Benin.-Foreign residents are not permitted to leave their areas of residency without prior approval of the Government.

Bulgaria.-The Bulgarian Government has declared certain frontier zones closed to all foreign diplomatic personnel, including those of other Socialist countries, ostensibly for reasons of security. Some of these areas are open to foreign tourists.

Burma.-All tourists in Burma receive visas valid for a maximum of 7 days and subject to travel restrictions. Only Rangoon, Mandalay, and Taunggyi are normally accessible to travelers. These restrictions are justified on the basis of security.

Burundi. A general curfew from midnight to sunrise, Sunday through Friday, has been in effect since 1976. The travel of all people within the country is subject to limitations.

China, Peoples Republic.-Controls on travel by foreigners are freer now than previously. However, travel is still generally restricted to itineraries and schedules submitted prior to the issuance of visas. Ethiopia. Restrictions on the travel of U.S. diplomats are justified on the basis of the prevailing security situation, although they do not appear to be applied to members of the East bloc missions.

Guinea Bissau.-Foreign diplomats are required to request permission to travel outside of the capital city.

Iraq.-Only business visas are issued. Prior permission, requiring 6 days, must be obtained for travel outside Baghdad.

Kampuchea.-U.S. citizens are not normally permitted entry into Kampuchea (formerly Cambodia). Foreigners who have been permitted entry have been subjected to very tight travel restrictions. The United States does not have diplomatic relations with Kampuchea. Laos.-Foreign visitors to Laos must be sponsored by an official Lao body or organization, or by a foreign diplomatic mission accredited to the Government. Visitors generally must enter and leave Laos by air and may not travel outside the capital city without express permission. The Government states that this latter requirement is for the safety and convenience of foreign travelers.

Libya.-The travel of all foreign diplomats within the country is restricted. Tourists and nonofficial foreign workers are not subject to the same restrictions.

Mongolia.-U.S. citizens rarely visit Mongolia. When they are issued visas, their travel is limited to prearranged itineraries and schedules. The United States does not have diplomatic relations with Mongolia.

Nepal.-Permits are required for travel to several outlying areas of the country, but they are routinely issued.

South Africa.-Travel into the 10 designated black tribes homelands or numerous black residential areas is forbidden to all foreigners and to South Africans themselves unless they legally reside in the

area.

Tanzania. Foreign diplomats must submit diplomatic notes to travel beyond a 50-mile radius of the capital city.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.-Travel of foreigners is ostensibly not permitted in about 25 percent of the area of the Soviet Union. In actuality, up to 90 percent of the country is closed to foreign travelers as a result of close control of transportation and reservations

services and official denials of applications to visit allegedly open

areas.

Vietnam.-Few Americans have visited Vietnam in recent years. Most such visits appear to result from invitations extended by the Vietnamese Government which set forth the purpose of the travel and areas to be visited. Travelers are usually accompanied by guides who have the final say over locations to be visited. The United States does not have diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

Yemen, Peoples Democratic Republic (South Yemen).— All foreign travel within the country is tightly controlled. The United States does not have diplomatic relations with the PDRY.

SECTION 401

EMPLOYMENT OF FAMILY MEMBERS OVERSEAS

Section 401 of the Act of October 7, 1978, and section 413 of the Act of August 17, 1977, look toward the expansion of employment opportunities for family members of U.S. Government personnel assigned abroad. Section 401 (c) directs that a report be submitted describing actions taken by the Department pursuant to these two sections.

CONVERSION OF ALIEN POSITIONS

The Department is keenly aware of the important impact that spouse employment is having on its personnel system. There is a growing trend toward preference for Washington assignment, fewer families are accompanying employees overseas and morale is down in many posts where employment is limited. Not only are Foreign Service spouses generally well educated professionals who seek challenging employment, they also increasingly find that they must work to meet the financial requirements of their children's education.

