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Can a country require all of its foreign diplomats to get vaccinated? And is there a mechanism that insures this is done properly for both parties?

Sayaman
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  • I've answered the first question, but I don't understand the second at all. Assuming that "this" denotes requiring all foreign diplomats to get vaccinated (does it?), what would constitute "properly"? What two "parties" do you mean? Diplomats aren't typically associated with political parties. – phoog Jun 07 '21 at 04:25
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    Is the question asking whether a country can require that the diplomats it receives from other countries be vaccinated? And to what extent monitoring compliance is possible under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations? – Senex Jun 07 '21 at 08:23
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    Start by saying which country and which vaccines. – RedSonja Jun 07 '21 at 11:12
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    If we talked say about the UK, who would be a "foreign diplomat" - a UK diplomat in Berlin, or a German diplomat in London? – gnasher729 Jun 07 '21 at 12:45
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    @phoog I think they're referring to the sending and hosting countries as "parties" to the diplomatic exchange, not political parties. – Shadur-don't-feed-the-AI Jun 07 '21 at 14:45
  • @Shadur oh! So the question is about whether the receiving country can require the diplomats of other countries to be vaccinated. That's not at all what I had in mind. I'd better edit my answer. – phoog Jun 07 '21 at 15:41

1 Answers1

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Can a country require all of its foreign diplomats to get vaccinated?

Yes. Generally speaking a country can impose any conditions it wants on its officers and employees, and indeed on its citizens and everyone else within its jurisdiction. Some countries voluntarily limit themselves by recognizing certain legal rights, but the rights of a diplomatic officer are generally more restricted than those of a private citizen.

The above was written with the understanding that the question is about a "sending" country imposing this requirement on its own diplomatic corps -- that is, whether Fredonia can impose this requirement on the Fredonian ambassador to Sylvania (along with all Fredonian staff members in Fredonian embassies around the world).

In the comments, it has become apparent that you may be asking about a "receiving" country imposing the requirement on the diplomats in that country -- that is, whether Fredonia can impose the requirement on the Sylvanian ambassador (along with all foreign staff members in all foreign embassies in Fredonia). That is a more interesting question with a more interesting answer.

In general, a country could impose such a requirement. The penalty for failing to comply would be to expel the foreign diplomat, an action which may be undertaken for any reason or for no reason. However, because diplomacy relies heavily on reciprocity, a country that imposed a vaccination requirement on pain of expulsion could expect its diplomats in foreign countries to receive similar treatment.

In practice, though, imposing such requirements on diplomats is typically seen as a diplomatic provocation, at least when it is done unilaterally. A more diplomatic approach would be to approach the foreign delegations and say "we would like to negotiate a protocol for the exchange of vaccination certificates for the diplomatic agents in our respective countries."

An even more diplomatic approach would be to trust, on the honor system, that diplomats comply with local regulations. That is the default position, in general, in most countries as far as I'm aware.

For example, in New York City, there is no vaccination mandate; when the city was offering vaccinations only to people who live or work in NYC, diplomats could receive vaccinations, or not, just like anyone else. Now that things are opening up, and in some cases proof of vaccination is required to participate in newly-opened activities, diplomats must show proof of vaccination just like anyone else, because the party evaluating the proof is a private entity rather than a governmental body.

phoog
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