Representatives of one state in another
A
diplomatic mission
or
foreign mission
is a group of people from a
state
or
organization
present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state.
[1]
In practice, the phrase usually denotes an
embassy
or
high commission
, which is the main office of a country's
diplomatic
representatives to another country; it is usually, but not necessarily, based in the receiving state's
capital
city.
[2]
Consulates
, on the other hand, are smaller diplomatic missions that are normally located in major cities of the receiving state (but can be located in the capital, typically when the sending country has no embassy in the receiving state). As well as being a diplomatic mission to the country in which it is situated, an embassy may also be a nonresident permanent mission to one or more other countries.
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
The term embassy is sometimes used interchangeably with
chancery
, the physical office or site of a diplomatic mission.
[7]
Consequently, the terms "embassy residence" and "embassy office" are used to distinguish between the ambassador's residence and the chancery.
Terminology
[
edit
]
A country may have several different types of diplomatic missions in another country.
- Embassy
- Diplomatic mission generally located in the capital city of another country which offers a full range of services, including consular services.
- High commission
- Embassy of a
Commonwealth
country located in another Commonwealth country.
- Permanent mission
- Diplomatic mission to a major
international organization
.
- Consulate-general
- Diplomatic mission located in a major city, usually other than the capital city, which provides a full range of consular services.
- Consulate
- Diplomatic mission that is similar to a consulate general but may not provide a full range of services.
- Legation
- Diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an
ambassador
, a legation was headed by a
minister
. Ambassadors
outranked
ministers and had precedence at official events. Legations were originally the most common form of diplomatic mission, but they fell out of favor after World War II and were upgraded to embassies.
- Honorary Consul
- The head of a consular mission which provides only a limited range of services.
[8]
The head of an embassy is known as an
ambassador
or
high commissioner
. The term
embassy
is commonly used also as a section of a building in which the work of the diplomatic mission is carried out, but strictly speaking, it is the diplomatic delegation itself that is the embassy, while the office space and the diplomatic work done is called the
chancery
. Therefore, the embassy operates in the chancery.
The members of a diplomatic mission can reside within or outside the building that holds the mission's chancery, and their private residences enjoy the same rights as the premises of the mission as regards inviolability and protection.
[9]
All missions to the
United Nations
are known simply as
permanent missions
, while
EU member states
' missions to the
European Union
are known as
permanent representations
, and the head of such a mission is typically both a permanent representative and an ambassador. European Union missions abroad are known as EU delegations. Some countries have more particular nomenclature for their missions and staff: a
Vatican
mission is headed by a
nuncio
(
Latin
for "envoy") and consequently known as an
apostolic nunciature
. Under the rule of
Muammar Gaddafi
,
Libya's missions
used the name
people's bureau
, headed by a secretary.
Missions between
Commonwealth
countries are known as
high commissions
, and their heads are high commissioners.
[10]
Generally speaking, ambassadors and high commissioners are regarded as equivalent in status and function, and embassies and high commissions are both deemed to be diplomatic missions.
[11]
[12]
In the past, a diplomatic mission headed by a lower-ranking official (an
envoy
or
minister resident
) was known as a
legation
. Since the ranks of envoy and minister resident are effectively obsolete, the designation of
legation
is no longer among the
diplomatic ranks
used in diplomacy and international relations.
A
consulate
is similar to, but not the same as a diplomatic office, but with focus on dealing with individual persons and businesses, as defined by the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
. A consulate or consulate general is generally a representative of the embassy in locales outside of the capital city.
[10]
For instance, the Philippines has its
embassy to the United States
in the latter's capital, Washington, D.C., but also maintains seven consulates-general in major US cities. The person in charge of a consulate or consulate-general is known as a consul or consul-general, respectively. Similar services may also be provided at the embassy (to serve the region of the capital) in what is normally called a consular section.
In cases of dispute, it is common for a country to
recall
its head of mission as a sign of its displeasure. This is less drastic than cutting diplomatic relations completely, and the mission will still continue operating more or less normally, but it will now be headed by a
charge d'affaires
(usually the
deputy chief of mission
) who may have limited powers. A
charge d'affaires ad interim
also heads the mission during the interim between the end of one chief of mission's term and the beginning of another.
