U.N. Calls on U.S. Not to Shut Down PLO Mission

UNITED NATIONS —  Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar, opening an emergency session of the General Assembly today, urged the United States not to close the U.N. Mission of the Palestine Liberation Organization and to respect the United Nations.

“This question has immediate and profound importance for the United Nations,” he said as the 159-member assembly convened a three-day session to condemn the U.S. plan to close the PLO Mission under a new anti-terrorist law.

“The PLO is an invitee of the United Nations and the United States is obliged by its U.N. Headquarters Agreement to permit accredited PLO personnel to enter and remain in the U.S. and carry out their official functions,” the U.N. chief said.

Congressional Legislation

Perez de Cuellar said he hoped the United States could reconcile its domestic legislation with its international obligations.

Legislation approved by Congress last year and signed by President Reagan calls for the 13-year-old mission to be closed by March 22.

Both the State Department and the United Nations say the new anti-terrorism law that would close the mission violates the 1947 Headquarters Agreement between the United States and the United Nations.

It allows the world body to invite representatives of any state or organization to send observers to the United Nations. The invitation was extended to the PLO in 1974.

Legal Maneuvering

Still, the Justice Department reportedly intends to go ahead and order the mission closed, although legal maneuvering is expected to keep the mission open for as long as a year.

Twenty-two speakers, including the PLO ambassador and the envoys of the Soviet Union, Jordan, Egypt and Syria, were to speak today before the assembly.

In the unusual session, the United States, the largest U.N. contributor, was expected to be lectured and rebuked by the world body, which recognizes the PLO.

The head of the U.N. Arab Group said Sunday that if the United States insists on closing the PLO Mission, the General Assembly should vote to leave New York and relocate in Geneva.

Vital to Discussions

“I would hope it will not reach that point,” said Ambassador Karim Ebrahim al Shakar of Bahrain. “But that depends on the will and good intention of the host country, the United States.”

Without the PLO, recognized as the legitimate U.N. representative of the Palestinian people, the United Nations cannot hold discussions on the Middle East, said the Bahrain envoy, head of the 21-nation Arab Group.

Most other diplomats and the PLO said it was unlikely that the United Nations would leave New York.

The three-day session is expected to approve resolutions calling on the United States to allow the 13-year-old PLO Mission to operate. It also may seek a ruling against the United States by the International Court of Justice.