
the US Mission
to the UN.
What does he
say about the
25 mile
restriction?
And how might
he fare in a
nomination
process in the
US Senate?
Watch this
site.
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