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Thesis: Persona Non Grata
There is no public persona non grata registry. Is that thesis accurate? According to published information, the CIA maintains a closed espionage registry. During the Cold War, Western nations routinely exchanged information on suspected and confirmed spies, whether or not they had been declared PnGs. Presumably, a similar arrangement existed in the old East. Presumably, intelligence services and foreign affairs departments kept good records. But a public registry?
There are good reasons it should not exist. A beer chugged in the wrong place at the wrong time can cause a diplomat's expulsion as easily as a retaliatory, foreign policy-based expulsion. By no means is every PnG a spy or other criminal although it does happen.
At the same time, many spies are not declared personae non gratae for foreign policy reasons--a hint to a major press outlet can be just as effective in getting rid of a spy. A public registry could confuse more than assist. After all, the Vienna Convention authorizes host nations to declare a diplomat persona non grata without explanation. -- Clemens Kochinke, Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, LLP, Washington, DC.
Fri, / / Embassy Law Link
