What happens to both the property and personnel of embassies during a war between the relevant two countries?
WAG: Usually, outright war is preceded by a long enough period of severe disagreement that the ambassadors would have been recalled (or expelled) to their home countries long before any shots are fired. Probably, if was happens to quickly for this, then the options are 1) detaining the ambassador and staff as POWs, 2)expelling them (maybe through a neutral country).
I guess the embassy buildings and real estate are just abandoned to the host country.
That should, of course, read: “If war happens too quickly for this…”
Damn fingers…
Article 44 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations , whch governs all such matters, states:
The receiving State must, even in case of armed conflict, grant facilities in order to enable persons enjoying privileges and immunities, other than nationals of the receiving State, and members of the families of such persons irrespective of their nationality, to leave at the earliest possible moment. It must, in particular, in case of need, place at their disposal the necessary means of transport for themselves and their property.
I suppose it would help to have the opposing ambassador handy, in case you wanted to discuss a ceasefire, or peace treaty, or perhaps even threaten to use your 1960s-style Strangelovian Doomsday Device if the other guys didn’t put their guns down and go back to raising potatoes.
Really, it seems like that would be the best time to have an ambassador, except for perhaps the day BEFORE hostilities arise.
Not so important, of course, with modern communications technology…
The Vienna Convention is the rule in these cases. Diplomats are the means of reestablishing peace and so must be protected.
There are some wonderful stories. When the British left Paris during WWII, they left a (French) caretaker in charge of the building. Goering (or someone) was wandering around Paris looking for a building for Luftwaffe headquarters. He knocked at the door. Told the guy what he wanted.
“Over my dead body, excellency.” The guy closed the door.
When the French left Belgium during the First World War, the ambassador walked across the street to ask the German embassy to look after their dog. They agreed of course.
Great stuff.
It will, of course, depend on the rapidity of the deteriorization of relationships. There have been many instances of embassy personnel being evacuated with little more than what they can carry. Everything else is up for grabs if the host country can’t safeguard it. Personnel in that situation are evacuated to a spot that’s convenient for the government (often WDC), and then they’re on their own. This is why anyone who has been in the Foreign Service for any length of time knows to keep a bugout bag handy with passports, money and important documents. A modest amount of gold is not a bad idea either, in some parts of the world.
And once the embassy is withdrawn, a third, neutral party is designated to make contacts between the government. For instance, the Swiss Embassy could be designated to send governmental messages between combatants, so if someone decides they want to negotiate afterwards, there is a way to let the other country know.
I really can’t believe that I said “rapidity of deteriorization”. :smack:
Interesting. What happened, for instance, to the Japanese, Italian and German embassies in Washington, D.C. in late 1941/early 1942?
I don’t know if it’s true, but in HS we were told that the Japanese ambassador was on route to the White House with a declaration of war and either he was delayed or the IJN started too soon. It’s soons like an urban legend though. AFAIK the Axis embassies were in the process of burning documents and destroying everything of value. After Pearl Harbor the FBI was sent to protect the embassies from violent mobs until the diplomats could be expelled. Even if country A and country B are at war A is not supposed to fuck with B’s diplomats other than expelling them. That’s why the hostages in Iran were such a big deal.
Didn’t you watch “Tora, Tora, Tora”? The Japanese ambassador was supposed to meet with the Secretary of State to deliver a message in which Japan stated that it was breaking off negotiations with the US. This message was supposed to be delivered 30 minutes before the attack took place. The attack on Pearl Harbor took place on time, but the length of the message combined with delays in decryption and typing caused delivery only several hours after the attack.
when the North Koreans took Seoul in 1950 the British embassy staff went straight into captivity and stayed there. George Blake, who spied for Russia later, was one of them, and was probably turned in captivity.
The diplomats were taken to the Geenbrier Hotel in West Virginia where the Germans complained the Japanese got larger rooms. The Italians and Germans were shipped out on a Spanish ship from Halifax. The ship had “SPAIN” or “NEUTRAL” painted on the side and was well-lit.
The Japanese went out on a Russian ship from the west coast, if memory serves.
How did American diplomats fare in Germany, Italy and Japan at the outset of WWII?
Special envoy Saburo Kurusu was waiting to meet with Secretary of State Cordell Hull on December 7, 1941, when the latter learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was subsequently interned in the United States from December 1941 to June 1942.
The diplomats assigned to Germany, Italy, Vichy France and the other minor Axis powers were returned properly. Oddly, I seem to recall that some diplomats accredited to Japan were held in prisons, but I do not trust this half-memory.
My knowledge here is second hand, or second generation.
However my understanding of the diplomatic circuit is that it is rather incestuous, and people tend to get to like each other.
Personally I think that Iran was out of order, and I suspect that they now understand why.
Some years back there was a story in the Wall Street Journal in a similar vein. When Germany annexed the Balkans, the caretaker of the Lithiuanian Embassy in the US took it upon himself to keep the embassy in good repair. He did this without pay for around 50 years. When Lithiuana became independent again, the Embassy was waiting. Wish I has saved the story or had a link to it.
This situation is different. The British in Seoul were not the ambassadors to North Korea, so presumably Article 44 of the Vieanna Convention does not apply here. That is, North Korea never had a pre-existing arrangement to receive and protect those British diplomats. What does the Convention say about how to deal with ambassadors found in occupied territory? Do they have special status, or are they treated the same as any other third-party nationals?