Speech #900316977

Th.ese matters. with two exceptions. present no serious difficulty for the United States. There is an apparent conflict. however. between Article 29(1) of the Convention and United States revenue laws pertinent to the taxation of nonresident aliens. which can be avoided by interposition of an appropriate reservation. Therefore it is proposed that the United States accession to the Protocol be accompanied by a reservation to Article 29(1) of the Convention in the following terms: "The United States of America construes Article 29 of the Convention as applying only to refugees who are resident in the United States and reserves the right to tax refugees who are not residents of the United States in accordance with its general rules relating to nonresident aliens." A second reservation is proposed to avoid a conflict between Article 24 of the Convention and certain provisions of the social security laws particularly in regard to residence requirements applicable to aliens but not to citizens. It is proposed that the reservation read as follows: "The United States of America accepts the obligation of paragraph 1(b) of Article 24 of the Convention except insofar as that paragraph may conflict in certain instances with any provision of title II (old age. survivors and disability insurance) or title XVIII (hospital and medical insurance for the aged) of the Social Security Act. As to any such provision. the United States will accord to refugees lawfully staying in its territory treatment no less favorable than is accorded aliens generally in the same circumstances." Article 7(2) of the Convention provides that "after a period of three years residence all refugees shall enjoy exemption from legislative reciprocity in the territory of the Contracting States". The commentary on this article by the Committee on the Draft Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees notes that "since a refuggee is not protected by any State. the requirement of reciprocity loses its raison detre and its application to refugees would be a measure of severity. Refugees would be placed in an unjustifiable position of inferiority". In additio.. Article 16(1) provides for free access to the courts of law on the territory of all Contracting States. These provisions would qualify. in regard to refugees. the reciprocity requirement of Title 28. United States Code. Section 2502 in relation to suits by aliens in the Court of Claims. As stated earlier. foremost among the rights which the Protocol would guarantee to refugees is the prohibition (under Article 33 of the Convention) against their expulsion or return to any country in which their life or freedom would be threatened. This article is comparable to Section 243(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 8 U.S.C. Section 1254. and it can be implemented within the administrative discretion provided by existing regulations. Article 32(1) of the Convention provides that. "The Contracting States shall not expel a refugee lawfully in their territory save on grounds of national security or public order." Many If not most of the grounds for deportation set forth in Section 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 8 U.S.C. 1251. are grounds of "national security or public order." including particularly the several provisions relating to subversive activities and criminal conduct. As refugees by definition are without a homeland. deportation of a refugee is a particularly serious measure. and it would not be humanitarian to deport a refugee for reasons of health or economic dependence. Accession to the Protocol would promote our foreign policy interests through reaffirming. in readily understandable terms. our traditional humanitarian concerns and leadership in this field. It would also convey to the world our sympathy and firm support in behalf of those fleeing persecution. Actually. most refugees in the United States already enjoy legal and political rights which are equivalent to those which states acceding to the Convention or the Protocol are committed to extend to refugees within their territories. Under United States laws and practices. refugees entering this country normally have either been admitted as permanent resident aliens or have been provided opportunity to obtain such status within a reasonable period following their entry. These refugees have been given the opportunity to acquire citizenship in due course and meanwhile to receive rights shared by all other legally admitted aliens. With the exception of voting. such aliens enjoy in the United States virtually the same rights as United States citizens. A succession of special refugee imigration measures enacted since 1945 has been the chief element in our countrys bipartisan program for accepting refugee immigrants and according them status promoting their assimilation in the United States as citizens. The removal by the Protocol of the refugee eligibility dateline in the Convention has caused international interest. It has been felt by many that. with the passage of time. it may become progressively difficult to establish a causal link between some refugee problems emerging in the future and events which took place prior to 1951. It is considered that the Protocolhaving no cutoff date for eligibilityis more clearly applicable to current and future refugee problems. and thus provides a more effective basis for accomplishment. In these terms. the Protocol strengthens the Convention as an instrument of the United Nations. The Protocollike the Conventionprovides that disputes concerning its interpretation or application that cannot be settled by other means may be referred to the International Court of Justice. The provision is similar to that included in our bilateral treaties of friendship. commerce and navigation since 1946 and in numerous multilateral treaties to which the United States is a party. United States accession to the Protocol is strongly supported by numerous American organizations having broad domestic support. Both the American Council of Voluntary Agencies and the American Immigration and Citizenship Conference have petitioned the Government. in behalf of a total of 86 organizations. urging that the United States accede to the Protocol during International Year for Human Rights. The fortythree member agencies of the American Council include all of the major religious. nationality and other American voluntary agencies engaged in conducting refugee and resettlement programs in countries throughout the world (including the United States) and in coordinating the support and contributions of the American public for such purposes. Thirteen of these agencies were also among the 56 organizations which requested the American Immigration and Citizenship Conference to transmit to the Government their support of accession. The other 43 organizations represented in the Conference petition include major labor unions. nationality. religious and ethnic groups and a cross section of citizen organizations concerned with extending social and other assistance in this country to immigrants and other persons of foreign origin. Respectfully submitted.