he International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and ProPublica published an investigation recently which revealed pervasive criminal activity among honorary consuls, private citizens appointed to represent countries abroad. Honorary consuls have many of the same privileges as career diplomats. Their correspondence is protected, they can bypass bag checks in airports, and their title opens doors. In other words, without proper vetting systems in place, these ordinary civilians can easily evade the law. Governments have, for the most part, refrained from doing anything about it.
Governments in the Dark
ICIJ and ProPublica uncovered at least five hundred active and retired honorary consuls linked to scandals or crimes. While some are “fraudsters,” others were convicted of murder and sex offenses prior to their appointments. Some have used their honorary consular privileges to help with drug trafficking and weapons deals, doing business with pariah states including North Korea, Syria, and Russia. Nine current and former honorary consuls have worked with terrorist groups like Hezbollah.
“The lawlessness and claims of impunity have largely been met with silence: Few governments have publicly called to put safeguards in place, despite warnings from law enforcement and others,” the article says.
Governments are in the dark. The State Department, Fitzgibbon explained, does cursory checks but does not delve into any candidate’s criminal records. This is evident with a quick google search. According to ICIJ and ProPublica’s data, several governments provide no public information about their honorary consuls, hosted or appointed. When they do, it is typically hard to access and with little transparency about the names and dates of the consuls.
Reciprocity, Every Country’s Worst Nightmare
Will Fitzgibbon, senior reporter at ICIJ, has little faith that the honorary consular system will ever be reformed on an international scale. The problem, he explained, is the threat of backlash.
“Based on what we’ve seen and based on experts we’ve spoken to, the challenge with reforming the honorary consul system is this ever present fear of reciprocity. If country A does one thing, country B may do the same or even worse.”
The ICIJ-ProPublica investigation detailed how law enforcement and government officials have questioned the honorary consul system since the 1920s. The US stopped appointing its own honorary consuls in 1924. In 1927 and again in the 1960s international experts warned that granting private citizens diplomatic privileges was a great risk. They called to abolish the system, but governments acted opposite to their advice. Under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, honorary consuls were granted immunity and the freedom to move and communicate without security checks they still have today.
According to Fitzgibbon, “There’s a snowflake's chance in hell of international reform. Very few countries want to touch the reciprocity issue. And besides, the more immediate change would come from domestic reforms.”
Reforms at the Country-Level
Any reforms to the system happen on a country by country basis. According to Fitzgibbon, Germany and Austria have dismissed their shared honorary consul in Brazil in response to the ICIJ-ProPublica investigation. Dozens of honorary consuls have been sanctioned by the US in the years before this investigation.
In 2019, Canada reviewed its honorary consul system after it rescinded its approval of Waseem Ramli as a Montreal-based honorary consul. Ramli was an overt supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government has killed over twenty thousand civilians. It was only after the Syrian diaspora in Canada expressed its outrage over Ramli’s appointment, that Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland revoked his position. Freeland also ordered a review of Canada’s vetting process. Ramli was appointed with a resume and only an english-language search of his statements online. Now, Canada has a more thorough vetting process.
But reform like Canada’s is rare. “Even when countries do reform the system, fifteen years later the problems still exist,” Fitzgibbon said. He was speaking about Liberia, which In 2007 dismissed almost all of its honorary consuls and reformed its vetting process. Liberia continues to deal with abuses to its system, however. In 2020, Deputy Foreign Minister Henry Fahnbulleh skirted vetting protocol when appointing a Serbian businessman as a Liberian honorary consul. Fahnbulleh then “exchanged fraudulent and criminal deception communication” with the consul and received a payment of $25,000.
Weighing the Pros and Cons
The vast majority of honorary consuls do a good job and follow the law. The ICIJ-ProPublica investigation raises the question of whether the risks of this vulnerable system outweigh the positives, however.
Honorary consuls were created to help governments facilitate diplomatic relations at a low cost. Small countries without the resources to build an embassy can rely on honorary consuls instead. But with the internet and significantly faster transportation, whether honorary consuls are as useful today as they were in the twentieth century is up for debate.
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Investigation Finds Rampant Abuse of Honorary Consul System
November 28, 2022
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists & ProPublica recently published an investigation on how individuals with criminal and even terrorist links have been able to get diplomatic credentials to cover their activities. Millie Brigaud breaks down the report and explains.
