0700am/Sunday 17 March 2013
Diplomacy is a utility that has been in existence for (I guess) as long as human beings have lived in social groups. Diplomacy, as practised today, could be assessed on, whether it contributes to peace and prosperity amongst nations, or in fact does more to subvert the same! And is there a need for diplomats to undergo some minimum professional training, undertake something like a (Hippocrates) oath for “standards of care” and have a “best-practice” guide book that could be referred to when in doubt??
Why am I concerned? Because of various instances of diplomatic gaffes that keep surfacing from time to time. Take the case of the Italian ambassador’s involvement in extending his good office and his government’s assurance to the Indian Supreme Court on the conduct of two Italian citizens’ conduct, and then reneging on the same. Was this necessary for furthering Italy’s national interest in Asia or for promoting bilateral geopolitical and economic interests with India which could help ease the recession back home?
I think this is a typical case of overreaching by confusing the role and duties of a diplomat. I also think that the Indian side has also contributed to the gaffe by not understanding where it had to draw the line in terms of extending all sorts of privileges in the name of diplomacy and human rights to under-trials. Again, a classic case of confusion amongst those that were involved in the case!
So is there any innovation that can help improve the situation? As I had prefaced, perhaps a mandatory training by a UN agency for all diplomats on benchmarked processes and “best practice” guidelines may be a starting point.
Signing off.....have a great week ahead.
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