Heine on Embassy Violations
Ambassador Jorge Heine, Research Professor at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and Interim Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, recently penned a column for The Conversation titled “Are embassies off-limits? Ecuadorian and Israeli actions suggest otherwise − and that sets a dangerous diplomatic precedent.”
In this column, Heine discusses recent incidents involving violations of diplomatic norms and the sanctity of embassies, particularly the bombing of Iran’s embassy in Damascus and the forced entry of Ecuadorian police into the Mexican Embassy in Quito. He argues that these actions set dangerous diplomatic precedents and emphasizes the importance of upholding diplomatic immunity and norms to prevent further escalation of conflicts.
In his column, Heine warns,
“If the takeaway from the two latest embassy incidents is that the protection of diplomatic premises can be secondary to whatever is politically expedient on any given day, then it will be of great detriment to the management of international relations. Diplomacy will become much more difficult.”
The full article can be accessed here.
Ambassador Jorge Heine is a Research Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He has served as ambassador of Chile to China (2014-2017), to India (2003-2007), and to South Africa (1994-1999), and as a Cabinet Minister in the Chilean Government. Read more about Ambassador Heine on his Pardee School faculty profile.