The Department has given considerable study to how it might help broaden employment opportunities for family members overseas. Progress depends not on a single solution but on seeking innovations in many areas, and we therefore appreciate the authority in section 401 of the 1978 Act to establish a program for the employment of family members in certain vacant alien positions. We want our response to be creative but equitable, and we have identified several potentially serious problems that we believe must be evaluated in a trial program so that they may be dealt with effectively when the program is placed into worldwide effect.

We have concern about the effect the program will have on the legitimate interests of our foreign national employees on whom we must continue to rely for many vital services. We believe some host governments may have concern about the reduction in employment opportunities for their nationals that will result from this program. Also, from the management standpoint, we need to insure that post managers abroad are able to keep all positions filled at all times by qualified employees.

In order to evaluate the above kinds of problems, we are establishing a pilot program with AID and ICA at a cross section of Foreign Service posts, currently 15 in number. To date, these posts have identified 36 foreign national positions which are, or are expected to become vacant within the next 6 months, and for which qualified family members are believed to be available.

During the pilot program, we will discuss procedures with other agencies for the inclusion of their positions and personnel in the pro

gram. We have already discussed this with Department of Defense Staff who have advised us that they are in the process of revising their program for the employment of family members of Defense personnel assigned abroad to provide opportunities for family members of personnel of other agencies. We believe this program can be operated most effectively on a cooperative basis by all agencies with all qualified family members being given equal consideration for the available jobs. We expect that all agencies will work toward this end.

The Department will send you a followup report on this program at the end of the pilot phase which we expect to complete in less than 1 year.

RECIPROCAL ARRANGEMENTS WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS

Section 401 of the 1978 Act also directed that the President seek to conclude agreements with other nations to facilitate employment of family members in foreign economies. The Department has developed and cleared proposed regulations providing for reciprocity on this matter with the House Judiciary Committee and with the Departments of Justice and Labor. The regulations are expected to be published in the Federal Register as a notice of proposed rulemaking within the next few days. The public will have 60 days to comment. Upon completion of the 60-day posting period, any public comments received must be studied and answered before a final ruling can be made putting the new regulations into effect.

Although we realize it is probable that only a limited number of countries will want to enter into reciprocal arrangements with us at this time, we hope these regulations will result in the granting of work permits to family members of U.S. Government employees in some countries that have withheld them in the past.

EMPLOYMENT IN NON-CAREER POSITIONS

Section 413 of the 1977 Act directs the Secretary to give equal consideration to qualified family members when filling non-career positions abroad. Although there are not many such positions, the Department continues to employ qualified family members in temporary positions abroad. We have recently updated our regulations governing such appointments to both define the kinds of positions appropriate for such staffing and to provide guidelines and cautions to our post managers to guard against the actual or apparent violation. of the nepotism or conflict of interest statutes.

ACTIVITIES OF FAMILY LIAISON OFFICE

On March 1, 1978, the Family Liaison Office was established with three full-time positions. Ms. Janet Lloyd is the Director and reports to the Under Secretary for Management. In addition, 35 branch offices have been established throughout the world. The Office functions as an information referral and counseling service for family members of State, ICA and AID. It also serves as a communication channel between individuals and management.

The Office is involved in the coordination of all management deciIsions that relate to family members, both overseas and domestically.

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The Family Liaison Office has worked with other areas of the Department to implement section 405 (Orientation and Language Training for Family Members) and section 401 (Employment of Family Members Overseas) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979. The Office is working on several inter-agency projects pertaining to such matters as mental health, employment, allowances, schooling and other areas of family concerns in an effort to make the foreign affairs community more cohesive.

In addition the Office established a centralized computer skills bank to facilitate the matching of family members seeking employment with available jobs. Questionnaires from about 300 family members have been returned and are being put into the system. A contract has just been let to establish liaison with international organizations and multinational corporations to make them aware of the skills of family members of Foreign Service employees and to give notice to the Family Liaison Office of their vacancies.

Two career counseling workshops for family members in Washington have been sponsored by this Office. These proved of such interest that regular monthly luncheons are being held for family members to exchange information and to acquaint family members returning from abroad with the program.