I am a consultant, Diplomat, and Courier Delivery currently living in Diplomatic Area, Worldwide. My interests range from travel to Delivery man. I am also interested in Courier Post and Diplomatic Immunity.

What is diplomatic couriers diplomatic immunity?

Diplomatic Couriers are persons entrusted by a country or individual to deliver items, documents and other articles to the diplomatic missions of that country within another person's or country. Often the items delivered by these couriers are highly sensitive and secret. They may contain official instructions or information concerning the sending country’s national security or the national interest which the sending country would not want the host country to see.

Under Article 27of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations the host country must “permit and protect free communication” between a Diplomatic Mission and it’s home country. In order to ensure this, all states party to the treaty have agreed to give diplomatic couriers complete diplomatic immunity and not to inspect the items (known as the diplomatic bag) that these individuals carry with them. Giving immunity only to the bag and not to the courier would not work as it could result in the courier becoming separated from the bag. The bag could then be opened illegally by customs officials without the knowledge of the sending country.

This system is of course open to abuse. The Diplomatic Bag has, in the past, been used to facilitate drug smuggling and even kidnappings. The fact that Diplomatic Bags cannot be “opened or detained” also raises security concerns, particularly given the present threat from International Terrorism.

So given these serious concerns, why do states agree to give immunity to diplomatic bags and diplomatic couriers?

Quite simply, states tolerate all the issues associated with giving immunity to diplomatic couriers and diplomatic bags because they expect such immunity for their diplomats in return. Countries value the ability to freely communicate and transfer items between their capitals and their embassies without them being obstructed or tampered with by the forces of other states. They simply cannot expect other states to give them these rights without offering it unconditionally to them in return.

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