Topic:
Country: Israel
Delegate Name: Nina Hall
Israel
Nina Hall
Royal Oak High School
As it stands, the Vienna Convention has solidified diplomatic immunity for the most part. Yet there continue to be issues and abuse of diplomatic immunity and its privileges frequently. With many gaps in the system established by the Vienna Convention it is essential that we address the issues of diplomatic immunity and the unresolve it has caused in many nations.
It is recognized as the “landmark of the highest significance in the codification of international law” that the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations was adopted successfully. Since the founding of the United Nations, it was the first significant codification of any international agreement. However, despite the codification, which is largely based on pre-existing international law, there are still some problems with the diplomatic protection’s reach. Unfortunately, there has been an increasing trend among diplomats in recent years of abusing their position to engage in illegal behavior while maintaining their immunity from legal action. Additionally, the States-parties make matters worse by selectively interpreting the rules in their favor, oblivious to the reality that reciprocity is essential to the effective operation of diplomatic protection. Yet in Israel, many embassies and their diplomats are under constant threat from terrorism and threats that are seriously affecting their security and ability to work. The conditions in which they are working are particularly difficult. Therefore, it is critical that we address the gaps in diplomatic immunity and protection with urgency and the utmost attention.
It should be underlined that criminal abuses of diplomatic immunity deserve extra attention among all other violations. Individuals were guilty of a wide variety of offenses, including murder, assault, child abuse, and driving while intoxicated. Considering the comparatively large number of foreign embassies and international organizations in these major international capitals like New York, Geneva, London, and Washington have been vulnerable to the occurrences of “diplomatic crimes.” It is also true that receiving states have frequently refused claims for diplomatic immunity on dubious justifications, such as the notion that such immunity is only granted for “official activities.” It is said that one of the main obstacles to the Vienna Conventions’ continuous success is the misuse of privileges and immunities by diplomats and the states that provide them.
The country of Israel believes that it is critical to address the specific limitations of diplomatic immunity as well as defining what it is and applying its rules in a universal manner. As we have seen, many issues that arose from diplomatic immunity have largely come from the different enforcements of the statutes or diplomatic immunity in different countries. Israel urges that this is of utmost importance as the clarification of diplomatic immunity is likely to prevent further disagreement in the future.
