Definitive Report - REPORT_NO218, November 1982

1. 48. In a letter dated 14 June 1982, the World Federation of Teachers' Unions (FISE) presented a complaint of violation of trade union rights in the United States of America. The Government sent its observations in a communication dated 31 August 1982.
2. 49. The United States of America has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) or the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. The complainant's allegations

1. 50. In its letter of 14 June 1982, FISE states that its Secretary General, Mr. Daniel Retureau, was denied a visa by the US State Department and the Attorney General to participate in the Second United Nations Special Session on Disarmament which took place in New York from 7 June to 9 July 1982. It explains that Mr. Retureau, a French citizen, was authorised to represent FISE and was registered to address the Special Session.
2. 51. According to the complainant, the US Consul in Berlin, where the visa application was lodged, indicated that the visa was denied "because of the nature of FISE". It states that the State Department finally granted the visa on 14 June, too late to permit Mr. Retureau to participate in the opening of the Special Session. FISE alleges that this constitutes a violation of trade union rights and freedom of expression.

B. The Government's reply

1. 52. The Government states that the measures taken were strictly a matter of routine immigration law and practice and did not prejudice Mr. Retureau's freedom of association. It explains that on 11 May 1982 the US Embassy in Berlin notified the Department of State of a visa request filed by Mr. Retureau to attend the Special Session in New York. Upon examination of this request, it was found that he was technically ineligible to receive a visa under section 212(A)28 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. However, as the stated purpose of his request was to attend a United Nations meeting, and pursuant to US obligations as host to the United Nations headquarters, the Department of State requested a special waiver for Mr. Retureau to enter the country from the Immigration and Naturalisation Service of the Department of Justice. In the absence of United Nations confirmation of Mr. Retureau's role in the Special Session, on 5 June the waiver was refused. On 9 June official confirmation was received from the United Nations and a second waiver request immediately filed; it was approved two days later and the visa was available to Mr. Retureau on Monday, 14 June, one week after the start of the five-week meeting. The Government states that to further accommodate Mr. Retureau, the Department of State allowed two entries on the visa so that he could return to New York for the conclusion of the meeting if necessary. It appears, however, that Mr. Retureau never returned to the Embassy to collect his visa.
2. 53. The Government recalls past decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association indicating that the refusal to grant a passport or visa is a question which concerns the sovereignty of a State unless such measures have direct repercussions on the exercise of trade union rights and unless particularly cogent evidence is supplied to show that such refusal to admit an alien to national territory constitutes an infringement of trade union rights.
3. 54. Lastly, the Government stresses that the delay which prevented Mr. Retureau from attending the opening of the United Nations meeting was not caused by the US authorities who, in fact, upon receipt of confirmation of his role in the meeting, went out of their way to accommodate him.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 55. The Committee notes that, although the complainant organisation alleges that its Secretary General was refused a visa "because of the nature of the organisation", it has not, despite an invitation to submit additional information, clarified whether the refusal was based on Mr. Retureau's status as a trade unionist or on his trade union activities. Furthermore, the Committee notes that once official confirmation was received from the United Nations that the trade union leader concerned had been invited to attend the meeting in New York, the Government speedily approved the visa application. The requirement of reasonable evidence to establish the right of aliens to enter the United States in such circumstances is provided for in the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations of 1947.1
2. 56. Lastly, the Committee notes from the information at its disposal that a representative of the complainant organisation did address the meeting in New York and that the individual concerned in this present complaint did not use his visa once granted even though two entries into the United States were authorised to enable him to participate in the remaining four weeks of the five-week meeting.
3. 57. In view of this situation and taking into account the principle that it is not for the Committee to deal with measures falling within national legislation concerning aliens unless they have direct repercussions on the exercise of trade union rights, the Committee considers that this case does not call for further examination.