Protecting power

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Between 1961 and 2015, Switzerland was the protecting power of the United States in Cuba. The United States Interests Section in Havana, although it was staffed by personnel of the United States Foreign Service, was formally a section of the Embassy of Switzerland.[1]

A protecting power is a state which somehow protects another state, and/or represents the interests of the protected state's citizens in a third state.

In diplomatic usage, "protecting power" refers to a relationship that may occur when two sovereign states do not have diplomatic relations. Either country may request a third party, with whom both countries have diplomatic relations, to use its "good offices" and act on its behalf as the protecting power.[2]

In the host country, the protecting power is empowered to represent the property and interests of the protected country. This may extend to caring for the diplomatic property of its protectee or acting as consular officers on behalf of its citizens. If the two countries are at war, the protecting power will also inquire into the welfare of prisoners of war.

The role of "protecting power" originally developed in time of war and is formalized in the Geneva Conventions. Diplomatic relations are automatically broken when war is declared, making it necessary to appoint protecting powers. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations also provide for a similar status in time of peace, although they do not use the "protecting power" terminology.[3]

Diplomacy

Between 1991 and 2015, the Swiss Embassy in Washington DC also officially represented Cuba's interests in the United States.[1]

The protecting power is appointed by the protected state and must also be acceptable to the host state. It must therefore maintain diplomatic relations with both states. In time of war, the Geneva Conventions also require that the protecting power be a neutral country. The specific responsibilities and arrangements are agreed between the protecting power, the protected power, and the host country.

In a comprehensive mandate, the protecting power carries out most functions on behalf of the protected state. This is necessary when relations are so tense or hostile that the sparring nations have no diplomatic or consular staff posted on each other's territory. For example, Sweden carries out limited consular functions for the United States, Canada, and Australia in North Korea.

In other cases, the two nations have broken diplomatic relations, but are willing to exchange personnel on an informal basis. The protecting power serves as the mechanism for facilitating this exchange. The original embassy remains staffed by nationals of the protected state but is formally termed an "interests section" of the protecting power. For example, the Cuban Interests Section was staffed by Cubans and occupied the old Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C., but it was formally a section of the Swiss Embassy to the United States.

History

The protecting power relationship originated in the Franco-Prussian War, when the belligerents expelled each other's diplomats and placed restrictions on enemy aliens. This made it necessary for belligerents to appoint protecting powers to represent their citizens' interests in enemy countries.[4]

The practice became customary in international law but was not formalized until the Geneva Convention of 1929. The lack of formalization forced arrangements to be worked out on a case-by-case basis. During the Second Boer War, the British Empire selected the United States to be its protecting power in the Boer Republics, but the Boers refused to accept this status or to appoint a protecting power of their own. However, the Boers did allow the United States to look after the interests of British and Boer prisoners of war.[4]

There is no requirement that the same protecting power be selected by both countries, although this is convenient for the purposes of communication. Each may select its own protecting power, provided that the choice is acceptable to the other state. There is also no requirement that a country select only one protecting power in the receiving country. During the Second World War, Japan appointed Spain, Sweden and Switzerland to be its protecting powers in the United States.[4]

Second World War

During the Second World War, Axis-leaning Spain and the Nazi-occupied Netherlands were unable to serve the role of protecting power that they had served in the First World War. As a result, Switzerland and Sweden became the most popular choices for protecting power. Switzerland formally undertook 219 mandates for 35 states, and represented another eight states unofficially, while Sweden accepted 114 mandates for 28 states.[5] Switzerland and Sweden both chose to remain non-aligned in the Cold War and refused to join any military alliances, leading to their continued popularity as protecting powers.

Current relationships

Protecting power Protected state Receiving state Mandate Notes
 Czech Republic  United States  Syria N/A [3][3]
 Hungary  Australia [6]
 Canada [7]
 Italy  Iran Comprehensive [8]
 Oman  Iran  Canada [8]
 Pakistan  United States N/A See also: Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United States[9]
 Sweden  Australia  North Korea Comprehensive [10]
 Canada [10]
 United States [3][10]
  Switzerland  Georgia  Russia Interests section [11]
 Iran  Egypt [12]
 Russia  Georgia [12][13]
 United States  Iran Comprehensive, with an interests section [3][12]

Past relationships

Before the Second World War

Year begun Year ended Protecting power Protected state Receiving state Cause of breach Notes
1870 1871  United Kingdom  France  Germany Franco-Prussian War [4]
  Switzerland Baden  France [12]
 Bavaria [12]
 Russia  Germany [4]
 United States [4]
1894 1895  China  Japan First Sino-Japanese War [4]
 Japan  China [4]
1897  Germany  Ottoman Empire  Greece Greco-Turkish War (1897) [4]
 United Kingdom  Greece  Ottoman Empire [4]
 France [4]
 Russia [4]
1898  United Kingdom  United States 23x15px Spain Spanish–American War [4]
 Austria-Hungary 23x15px Spain  United States [4]
 France [4]
 United Kingdom  United States 23x15px Spain [4]
1904 1905  France  Russia  Japan Russo-Japanese War [14]
 United States  Japan  Russia [14]
1911 1912  Germany  Italy  Ottoman Empire Italo-Turkish War [4]
 Ottoman Empire  Italy [4]
1912 1913  France  Montenegro Balkan Wars [4]
 Russia [4]
1918 1924  Netherlands  United Kingdom  Soviet Union Bolshevik Revolution [15]
1929  Germany  China  Soviet Union Sino-Soviet conflict (1929) [4]
 Soviet Union  China [4]

