Chapter 4

STATE REPRESENTATION

Diplomatic Missions and Embassy Property Appointment, Accreditation, and Notification

"People's Bureaus”

Following the designation, beginning in 1979, of certain Libyan diplomatic establishments as "People's Bureau" in lieu of "Embassy" and the creation of People's Committees at the People's Bureaus, which carried out, among their other activities, traditionally recognized diplomatic and consular functions, the Department of State sought to clarify the status of the People's Committee of the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya at Washington, in accordance with the categories provided in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

When no reply had been received to the Department's request for information regarding the People's Committee, transmitted by the American Embassy at Tripoli to the Libyan Foreign Secretariat by a note dated October 10, 1979, the Department dispatched a follow-up note to the People's Bureau at Washington on March 14, 1980, that read:

With regard to the ongoing operations of the Washington People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the Department of State wishes to draw attention to the attached Diplomatic Note, presented to the Foreign Secretariat of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on October 10, 1979. This note sets out certain conditions governing the operations of the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission and its relations with the host government, it being understood that these conditions in turn provide the basis for the host government's recognition of that Mission.

These conditions can be summarized as follows:

-The Bureau should be a diplomatic mission. (We note that this has been confirmed by the Libyan Government.)

-All dealings with the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission are to be governed by the Vienna Convention.

-The members of the People's Committee of the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission must have official status.

-A specific official spokesman must be designated for the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission.

-A clear understanding is required on what is to be the protocol level at which the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission is to be regarded.

To date the Department of State has received no official reply to this note and must now request that such a reply be given as soon as possible. In the meantime, in order to determine the status of personnel now working at the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission, the Department must also ask for a new and complete list of all employees currently on the staff of the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission-both Libyan and other nationalities. Such a list should designate the specific position held by each such employee.

The United States Government is, as always, interested in cooperating with the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission to find a mutually acceptable structure and framework for the continued operations of the Mission. The Department of State must reiterate, however, that the Vienna Convention is the basis for dealings not only with the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya but for relationships with all diplomatic missions in Washington as well as for the operation of all United States Missions abroad. Where the Vienna Convention offers some degree of flexibility, the Department of State is willing to be flexible; where it does not, the Department must insist upon adherence to that convention's standards and

norms.

Dept. of State File No. P80 0041-1649.

For the note from the American Embassy at Tripoli to the Libyan Foreign Secretariat, dated Oct. 10, 1979, a copy of which was attached to the Department's note, ante, see the 1979 Digest, pp. 571-572.

The People's Bureau furnished the requested list under cover of a note dated Mar. 17, 1980. Dept. of State File No. P80 0063-0206.

Subsequently, by a note dated April 10, 1980, the Foreign Liaison Office at the (Libyan) General People's Congress informed the American Embassy at Tripoli that it was the appropriate authority to deal with the Embassy, that all Embassy business relations and contacts were to be carried out through it, and that it would render every assistance to enable the Embassy to perform its role in "suitable circumstances." Confirming the importance of friendly relations between the Libyan and American peoples and requesting similar assistance for the People's Bureau in the United States, the note also set out the names of the five People's Committee members notified to the Department by the People's Bureau at Washington on September 4, 1979.

American Embassy Tripoli, telegram No. 224, Apr. 18, 1980.

The Department of State replied for the United States Government, by a note to the People's Bureau at Washington, dated April 24, 1980, directing the attention of the Libyan Government to the previous notes of October 10, 1979, and March 14, 1980, and reiterating

the U.S. position that the People's Bureau was to be regarded and treated as a diplomatic mission. Confirming that all appropriate courtesies and cooperation would be accorded the People's Bureau in accordance with customary practice in dealing with a diplomatic mission and its staff members, the note added:

The status, rights, obligations, privileges, and immunities of the Libyan Diplomatic Mission (the People's Bureau) in Washington and those of the head of that mission and its staff shall hereafter be determined in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the laws of the United States applicable to diplomatic missions and their personnel.

Ali El-Houderi, who is referred to in the Foreign Liaison Office note of April 10, 1980, as "Secretary of the People's Committee", will be regarded by the Department of State as the head of the Libyan Diplomatic Mission (the People's Bureau) in Washington. The note enclosed standard notification forms (Notification of Appointment of Foreign Diplomatic Officer, DS-1497, and Notification of Foreign Government Related Employment Status, DS-394) for completion and return, covering mission staff members for whom proper notification forms had not been submitted. The list included the five People's Committee members announced in the People's Bureau note of September 4, 1979, and six other persons. Dept. of State File No. P80 0059-1045.

The People's Bureau replied on May 1, transmitting a note from the Libyan Foreign Liaison Office in Tripoli, which made the following principal points: (1) People's Bureaus were the result of the "political experiment being exercised in the Jamahiriya"; and People's Committees, which had come into being as a result of the takeover by the masses, "mainly the Libyan student masses," were an extension of the people's authority and were accountable to the People's Congresses. (2) People's Bureaus had been established to replace traditional embassies and to establish friendship between the Libyan people and other people; they were not embassies and did not represent a government, "for the government in the traditional sense does not exist in the Jamahiriya." (3) People's Bureaus were run by popularly chosen People's Committees in accordance with a "philosophical framework of collective action" under which decisions were reached "on the basis of the democratic rule of majority," each People's Bureau having a secretary who coordinates its actions ("in Washington D.C., Dr. Ali el-Houderi"). The note added:

The Office of Foreign Liaison is the connecting point and the channel of contact between the People's Bureaus outside Libya and the People's Congresses inside it. The head of the Office of the Foreign Liaison is brother Ahmed Shahati.

