NEW YORK — Saudi Arabia affirmed on Tuesday that the safety of diplomatic and consular missions is on the top of its priorities. "The Kingdom has taken effective measures to enhance the protection, security, and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and their staff whether in the capital or other cities," said Nida Abu Ali, head of the Saudi permanent delegation to the Sixth Committee of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The virtual session of the committee, which was held under article 84, called for taking effective measures to enhance the protection, security, and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and their staffers. In her speech before the committee, Nida noted that the exchange of diplomatic envoys is one of the oldest forms of international relations. "Adoption of effective measures to enhance the protection, security, and safety of diplomatic and consular missions, as well as diplomatic and consular representatives is an important tool of shouldering international responsibility based on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in 1963 related to the headquarters of the missions." This would contribute to ensuring the rights of individuals in the international community, whether diplomatic representatives of states or representatives with diplomatic status at intergovernmental organizations operating at the international level," she said. Nida stressed that Saudi Arabia has taken the initiative to abide by the established provisions by taking effective measures to enhance the protection, security, and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and diplomatic and consular representatives, whether in the capital or other cities. "The Kingdom follows strict security measures, including the constitution of a permanent committee to protect diplomats within the Ministry of Interior, with the task of ensuring the security of diplomatic sites and facilities, as well as to ensure the security and safety of diplomats in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is considered to be one of the countries committed to respecting the customary rules, which later became one of the written rules drafted by the UN International Law Commission in a number of international agreements," she said while noting that it is regrettable that some countries fail to provide the necessary protection for the headquarters of diplomatic and consular missions. "The memory still lingers about how the headquarters of a diplomatic mission and a consular mission of the Kingdom had been subjected to violations of its safety and security, in a way that constitutes a clear violation of international treaties and laws related to the security, protection, and safety of diplomatic and consular missions," she said. Saudi Arabia is keen on working to improve and develop effective measures to ensure the security of diplomatic missions, Nida said while urging all countries to take effective and immediate measures to prevent such violations and acts of violence as well as to secure the independence of the work of diplomatic personnel and respect for the sovereignty of their accredited countries. She also called for taking the necessary measures against the perpetrators of such crimes and highlighted the measures taken to prevent the recurrence of such violations.