Since the Second World War

Year begun Year ended Protecting power Protected state Receiving state Cause of breach Notes
1961 2015   Switzerland  United States  Cuba Cuban Revolution See United States Interests Section in Havana[3][12][1]
1975 1999  Netherlands  Portugal  Indonesia Indonesian invasion of East Timor [16]
 Thailand  Indonesia  Portugal [16]
1976 1977  France  United Kingdom  Uganda N/A [17]
1979 N/A  Sweden  Iran Iranian Revolution N/A
1980 1988  Netherlands  Canada Canadian Caper [citation needed]
1982 1990 23x15px Brazil  Argentina  United Kingdom Falklands War [18]
  Switzerland  United Kingdom  Argentina [18]
1984 N/A  Italy  Libya Murder of Yvonne Fletcher [19]
 Saudi Arabia  Libya  United Kingdom [20]
1989  Sweden  United Kingdom  Iran Salman Rushdie affair N/A
1990  Jordan Iraq  United Kingdom Gulf War [citation needed]
 Poland  United States Iraq [citation needed]
1991 2015   Switzerland  Cuba  United States Cuban Revolution See Cuban Interests Section[12][1]
1995 1999  United States  Canada  Nigeria Execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa [citation needed]
N/A N/A  Cyprus  Yugoslavia Yugoslav Wars [citation needed]
2006  Belgium  United States  Libya N/A [citation needed]
2011  Turkey 2011 military intervention in Libya [21]
2012  Poland  Syria Syrian Civil War Mandate transferred to Czech Republic[22][23]

Consular services

Certain countries may have agreements to provide limited consular services to the citizens of other countries. This does not necessarily constitute a protecting power relationship, as the host country may not have formally agreed, and there may in fact be diplomatic relations between the host country and the third country, but no physical representation. Without the agreement of the host country, consular officials in this role may not be recognized as representing the interests of another, and be limited to a "good offices"[citation needed] role.

  • The United States provides consular services to citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau, which formerly were part of a US Trust Territory.[citation needed]
  • Certain Commonwealth countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom, have agreements in certain countries to provide consular services for citizens of the other countries where they do not have physical representation. The United Kingdom provides consular assistance to Canadians abroad where there is no Canadian mission, as stated in each Canadian passport. Canada provides consular assistance to Australian citizens to several states in Latin America and Africa; while Australian diplomatic missions reciprocate in several Asia-Pacific states.[24][25]
  • Under Article 20 section 2c of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union citizens of European Union countries may request consular services at the missions of other EU countries when their home country does not have a mission locally.[26]
  • In 2006, the governments of Montenegro and Serbia adopted the Memorandum of Agreement between the Republic of Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia on Consular Protection and Services to the Citizens of Montenegro. By this agreement, Serbia, through its network of diplomatic and consular missions, provides consular services to the Montenegrin citizens on the territory of states in which Montenegro has no missions of its own.[27]

Other meanings

  • Historically a protecting power held a permanent protectorate over a weaker state, which in practice could constitute a form of colonial domination, in the logic of indirect rule.[citation needed]
  • The term "friendly protection" also applied to "guarantor" state(s) vowing to prevent the protected state (or a specific part) being overrun by a third party.
  • Protecting power has a distinct and separate meaning under the Geneva Conventions for protection of civilians in times of war.[28]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 (French) Stéphane Bussard, "La voix suisse des États-Unis à Cuba se tait", Le Temps, Monday 20 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Article 12(1) of Geneva Convention IV 1949
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 [1]
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Indonesia names envoy to Lisbon, Jakarta Post, November 16, 2000
  17. ↑ The British Interests Section in Kampala, 1976-7
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Argentina and Britain Move To Restore Diplomatic Ties, New York Times, September 1, 1989
  19. ↑ British Diplomats, Hansard, HC Deb 25 April 1984 vol 58 cc718-9
  20. ↑ Africa Research Bureau. (1984). Africa Research Bulletin. Africa Research. p. 7228
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ http://damascus.usembassy.gov/em_030612.html
  23. ↑ http://www.rttnews.com/1937629/czech-republic-new-protecting-power-for-u-s-in-syria-americans-urged-to-leave.aspx?type=gn&Node=B1
  24. ↑ DFAIT Canada http://travel.gc.ca/assistance/embassies
  25. ↑ DFAT Australia http://www.dfat.gov.au/missions/
  26. ↑ Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Europa
  27. ↑ http://www.mip.gov.me/en/index.php/Bilateral-Relations/republic-of-serbia.html
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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