In a new twist, it has now emerged that senior Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade enjoyed full diplomatic immunity including from personal arrest and detention on 12 December when she was taken into custody by the US authorities in a visa fraud case.
Thirty nine-year-old Khobragade, who was posted as Deputy Consul General in New York, was also accredited as an ‘adviser to the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations’ by the UN w.e.f. 26th August 2013 and her status as an adviser was valid until 31 December 2013. The accreditation was for the UN General Assembly 2013.
Under the ‘Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations’, Article 4 Section 11A specifies ‘Immunities from personal arrest or detention and from the seizure of their personal baggage’ of all representatives of members to the UN.
Thirty nine-year-old Khobragade, who was posted as Deputy Consul General in New York, was also accredited as an ‘adviser to the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations’ by the UN w.e.f. 26th August 2013 and her status as an adviser was valid until 31 December 2013. The accreditation was for the UN General Assembly 2013.
Under the ‘Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations’, Article 4 Section 11A specifies ‘Immunities from personal arrest or detention and from the seizure of their personal baggage’ of all representatives of members to the UN.