Abstract
The preparation of the Basic Principles of the Headquarters Agreement presents a unique challenge for the PrepCom. As explained earlier, the two-step process for the conclusion of the headquarters agreement has never been utilized before in the history of international organizations. Other factors, such as the time-pressure created by the ongoing work in a related Working Group also made the task more difficult. The Bureau of the PrepCom responded to the challenge with a unique working-method and procedure. The process, which may look somewhat cumbersome, managed to forge a heightened level of understanding among the Bureau, the host country, and the U.N. Secretariat concerning the procedure and the substance of the project. The Bureau felt comfortable with its new role, while the U.N. Secretariat, for the first time in the PrepCom process, received substantive guidelines before it set out to draft the first document. The structured interaction among the main actors provided for a natural development of the Basic Principles, which not only led to the preparation of a widely accepted first draft, but, in the humble opinion of the coordinator, will also facilitate the quick conclusion of the headquarters agreement.
Recommended Citation
Zsolt Hetesy,
The Making of the Basic Principles of the Headquarters Agreement ,
25 Fordham Int'l L.J. 625
(2001).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj/vol25/iss3/5