PERMANENT MISSIONS

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33775, 22 February 1975, Page 7

PERMANENT MISSIONS

Expulsions at issue fN.Z.P.A.-Reuter— CopMrtphe) VIENNA. Feb. 18. Western States in a minority, were defeated yesterday in a key vote at the United Nations Law Conference in Vienna on whether host-States to international organisations should have the right to expel diplomats for spying. The conference, endeavouring to formulate an international convention governing permanent national missions to the United Nations and other world bodies, rejected Western moves to allow host-States to declare diplomats from permanent missions unacceptable because of sabotage or other abuses of privilege, in the same way as diplomats from embassies. A joint British-Canadian amendment and a similar United States admendment were defeated by 25 votes to 32 and 27 votes to 32 respectively. I The chief American delegate, Mr Frederick Smith, said that the issue was possibly the most important to be decided by the six-week conference, which began on February 4. “This issue may be the determining one for my country in deciding whether to become a party to this convention,” he {warned the delegates before I the vote. With few exceptions, Com- ; munist and Third World deleI gates opposed the Western amendments. The Soviet Union’s chief delegate, Mr ; Sergei Kuznetsov. said: “They are a crude attempt to interfere in the right of a State to nominate the members of its missions.”