At the bottom of this post is a survey. Feel free to take part. Comments are also open. There is also in-depth reading on the matter in the source link below:
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[SOURCE] 4U1A – this is an Amateur Radio Club (ARCDXC). It is located in the Vienna International Center in Vienna, which is NOT Austrian, but an extraterritorial institution. However, the ARRL (DXAC) ignores this status for many years without a valid reason and does not recognize it as a separate DXCC entity, but recognizes it as part of Austria, thereby explicitly ignoring international agreements between the UN (where the US is a member state) and the Austrian government.
DXCC Status and 4U1A
For the sake of consistency, 4U1A should be accorded DXCC status.
- There are only three United Nations “capitals” in the world — in Geneva, New York, and Vienna — with the privilege, normally reserved to countries, of issuing postage stamps.
- Each of these UN “capitals” has an amateur station associated with it. The stations — 4U1ITU, 4U1UN, and 4U1A – have the United Nations prefix 4U rather than host-country prefixes.
- UN authorities thus exercise authority in each of the three UN “capitals” akin to that exercised by countries through their national postal and telecommunication administrations.
- For amateur radio purposes, the United States treats 4U1ITU and 4U1A as distinct from amateur stations subject to the authority of host-country telecommunication administrations. It has third-party arrangements covering 4U1ITU and 4U1A, but has no third-party agreement with Switzerland or Austria.
- 4U1A, along with 4U1ITU and 4U1UN, counts as a separate country in various contests and for various certificates.
The only “argument” recalled in support of denying DXCC country status to 4U1A is that 4U1ITU and 4U1UN were “grandfathered in” and 4U1A was not. The gist of the underlying thought seems to be if we accord DXCC country status to 4U1A, we’ll be flooded by attempts to have similar status conferred on similar stations.
Such a fear is baseless because there are no similar stations. There are three and only three UN “capitals” and three and only three corresponding amateur stations in the world. There are no prospects for an increase in either. There should consequently be no difficulty taking, and standing by, a decision to treat all three stations, and only these three stations, in the same manner.
Despite the foregoing, 4U1A continues to be denied DXCC country status. This patently illogical and inequitable situation cries out for resolution, even if the unusual and regrettable step of overriding the DX Advisory Committee’s recommendation has to be taken. While almost everyone would agree that advisory committee recommendations should normally be followed — otherwise why have such committees?
— the ARRL Board of Directors would be remiss in carrying out its own duties as an elected body if it did not reserve to itself the right to reverse what it found to be a flawed finding by an advisory committee. A preferable path, of course, would be for the DXAC itself to reconsider the matter.
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I vote “NO”, ….
Because, …
Apart from being considered amateur radio subjects, their activities are sporadic.
If anyone is lucky enough to establish a QSO, then go to the trouble of getting QSLs,
something that very rarely or not at all happens “Via Bureau”.
I’m tired of buying QSLs, ….;)
In the past i operated several times 4U1ITU station including a full week-end multi/multi CQWW CW contest in 1989. It was easy to go there and operate the station. Nowadays with all the security restrictions, is difficult to operate 4U1ITU and looks almost impossible to operate at 4U1UN.
This would not be the craziest entity if it was given “country” status. some of the counties championed by the “OH got to be first” group should have never been countries in the first place. And the ARRL does NOT issue International call Letters, and never has.
It is up to the United Nations whether to allow or not allow amateur radio on one or more or to allow none if it likes. We radio amateurs who are DXers can help by being pleasant and by letting your national amateur radio organization to contact the United Nations. There are no United Nation “capitals”, only one, UN Headquarters in New York. Pleasant requests always work better than demands. I know of no “one-man-DXCC-entities..
Whatever the status of UN Vienna is, DXCC list is begging for an honest, close second look asap
Rather delete P5 for now and add it when one day it will get active again, hi hi.
73
ZS1A
The UN in New York City is on international territory.
The UN in Vienna is in the Vienna International Centre which rents the lsnd from Austria: “The Government of Austria handed over the VIC complex to the United Nations and IAEA for the symbolic rental sum of one Austrian schilling (equivalent to 0.07 euro today) a year for 99 years.” https://www.unov.org/unov/en/vic_history.html
Discussion about Vienna has to include discussion about Nairobi: https://www.unbonn.org/index.php/un-duty-stations
I would delte all entities that are not sovereign states or extenal territories of sovereign states. All 4U would go, so would the SMOM and the SV/A.
I would also set the minimum size of the largest piece of any entiry to a square kilometre or a sqare mile at any point in time (high tide), so that we don’t have some rocks popping out of the ocean as separate DXCC entities, e.g. Spratly and some reefs and rocks.
I would NOT remove the countries where ham radio is not allowed, it would only discourage people from trying.
If you carefully read the text for the vote, you should have understood that in Rome, Brindizi and Washington DC these are one separate organizations under the UN. Vienna has more than 20 UN organizations under one roof and this is the UN HQ, of which there are only 3 in whole WW
Prefixes should be managed by ITU and not ARRL. Americans think they own the planet.
How about 4U1HL?
100% agree with content and off course i am saying YES
All dxcc entities where amateur radio is not allowed (example P5, Spratly etc.) have to be deleted, also the islets Scarborough Reef.
Agree with content
Accordingly, i am saying YES
How would 4U1WB in Washington, D.C. fall into this argument?
Part 4 of the DXCC criteria, which F6EXV quotes, has the title of INELIGIBLE AREAS.
In my opinion, all UN buildings (that’s all there is to it) as well as non-geographical areas (e.g. 1A) are removed from the DXCC list. And all countries where amateur radio is not allowed (P5 and others …) exactly the same!
I agree. Everything is correct, BUT the only difference is that in Rome and Brindisi (Italy) there are separate UN structures, in Vienna there are more than 20 of them under one roof (!) And Vienna is the European headquarters, as in New York and Geneva. (Only 3 for the whole world).
In addition, the DXCC program is so old that it requires updating in connection with the trends of the present & modern time.
Read the DXCC Criteria, part 4 a/ i :
QUOTE
i) Any extraterritorial legal Entity of any nature including, but not limited to, embassies, consulates, monuments, offices of the United Nations agencies or related organizations, other inter-governmental organizations or diplomatic missions.
UNQUOTE
End of the story ! Or change the criteria..
Quote: “ There are three and only three UN “capitals” and three and only three corresponding amateur stations in the world. There are no prospects for an increase in either” this statement is false. 4U callsign were used from FAO headquarters in Rome, and from UN Logistic Base in Brindisi, Both in Italy. Nobody silly claimed for another DXCC entity to be added in those cases. We should work for claiming new DXCC entities as remote islands or areas, not to please some fat asses taking advantage of his monopolising condition, to be once again a “DXCC entity himself” and then discouraging others to be active from same locations. We have already too much of those “one-man-DXCC-entities” around the world, no need for more!