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he International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and ProPublica published an investigation recently which revealed pervasive criminal activity among honorary consuls, private citizens appointed to represent countries abroad. Honorary consuls have many of the same privileges as career diplomats. Their correspondence is protected, they can bypass bag checks in airports, and their title opens doors. In other words, without proper vetting systems in place, these ordinary civilians can easily evade the law. Governments have, for the most part, refrained from doing anything about it.
Governments in the Dark
ICIJ and ProPublica uncovered at least five hundred active and retired honorary consuls linked to scandals or crimes. While some are “fraudsters,” others were convicted of murder and sex offenses prior to their appointments. Some have used their honorary consular privileges to help with drug trafficking and weapons deals, doing business with pariah states including North Korea, Syria, and Russia. Nine current and former honorary consuls have worked with terrorist groups like Hezbollah.
“The lawlessness and claims of impunity have largely been met with silence: Few governments have publicly called to put safeguards in place, despite warnings from law enforcement and others,” the article says.
Governments are in the dark. The State Department, Fitzgibbon explained, does cursory checks but does not delve into any candidate’s criminal records. This is evident with a quick google search. According to ICIJ and ProPublica’s data, several governments provide no public information about their honorary consuls, hosted or appointed. When they do, it is typically hard to access and with little transparency about the names and dates of the consuls.
Reciprocity, Every Country’s Worst Nightmare
Will Fitzgibbon, senior reporter at ICIJ, has little faith that the honorary consular system will ever be reformed on an international scale. The problem, he explained, is the threat of backlash.
“Based on what we’ve seen and based on experts we’ve spoken to, the challenge with reforming the honorary consul system is this ever present fear of reciprocity. If country A does one thing, country B may do the same or even worse.”
The ICIJ-ProPublica investigation detailed how law enforcement and government officials have questioned the honorary consul system since the 1920s. The US stopped appointing its own honorary consuls in 1924. In 1927 and again in the 1960s international experts warned that granting private citizens diplomatic privileges was a great risk. They called to abolish the system, but governments acted opposite to their advice. Under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, honorary consuls were granted immunity and the freedom to move and communicate without security checks they still have today.
According to Fitzgibbon, “There’s a snowflake's chance in hell of international reform. Very few countries want to touch the reciprocity issue. And besides, the more immediate change would come from domestic reforms.”
Reforms at the Country-Level
Any reforms to the system happen on a country by country basis. According to Fitzgibbon, Germany and Austria have dismissed their shared honorary consul in Brazil in response to the ICIJ-ProPublica investigation. Dozens of honorary consuls have been sanctioned by the US in the years before this investigation.
In 2019, Canada reviewed its honorary consul system after it rescinded its approval of Waseem Ramli as a Montreal-based honorary consul. Ramli was an overt supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government has killed over twenty thousand civilians. It was only after the Syrian diaspora in Canada expressed its outrage over Ramli’s appointment, that Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland revoked his position. Freeland also ordered a review of Canada’s vetting process. Ramli was appointed with a resume and only an english-language search of his statements online. Now, Canada has a more thorough vetting process.
But reform like Canada’s is rare. “Even when countries do reform the system, fifteen years later the problems still exist,” Fitzgibbon said. He was speaking about Liberia, which In 2007 dismissed almost all of its honorary consuls and reformed its vetting process. Liberia continues to deal with abuses to its system, however. In 2020, Deputy Foreign Minister Henry Fahnbulleh skirted vetting protocol when appointing a Serbian businessman as a Liberian honorary consul. Fahnbulleh then “exchanged fraudulent and criminal deception communication” with the consul and received a payment of $25,000.
Weighing the Pros and Cons
The vast majority of honorary consuls do a good job and follow the law. The ICIJ-ProPublica investigation raises the question of whether the risks of this vulnerable system outweigh the positives, however.
Honorary consuls were created to help governments facilitate diplomatic relations at a low cost. Small countries without the resources to build an embassy can rely on honorary consuls instead. But with the internet and significantly faster transportation, whether honorary consuls are as useful today as they were in the twentieth century is up for debate.
