Geneva Convention Notwithstanding
Embassy closures are on a roll. Embassies represent diplomatic
relations between countries; the very structures and grounds upon which
they stand, according to the Geneva Convention, are held to be the
inviolable physical manifestation of the country that they represent. At
the 65th General Assembly of the UN Special Committee on the Charter
debate took place on the Protocols of the Geneva Conventions.Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs made the decision, given the hysterical chaos that has erupted across the Middle East and North Africa in the wake of Muslim reaction to a video insulting to the Prophet Mohammed, to temporarily close missions in Egypt, Libya and Sudan due to "the potential for ongoing demonstrations". This, after Canada's declaration that Iran and Syria are state sponsors of terrorism, closing down Canada's embassy in Iran and Iran's embassy in Canada.On measures to enhance the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and personnel, the responsibility to prevent was stipulated in the relevant Geneva Convention protocols and required States to take proactive measures and enhance information exchange to forestall acts that would compromise the safety and security of premises or persons. That obligation should be incorporated into domestic legislation and States should be held accountable for failure to fulfill the obligation.
"We take the safety of our personnel and our missions overseas very seriously", advised Minister of Foreign Affairs press secretary Rick Roth. That safety concerns are paramount, and it has been left to embassy staff to decide "on a day-to-day basis" when the embassies could be deemed to safely re-open for business. The demonstrations that have erupted in over 20 countries in excited reaction, proof-postive the US-produced video Innocence of Muslims has enraged its intended audience.
Violence has been unleashed across the Middle East and parts of Africa. The Libyan government has announced the arrest of 50 people whom they claim were connected with an assault against the U.S. Consulate in Bahrain, during which the American ambassador, a press attache and two marines were killed. And in Afghanistan two American marines were killed in a Taliban attack, all the violence attributed to revenge attacks as a result of the video.
In Cairo, protesters trying to storm the American embassy again clashed with police, this time responding to the chaotic mob. A camp of UN peacekeepers was stormed, where the mob raised a flag: "There's no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah". The Muslim Brother had called for nationwide rallies to protest the film. "We will not permit that these acts are carried out" proclaimed Mohammed Morsi, in reference to the insulting movie.
Crowds of the faithful attacked Western symbols in Lebanon, and in Khartoum, Sudan, the German and British embassies were attacked. Mobs scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy in Tunisia, and the U.S. closed down its embassy, withdrawing non-essential personnel from the country. When three people were killed in clashes outside the U.S. embassy in Khartoum the Americans sought to bolster security with an influx of special forces, disallowed by the Sudanese government.
Two American destroyers are now positioned off the North African coast, with the U.S. military deploying counter-terrorism units to Libya and Yemen. Clearly the administrations of many of the countries involved are expressing indifference to embassy security by their passive reaction to the mobs that they themselves are complicit in encouraging.
Labels: Chaos, Conflict, Diplomacy, Human Fallibility, Islam, Islamism, Traditions, United States
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, September 18, 2012
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