China, Canada act against each other’s diplomats: What is persona non grata?

On Monday (May 8), Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said her government had decided to expel Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei for his alleged participation in the intimidation campaign against Canadian opposition lawmaker Michael Chong, who had accused Beijing of human rights abuses.

The move came after a local newspaper, The Globe and Mail, last month published a report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that said Wei was involved in gathering information about Chong and his relatives based in Hong Kong to deter “anti-China positions”, the BBC reported.

In her statement, Joly said Canada “will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs” and that the decision to expel the diplomat had “been taken after careful consideration of all factors at play”.

What is persona non grata?

Persona non grata is a Latin phrase which means “unwelcome person.” In diplomacy, it refers to a diplomat or foreign person whose entering or remaining in a certain country has been prohibited by that country.

As per a DW report, the designation received diplomatic meaning at the 1961 Vienna Convention for Diplomatic Relations. Article 9 of the treaty mentions that a country can declare any member of a diplomatic staff persona non grata “at any time and without having to explain its decision.”

Soon after the declaration, the person concerned usually returns to their home nation. In case they fail to do so within a reasonable period, the country “may refuse to recognise the person concerned as a member of the mission.” The article also says that a person can be declared persona non grata even before arriving in a country.

When is it used?

There aren’t any fixed rules regarding when a country can declare a foreign person persona non grata as it doesn’t need to give an explanation according to Article 9 of the Vienna Convention.

Historically speaking, countries have used it to express their discontent with the actions of other nations. During the Cold War, it became a “tit-for-tat” sanction as both the US and the Soviet Union liberally declared each other’s diplomats persona non grata.

When it comes to India, the country labelled a Pakistan High Commission staffer persona non-grata for espionage activities in 2016 after he was arrested by Delhi Police with documents relating to defence deployment.

Notably, the imposition of persona non grata designation isn’t just limited to diplomats. The DW report noted that Hollywood actor Brad Pitt was declared persona non grata by China after starring in the 1997 film “Seven Years in Tibet,” though the ban was lifted in 2014. Donald Trump, much before becoming US President, was also labelled as persona non grata by Panama City’s Municipal Council after he said that America was “stupid” to “give away the Panama Canal for nothing.”