Int'l Laws Back Recent Decision of Gov't to Expel UN Officials: Scholars

Addis Ababa October 2/2021 (ENA) The measures taken by the Government of Ethiopia on UN officials for meddling in the internal affairs of the country is appropriate and supported by international laws, according to legal and political science scholars.

Ethiopia ordered the expulsion of the 7 United Nations officials within 72 hours on Thursday for breaching the nation's and international law.

Legal advisor and consultant, Fasil Sileshi told ENA that a government has the duty to prevent  international institutions from meddling in the internal affairs.

International laws restrict any country or diplomat from meddling in the internal matters of any nation beyond their legal duty where entitled to do so, he noted

Citing that the founding charter of UN clearly forbids meddling in internal matters of a sovereign nation, Fasil said though late the measure taken by the government is just, appropriate and based on international law.

The measure is also a lesson to other entities that get involved in such illegal acts, he added.   

According to him, Ethiopia has been one of beacon countries in the history of international diplomacy and the decision on UN officials for breaching its national law comes after too much tolerance.

Addis Ababa University Political Science and International Relations lecturer, Demeke Achiso said on his part that although the Vienna Convention allows some institutions to operate freely for diplomatic sake, but it is with a restriction of not meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.

Diplomats have to operate their duty freely and based on the country's rules and regulations, while political interference from respective governments is prohibited as well, he pointed out.  

If any diplomat meddles in the internal matters of any sovereign nation, measures like what Ethiopia took could be applied based on the principle of ‘persona non grata’ which has been the experience of many countries, according to the scholar.

In diplomacy, persona non grata is a status sometimes applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection by diplomatic immunity from arrest and other normal kinds of prosecution.