The visa refusal by the USA to the Deputy Chairman of the Senate to attend an International Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in New York has yet another facet to it. That is, if a conference is being held under the auspices of the UN, may it be on the US soil, how could the USA control its attendance by deciding all by herself as to who could attend and who could not by controlling the issuance of the visas to the delegates from other countries? It smacks of the USA hegemonic control over the UNO.
Though the UN Secretariat is in the USA (NY) yet, its various offices are located in many other countries where international moots and conferences are often held under the auspices of the UN. This practice of refusing visa could also be carried out someday by some other country(ies) as is now being done by the USA.
It would, therefore, be appropriate for the UNO to have its own visa system to invite delegates for international conferences without any control of the country where the moot is to be held.
COL. RIAZ JAFRI (RETD),
Rawalpindi, February 13.