STATEMENT OF PERRY SHANKLE, PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89T00234R000100090010-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 20, 2012
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: April 13, 1988
• Content Type: MISC

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STATEMENT OF PERRY SHANKLE
PRESIDENT
AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION
before the
Subcommittee on International Operations
Committee on Foreign Affairs
on H.R. 3036
The Revision of Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act
April 13, 1988
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I am Perry
Shankle, President of the American Foreign Service Association.
I appreciate the opportunity to appear before the Committee to
present AFSA's views on H.R. 3036, the Revision of Diplomatic
Privileges and Immunities Act.
AFSA is the professional association of members of the
Foreign Service and the exclusive representative of Foreign
Service employees in the Department of State and the Agency for
International Development. Most of these employees serve abroad
as representatives of the United States under the protection of
traditionally accepted standards of diplomatic immunity as
codified in international law and the Vienna Convention.
AFSA supports the intent of this legislation to compensate
victims of crimes committed by foreign diplomats in the United
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States. However, we are concerned about the effect of this
proposed legislation on the environment in which our own Foreign
Service personnel and their dependents work and live overseas.
While no one could argue that diplomatic immunity should be
used as a shield for criminal actions, AFSA is concerned that
altering our country's obligations under the Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations could seriously jeopardize the freedom and
effectiveness of Americans who represent the United States at
foreign posts. Experience has shown that the system of
diplomatic immunity, imperfect as it is, is in our national
interest. Immunity is built on a system of reciprocity. What we
deny to foreign diplomats here will in turn be denied to our
colleagues and their families overseas. Our members serve in
countries with legal and political systems that are often sharply
at variance with ours where it is not uncommon that attempts are
made to harass and intimidate Americans stationed or visiting
there in an official capacity. In many situations, a healthy
respect for the concept of diplomatic immunity is all we have.
It is bad enough out there even with diplomatic immunity.
All of us have our own horror stories collected over the years,
but new ones continue to occur. For example, some recent
incidents: This fall, our economic counselor was arrested and
detained in Panama and held incommunicado for eight hours. He
had been observing, but not taking part, in a demonstration in
which someone was killed. Late into the night, our Ambassador
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11.
was finally able to find the jail in which he was being held.
Even where they are not taking action to deny our members their
rights, local law, enforcement officials are often extremely
unhelpful, passive at best. In this case, two of our colleagues
were recently roughed up by Sandinista mobs in Nicaragua. The
police were aware of their diplomatic status, but did nothing to
assist them.
Some in the Foreign Service, because of the nature of their
duties and assignments, are excluded from the diplomatic list,
and are already particularly vulnerable to the vagaries of local
laws and the local political systems. We fear that any action
the Congress might take to alter our obligations under the Vienna
Convention will invite more harmful reciprocal action by
unfriendly nations and will subject these individuals to even
greater risk.
Americans serving overseas are representative of our
country. They are typical Americans and as such they are
basically law abiding, respectful of the customs, culture, and
laws of the countries in which they are serving. They try to
stay out of trouble, to avoid potentially trouble-making
situations whenever they can, but, as typical Americans,
sometimes some of us do get in trouble. Laws are broken; customs
violated; people do stupid things. Individuals on occasion drive
under the influence of alcohol, or take drugs, or get in fights,
or commit even more serious crimes. Of course, AFSA does not
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condone the commission of unlawful acts by persons having
immunity, but neither do we want to turn them over to local
justice, particularly in some countries we could all think of.
Unlawful acts by our members do not often go unpunished, and they
should not. Our foreign affairs agencies act against employees
or their dependents who violate host country laws. Depending
upon the seriousness of the incident, they may be brought back to
the United States, to face sanctions by the United States
Government. More often than not, they are subject to
disciplinary or legal action, including separation from the
Foreign Service.
We also remain aware that there may be political motivation
for charging individuals with crimes that they have not
committed. A dependent teen age son or daughter of a senior
embassy official in a country where relations are tense, for
instance, could be picked up on some trumped up driving or drugs
charges as a way for that country to put pressure on us. Without
the strongest form of diplomatic immunity, such a situation could
turn into something horrible. And we do not feel that even those
official Americans who are legitimately charged with criminal
offenses should be at the mercy of the local justice system in
countries which do not share our fundamental concepts of the
presumption of innocence or the requirements of due process or
the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments.
AFSA is also concerned about the possible consequences of
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that provision of the proposed legislation which requires
$1,000,000 per incident insurance coverage for injuries resulting
from the operation of any motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft.
We support the requirement of minimum insurance coverage, but we
do not want the costs of such insurance to be borne by individual
diplomats. We believe that such coverage would probably be too
costly for our members to afford, even if it were available in
foreign countries. It is also possible that some countries may
set unreasonably high premiums either as a revenue measure or to
retaliate against diplomats. We propose that section 8 be
amended by adding the words "by a Diplomatic Mission" after the
word "carried", to clarify that it is the diplomatic mission
itself which is required to carry such insurance.
I would be pleased to answer any questions the Committee may
have.
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