On April 25, the website of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations reported that Chinese Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Geng Shuang, made a speech at the Host Country Relations Committee meeting.

Geng Shuang said that for some time, the United States has frequently refused to issue visas and restricted the travel freedom of diplomats from specific countries, seriously affecting the normal and effective participation of relevant countries in the work of the United Nations. The actions of the US side violate diplomatic etiquette, international legal obligations, and basic humanity. China, like many other countries present, has long suffered various unreasonable restrictions from the US side. We urge the US side to immediately change its ways and stop obstructing the participation of member states in the work of the United Nations based on bilateral relations and political factors.

Here is the full text of Geng Shuang's speech:

Chairman:

The right to obtain visas and travel freely is an inherent right of diplomatic personnel from all countries' permanent missions to the United Nations. Ensuring this right is the international obligation that the United States, as the host country of the United Nations, should fulfill, and it is also the legal commitment made by the United States when signing the Headquarters Agreement of the United Nations. This should not have become a problem, but unfortunately, for some time now, the United States has frequently denied visas and restricted the travel freedom of diplomats from specific countries, seriously affecting the normal and effective participation of relevant countries in the work of the United Nations.

First, the actions of the US side violate diplomatic etiquette. As the host country of the United Nations, the United States bears the trust and heavy responsibilities of the international community. It should conscientiously perform its duties, treat all countries equally, and provide services for their participation in United Nations meetings. However, driven by its own interests, the United States continuously imposes restrictions and creates problems for specific countries on issues such as visas and travel freedom. This disregard and refusal to recognize the basic rights of diplomatic personnel is disrespectful to foreign diplomats and does not conform to the "hospitality" expected of a host country.

Second, the actions of the US side violate international legal obligations. The rights of visa and travel freedom are key protected diplomatic personnel rights under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Headquarters Agreement of the United Nations. Issuing visas to personnel attending United Nations meetings is a legal obligation that the United States, as the host country, must fulfill. On this issue, the United States has no discretion and cannot adopt discriminatory practices against specific countries based on the closeness or distance of bilateral relations. The United States has disregarded its legal obligations, violating the principle of pacta sunt servanda in international law.

Third, the actions of the US side violate basic humanity. The United States ignores the normal and basic needs of diplomatic personnel and their families in areas such as healthcare and education, arbitrarily imposing discriminatory measures, brutally restricting the travel freedom and medical needs of diplomatic personnel and their families from specific countries, refusing to timely issue visas to diplomatic personnel from relevant countries, and recently even involving incidents of intimidating foreign diplomats. The actions of the US side severely infringe upon the safety, dignity, and freedom of diplomatic personnel, going against the basic principles of humanitarianism.

Chairman,

The US side's abuse of its status as the host country, disregard for international legal obligations, and damage to the legitimate rights of foreign diplomats have occurred historically, over the past few years, and have become increasingly blatant and severe recently. This approach of the US side goes against the spirit of multilateralism, disrupts the normal operation of the United Nations, and reveals the hegemonic mentality and bullying behavior of the US side, which places "America First" above international rules.

China, like many other countries present, has long suffered various unreasonable restrictions from the US side. We urge the US side to immediately change its ways and stop obstructing the participation of member states in the work of the United Nations based on bilateral relations and political factors.

- Urge the US side to strictly adhere to the principles and spirit of legal documents such as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, and the Headquarters Agreement of the United Nations.

- Urge the US side to actively fulfill its obligations as the host country, pay attention to the reasonable demands of member states, and effectively ensure the safety, performance of duties, and dignity of permanent missions and their personnel from all countries.

Thank you, Chairman.

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