The traditional Secretariat for Foreign Affairs will disappear in Libya when the masses complete their takeover of the Embassies, and then turn them into People's Bureaus, run by People's Committees, chosen openly and directly by the masses. The concept and the existence of the Secretariat for Foreign Affairs has in practice disappeared as it relates to your country, with the completion of the taking-over of the former Embassy and turning it into a People's Bureau, run by a People's Committee.

Ibid., No. P80 0063-1211.

By this time the question of the notification procedures for, and the status to be accorded to, members of the People's Bureau had become intertwined with the Department's decision to declare the four members of the People's Committee, other than Dr. el-Houderi, not acceptable because of their reported implication in the Libyan Government's activity against dissident Libyan nationals in the United States. (The four individuals left the United States after the Department announced that it would terminate the People's Bureau activity altogether and require all of its personnel to depart the country, if the four persisted in refusing to leave. See this Digest, post, pp. 326-330.)

Subsequently, the People's Bureau agreed that its status and that of its personnel, and the documentation applicable to them, were subject to the Department of State's policies and practices as described in a Department note to the Bureau, dated May 15, reading in part:

1. The Department will continue to apply to the People's Bureau the laws, regulations and procedures applicable to diplomatic missions in Washington and their members. In particular, the People's Bureau and its personnel will, on the basis of reciprocity, be accorded the privileges, exemptions, immunities and protection accorded to foreign diplomatic missions and their personnel. For these purposes, the Secretary of the People's Committee will be treated as equivalent to a chief of a diplomatic mission; the members of the People's Committee will be treated as equivalent to members of the diplomatic staff of a diplomatic mission; and the other members of the People's Bureau will be treated as equivalent to members of the administrative and technical staff or the service staff of a diplomatic mission, as appropriate to their functions. However, in keeping with the expressed wishes of the People's Bureau, the Department will no longer refer to the People's Bureau as "the People's Bureau of the Diplomatic Mission of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya," but rather as the "People's Bureau of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya."

2. The People's Bureau will promptly inform the Department of the entry on duty and departure of all members of the People's Bureau, utilizing standard Department of State Forms 1497, 1497a, 394 and 394a, which may be modified, as agreed, to reflect acceptable terminology. The Department will utilize the data submitted by the People's Bureau on its personnel to make appro

priate determinations as to the inclusion of the personnel on either the "Blue" or "White" lists.

3. The United States will issue visas in accordance with its laws and regulations to permit the members of the People's Bureau to enter and to maintain the correct status while in the United States. Without regard to the specific character of the representation of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in the United States, such visas will ordinarily be issued pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(A) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act.

Dept. of State File No. P80 0069-0911.

Dr. el-Houderi later advised the Department informally that the Libyan Government had accepted the conditions, ante, placed upon the operation of the People's Bureau at Washington. At the request of the Dept. of State, Dr. el-Houderi confirmed this information by a diplomatic note, that read in part:

The People's Bureau wishes to assure the Department of State of its cooperation in resolving matters referred to in the [Department's] note [of May 15, 1980, ante], and appreciates the willingness of the Department of State to negotiate these matters. The People's Bureau wishes to reiterate its position that the People's Bureau is not a diplomatic mission within the meaning of the Vienna Convention of [on] Diplomatic Relations, and the personnel of the People's Bureau are not diplomats. The People's Bureau, however, recognizes the inherent right of the Department of State, and the United States Government as the host country to unilaterally make certain determinations as expressed in the note of 15 May, 1980.

As Secretary of the People's Bureau, I discussed with my country your note of 15 May, 1980, and was instructed to advise that your right to apply the procedures, privileges, exemptions, immunities, and protections specified therein is recognized and accepted.

The People's Bureau wishes to extend to the Department of State its appreciation for its cooperation and understanding of this unique experiment in relations between the peoples of various countries and look[s] forward to continued dialogue as issues arise affecting the relationships of our two peoples.

Ibid., No. 0133-0160.

Offices Apart From Mission

By a note dated November 13, 1980, the Department of State informed a foreign embassy at Washington of its policy of according full diplomatic status only to one embassy official stationed at an embassy commercial, economic, or financial office in New York, i.e., the principal officer, or the head of such office.

The posting of a second embassy diplomatic officer as Financial and Administrative Attaché at the country's Commercial Representation Bureau in New York had come to the Department's attention in connection with a request for a customs clearance. As an "unusual exception to the Department's policy", the Department of State permitted the second diplomatic officer to retain his original diplomatic accreditation, but cautioned that it would not admit to any other exception.

Dept. of State File No. P85 0028-2091.

Subsequently, upon the departure of the second diplomatic officer, the Department