Contrary to popular belief, diplomatic missions sometimes do not enjoy full
extraterritorial status
and are generally not sovereign territory of the represented state. The sending state can give embassies sovereign status but this only happens with a minority of countries.
[13]
Rather, the premises of an embassy remain under the jurisdiction of the host state while being afforded special privileges (such as immunity from most local laws) by the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
. Diplomats themselves still retain full
diplomatic immunity
, and (as an adherent to the Vienna Convention) the authorities of the host country may not enter the premises of the mission (which means the head of mission's residence) without permission of the represented country, even to put out a fire. International rules designate an attack on an embassy as an attack on the country it represents.
[14]
The term 'extraterritoriality' is often applied to diplomatic missions, but normally only in this broader sense.
As the host country's authorities may not enter the representing country's embassy without permission, embassies are sometimes used by
refugees
escaping from either the host country or a third country. For example,
North Korean
nationals, who would be arrested and deported from China upon discovery, have sought sanctuary at various third-country embassies in China. Once inside the embassy, diplomatic channels can be used to solve the issue and send the refugees to another country. See the
list of people who took refuge in a diplomatic mission
for a list of some notable cases.
Notable violations of embassy extraterritoriality include repeated invasions of the British Embassy in Beijing (1967),
[15]
the
hostage crisis at the American embassy in Tehran, Iran
(1979?1981), and the
hostage crisis
at the Japanese ambassador's residence in
Lima
, Peru (1996?1997).
Role
[
edit
]
The basic role of a diplomatic mission is to represent and safeguard the interests of the home country and its citizens in the host country.
[16]
According to the 1961
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
, which establishes the framework of diplomacy among sovereign states:
The functions of a diplomatic mission consist,
inter alia
, in representing the sending State in the receiving State; protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and of its nationals, within the limits permitted by international law; negotiating with the Government of the receiving State; ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving State, and reporting thereon to the Government of the sending State; promoting friendly relations between the sending State and the receiving State, and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations.
[17]
Diplomatic missions between members of the
Commonwealth of Nations
are not called embassies, but
high commissions
, for Commonwealth nations share a special diplomatic relationship. It is generally expected that an embassy of a Commonwealth country in a non-Commonwealth country will do its best to provide diplomatic services to citizens from other Commonwealth countries if the citizen's country does not have an embassy in that country. Canadian and Australian nationals enjoy even greater cooperation between their respective consular services, as outlined in the
Canada-Australia Consular Services Sharing Agreement
. The same kind of procedure is also followed multilaterally by the member states of the
European Union
(EU). European citizens in need of consular help in a country without diplomatic or consular representation of their own country may turn to any consular or diplomatic mission of another EU member state (art. 23
TFEU
).
[18]
Multiple missions in a city
[
edit
]
Some cities may host more than one mission from the same country.
In
Rome
, many states maintain separate missions to both
Italy
and the
Holy See
. It is not customary for these missions to share premises nor personnel. At present, only the Iraqi and United States embassies to Italy and the
Holy See
share premises; however, separate ambassadors are appointed, one to each country. In the case of the
UN's Food Agencies
, the sending country's ambassador to the Italian Republic is usually accredited as
permanent representative
. The United States maintains a separate
mission to the UN agencies
, led by
its own ambassador
, but is located in the compound that houses its embassies to Italy and the Holy See.
Several cities host both embassies/consulates and permanent representatives to international organizations, such as
New York City
(
United Nations
),
Washington, D.C.
(
Organization of American States
),
Jakarta
(
ASEAN
) and
Brussels
(
European Union
and
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
).
In some cases, an embassy or consulate is divided between multiple locations in the same city. For example, the Bangladeshi Deputy High Commission in
Kolkata
, has two locations: one at
Park Circus
and another, opened later, at Mirza Ghalib Street, to reduce overcrowding.
Non-diplomatic offices
[
edit
]
Governments of
states not recognized by the receiving state
and of territories that make no claim to be sovereign states may set up offices abroad that do not have official diplomatic status as defined by the Vienna Convention. Examples are the
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices
that represent the government of the Republic of China; Somaliland's Representative Offices in London,
Addis Ababa
, Rome,
Taipei
, and
Washington, D.C.
