Khashoggi murder: Time is ripe to review Vienna conventions
What you need to know:
Isn’t it time to review the immunity granted by both the Vienna conventions on mission and consular premises?
That Turkish authorities could not act, even with credible evidence that Khashoggi had entered the premises and had not exited.
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations confirms the inviolability of mission premises.
The disappearance and gruesome murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, after being tortured by a Riyadh-sponsored hit squad for being a critic of the kingdom is turning into a diplomatic nightmare for the kingdom's leadership, while putting its allies, notably the United States, in an awkward position.
It further brings into sharp focus the leadership credentials of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, who wields immense influence and is practically governing the kingdom in light of his father King Salman’s advanced age and failing health.
MUSCLE
From the ongoing war in Yemen, which has brought untold suffering in terms of loss of life and property, to the instigation of the Qatar blockade, which has rendered the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) impotent, his leadership style would be of immense interest to the proponents of poliheuristic theory.
The US, under President Donald Trump, is guarded in its response, largely driven by realism, where national interests supersede everything else. It’s a fact that Saudi Arabia is a major client for US arms.
The kingdom’s vast oil reserves also give it leverage against a diplomatic onslaught by the European Union and the United Nations. The kingdom’s neighbours are also suspiciously quiet due to the influence it wields in the Arab and Muslim world due to its financial muscle and being the custodian of Islam’s holiest shrines.
CONVENTIONS
Isn’t it time to review the immunity granted by both the Vienna conventions on mission and consular premises?
That Turkish authorities could not act, even with credible evidence that Khashoggi had entered the premises and had not exited, shows the clear abuse of this international legal instrument by Saudi officials. By the time investigators are allowed into the premises, it would have been sanitised and rid it of any evidence.
ACCOMPLICES
Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations confirms the inviolability of mission premises — barring any right of entry by law enforcement officers of the receiving State and imposing on the receiving State a special duty to protect the premises against intrusion, damage, disturbance of the peace or infringement of dignity.
This begs the question: What should be the course of action in the event the mission/consular premises are used to perpetrate criminal activities, or the diplomatic/consulate officials (who also enjoy the privilege of immunity) are accomplices?
SHOOTING
More examples abound — such as the shooting to death of British police woman Yvonne Fletcher in 1984 from the Libyan diplomatic mission in London that led to the severance of diplomatic ties between the two states.
There should be a grave concern at the conflict between immunity and the right of access to justice, or immunity for violators of international criminal law and, in particular, torturers and murderers. This would serve as a deterrent for those in leadership positions who may want to abuse this law for political or personal objectives.
Mr Gatere is a Master's student at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies (IDIS), the University of Nairobi. [email protected].
