As mystery deepens around the death of South Africa’s Ambassador to France, Nkosinathi “Nathi” Emmanuel Mthethwa, numerous questions have been raised about the security and protection of diplomats posted to different countries around the world.
reported on Tuesday that authorities in Paris are investigating Mthethwa’s death as a possible suicide, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
The 58-year-old diplomat and former long-serving cabinet minister was found dead on Tuesday in the interior courtyard of the upscale Hyatt hotel in Paris. Mthethwa had checked into a room on the 22nd floor. Investigators said the window, which was equipped with a security lock, had been forcibly opened using a pair of scissors found at the scene.
Social media platforms have been awash with posts, with many users demanding answers from the former police minister’s security detail, the South African government, and the French authorities.
However, has confirmed through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) that South Africa’s ambassadors and high commissioners do not have security teams in foreign countries.
“Ambassadors do not have security detail,” Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola, told on Wednesday.
The Role and Significance of an Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest-ranking diplomatic representative that one country sends to another. They head an embassy and act as the personal representative of their head of state, for example, the President of South Africa.
In international diplomacy, an ambassador carries the full authority to speak and act on behalf of their country. They are entrusted with protecting national interests, fostering political and economic relations, and ensuring the welfare of citizens abroad.
In terms of protocol and status, ambassadors enjoy a unique position: they are addressed as “His Excellency” or “Her Excellency,” a title otherwise reserved for heads of state. This underscores their role as stand-ins for the president in their host country. When they present their credentials to the host nation’s head of state, they officially embody the sovereignty and authority of their own state.
Ambassadors also play a symbolic and ceremonial role. Their presence and participation in official events reflect the closeness, strength, or tension between two countries.
Because of this high status, the death of an ambassador is not only a loss to their nation’s diplomatic corps, but it also resonates internationally. It often prompts formal condolences from the host country’s government, since the ambassador is seen as a direct extension of the president or head of state.
Speaking to on the general protections enjoyed by diplomats posted in foreign countries, political analyst and international relations expert, Dr Gideon Chitanga said the Vienna Convention guarantees the protection of the diplomatic corps.
“The Vienna Convention is a set of rules that govern relations between states that are signatories to the document. It is quite comprehensive, it explains the responsibilities and obligations of different states, how they have to treat each other within the framework of respecting the sovereign and diplomatic relations. In the case we are looking at, I think Article 29 and 30 provide for the diplomatic infrastructure of the sending state, which can be applied in this case in as far as the protection services around foreign diplomats of a sending country,” he said.
“The challenge, though, is, the Vienna Convention applies to the official duties of all officials who are recognised within the convention, and therefore they enjoy certain rights within their official duties and official practices. Although we may argue that there is a fine line between private life and the official life of someone who is heading a diplomatic unit, an ambassador in this case.
“Under the circumstances of his official duties, he should obviously be protected and his movements are known by the host state,” said Chitanga.
He added that it is the responsibility of the host state to ensure that diplomats accredited to it are protected.
“The only way to understand why possibly the ambassador was not protected or why his movement was not reported is, or at least the host state should know, we could assume he was engaged in some private activity or personal activity outside his personal duties. But again, it is very difficult to differentiate the private and the formal activities of an ambassador. He carries the role with him in whatever he does,” said Chitanga, a researcher at Maximilians-Universität München, based in Germany.
“We cannot insinuate the need for extra security without casting aspersions on the existing security arrangements, or inferring that the existing security arrangements were inadequate. It is a very delicate issue and I think there will be a lot of conversations between the South African and the French government as to what exactly transpired”.
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