; the
Hong Kong
and
Macau
economic and trade offices that represent the governments of those two territories. Such offices assume some of the non-diplomatic functions of diplomatic posts, such as promoting trade interests and providing assistance to its citizens and residents. They are nevertheless not diplomatic missions, their personnel are not diplomats and do not have diplomatic visas, although there may be legislation providing for personal immunities and tax privileges, as in the case of the Hong Kong offices in London and Toronto or the Macau office in Lisbon, for example.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"What is a Foreign Mission /Chancery?"
.
www.state.gov
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-14
. Retrieved
2017-08-25
.
- ^
"What is a U.S. Embassy? ? National Museum of American Diplomacy"
.
Archived
from the original on 2022-01-05
. Retrieved
2022-01-05
.
- ^
Tom Nierop,
Systems and Regions in Global Politics
(Wiley, John and Sons 1994
ISBN
978-0-471-94942-8
), p. 67.
- ^
"The Russian Federation has diplomatic relations with a total of 187 countries, but some of them ? mainly for financial reasons ? maintain non-resident embassies in other countries",
International Affairs
Archived
2023-11-11 at the
Wayback Machine
, issues 4?6 (Znanye Pub. House, 2006), p. 78
- ^
"Of Chile's 109 foreign diplomatic missions in 1988, no fewer than 31 were on a non-residential basis, while 17 of the 63 missions in Santiago were non-resident" (
Deon Geldenhuys,
Isolated States: A Comparative Analysis
(University of Cambridge 1990
ISBN
0-521-40268-9
), p. 158).
- ^
"America's diplomatic mission to (Saudi Arabia) was changed from non-resident to permanent Minister in Jeddah" (
Fahad M. Al-Nafjan,
The Origins of Saudi-American Relations
, page not numbered).
- ^
"What is a Foreign Mission /Chancery?"
.
2009-2017.state.gov
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-14
. Retrieved
2022-01-05
.
- ^
"Types of Diplomatic Missions"
.
e Diplomat
. 2016.
Archived
from the original on 2021-08-28
. Retrieved
2019-06-05
.
- ^
"1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, article 30"
(PDF)
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2019-11-11
. Retrieved
2014-09-27
.
- ^
a
b
Sidhur Andrews (1 Jun 2007).
Introduction To Tourism And Hospitality Industry
. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. p. 33.
ISBN
9780070660212
.
- ^
Nutt, Jim S.
"Diplomatic and Consular Representations"
.
Archived
from the original on 2018-05-22
. Retrieved
2014-01-06
.
- ^
"Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, "What does the work of a High Commissioner involve?"
"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2018-12-22
. Retrieved
2014-01-06
.
- ^
"Laws and Rules Regarding Extraterritoriality"
.
integrity-legal.com
. Archived from
the original
on 2021-04-14.
There is a common misconception that Embassies and Consulates have extraterritoriality. As anecdotal evidence of this misconception, people will often say things like, 'the US Embassy sits upon United States soil.' For the most part, this is not the case as extraterritoriality is not conferred upon an Embassy or Consulate, but in some situations extraterritoriality may be created by Treaty.
- ^
"What is a U.S. Embassy?"
.
diplomacy.state.gov
. Archived from
the original
on 2018-05-10
. Retrieved
2014-01-06
.
- ^
"Sir Ray Whitney"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. London. 15 August 2012.
Archived
from the original on 2022-01-12
. Retrieved
17 August
2015
.
Red Guards scaled the British mission's wall as diplomats watched the Ealing comedy
Two-Way Stretch
. They retreated to an inner room without switching off the projector, pushing a piano across the door as the mob broke windows and began climbing in. Whitney and his colleagues retreated again to the embassy's secure zone, with heavily barred windows. The Chinese set fire to the mission, then used a battering ram on the steel emergency door.
- ^
"Functions of a Diplomatic Mission"
.
e Diplomat
.
Archived
from the original on 2022-01-26
. Retrieved
2022-01-06
.
- ^
"Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relationships, article 3"
(PDF)
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2019-11-11
. Retrieved
2014-09-27
.
- ^
"European Council ? Consular protection"
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-06-19
. Retrieved
2023-06-19
.
External links
[
edit
]
Look up
embassy
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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