Natalie K. Hevener - Diplomacy in a Dangerous World: Protection for Diplomats Under International Law

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The dramatic increase in attacks on diplomatic personnel that began in the 1970s has now reached alarming proportions. Events such as the long detention of U.S. diplomats in Iran, the embassy bombings in Lebanon, and the numerous assassinations of foreign service officials around the world have heightened global tensions. Because diplomatic exchange is one of the oldest practices protected by international law, a major approach to the problem has been to search for new international legal arrangements. In this volume, contributors identify the political and legal issues surrounding the codification of the law of diplomatic protection. They offer an analysis of the seriousness of the security issue for diplomats, the impact of this form of violence on the international community, the reasons for the increase in diplomatic attacks, and the theoretical and practical problems of negotiating stronger and more comprehensive international arrangements for improving security for diplomats, their families, and their staffs. The authors also present an overview of the present level of international accord as reflected in the treaties in place in contemporary international relations. In addition, the volume contains a complete set of the relevant legal documents including the background, text, and a table of signatures and ratifications for each.

Dr. Natalie Kaufman Hevener is associate professor in the department of government and international studies at the University of South Carolina. She is the author of International Law and the Status of Women (Westview, 1983).

Protection for Diplomats Under International Law

edited by
Natalie Kaufman Hevener

Foreword by
The Honorable Joseph J. Sisco

First published 1986 by Westview Press, Inc.

Published 2018 by Routledge
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Copyright 1986 Taylor & Francis

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hevener, Natalie Kaufman.
Diplomacy in a dangerous world.
(Westview special studies in international
relations)
1. DiplomatsProtection. I. Title. II. Series.
JX1683.P7H48 1986 341.3'3 85-26627

ISBN 13: 978-0-367-00583-2 (hbk)

The United States is committed to the rule of law. We were a principal architect of the United Nations and its political, economic, social, and judicial infrastructure. We are not a power that does or can use force indiscriminately. While forceable means cannot be excluded in coping with terrorism, we nevertheless continue to give emphasis to bringing to justice perpetrators of terrorist crimes against innocent victims, and the Achille Lauro case is the latest evidence. This book, therefore, concentrating on the legal approach, its precedents, and its capacities and limitations in coping with international terrorists, is relevant and timely. International terrorism will remain a prominent feature of the global landscape for the foreseeable future, and legal remedies will continue to be tested.

The United States has taken the lead in helping to organize unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral methods in coping with terrorism. Outstanding U.S. officials are serving selflessly and professionally overseas in increasingly difficult environments and danger. A major improvement in the physical security of United States embassies abroad is in train. We are improving our collection, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence information.

We have utilized and continue to give heavy emphasis to strengthening the legal means available to states, individually and collectively, to cope with the problem. These include: The Hague convention on aircraft hijacking; the Montreal convention on aircraft sabotage; UN conventions against murder, kidnapping, and other attacks against diplomats and the taking of hostages; and the 1978 declaration issued in Bonn by the seven economic summit countries that provides for concerted action against states that fail to take appropriate legal action against hijackers.

The problem of terrorism is primarily political, and traditional international law, while important and relevant, is unfortunately inadequate. As a former diplomat, I particularly welcome the emphasis of Diplomacy in a Dangerous World on the security of our official representatives, on the law of diplomatic protection, and the role of the underused International Court of Justice. However, in the long run, only fundamental political solutions can ameliorate the problem significantly.

Joseph J. Sisco
Former Under Secretary of
State for Political Affairs