‘Actions fully consistent with Vienna Convention’: India counters Canada's allegation on exit of 41 diplomats

A day after Canada announced the withdrawal of 41 diplomats and their family members from India, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday rejected Canada’s characterisation of a move to ensure parity in diplomatic presence as a violation of international norms and said its action was fully consistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Canada’s foreign minister Melanie Joly on Thursday announced that 41 Canadian diplomats and their 42 dependents had been withdrawn from India and accused India of violating Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Responding to Joly, the external affairs ministry said in a statement on Friday, “The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa.”

Parity in Canadian diplomatic presence in India:https://t.co/O1fqsrOx8n pic.twitter.com/WxJojOrr5D

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) October 20, 2023

The statement added that India has been engaged with the Canadian side on the issue over the last month in order to work out the details and modalities of its implementation.

“Our actions in implementing this parity are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states the following:

“In the absence of specific agreement as to the size of the mission, the receiving State may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits considered by it to be reasonable and normal, having regard to circumstances and conditions in the receiving State and to the needs of the particular mission,” added the statement.

“We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms,” the statement further added.

Tensions flared between India and Canada last month following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s explosive allegations of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on 18 June in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.

India angrily rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

Announcing the withdrawal of 41 Canadian diplomats on Thursday, Joly said, “I can confirm that India has formally conveyed its plan to unilaterally remove diplomatic immunities for all but 21 Canadian diplomats and dependents in Delhi by tomorrow, October 20,”  on Thursday.

Correction | Amid India-Canada diplomatic tensions, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly says “As of now, I can confirm that India has formally conveyed its plan to unilaterally* (not unethically as reported earlier) remove diplomatic immunities for all but 21 Canadian…

— ANI (@ANI) October 20, 2023

Canada will be pausing all in-person services at the consulates in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bengaluru and is now directing all Canadians in India to the High Commission in New Delhi.

The Canadian Embassy in New Delhi updated its travel advisory hours after Joly’s statement, urging its citizens to “exercise a high degree of caution” in and around Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai.

Joly said that in their “unreasonable” request for diplomatic parity, India would only allow 21 diplomats and their families to maintain their diplomatic status, putting the others at risk of having their protections stripped arbitrarily, leaving them vulnerable to reprisal or arrest.

“This means 41 Canadian diplomats and their 42 dependents were in danger of having immunity stripped on an arbitrary date, and this would put their personal safety at risk,” she said at a news conference in Ottawa.

“The safety of Canadians and of our diplomats is always my top concern. Given the implications of India’s actions on the safety of our diplomats, we have facilitated their safe departure from India,” Joly said. “This means that our diplomats and their families have now left.”

Last month, India asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic staff in the country, arguing that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in the mutual diplomatic presence.

The size of Canadian diplomatic staff in India is larger than what New Delhi has in Canada.

Calling India’s action “contrary to international law,” and in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Joly accused India of escalating the bilateral tensions, but Canada will not be reciprocating.

“There is a fundamental principle of diplomacy, and this is a two-way street. It only works if every country abides by the rules,” she said.

A unilateral revocation of diplomatic privileges and immunities is contrary to international law, Joly said. Threatening to do so is unreasonable and escalatory. If we allow the norm of diplomatic immunity to be broken, no diplomats anywhere would be safe.

“So for this reason, we will not reciprocate,” she added.

With inputs from agencies