4

There are at least two countries in the world that have ceased to issue travel documents to their citizens abroad. In September last year, Belarusian diplomatic missions stopped issuing passports following a president's decree. The US and the EU condemned the move, while the opposition in exile committed to produce alternative passports.

This month, the diplomatic missions of Ukraine temporarily suspended consular services to military-age men, at the instruction of the Foreign Ministry. A decree by the Cabinet of Ministers further banned the delivery of passports abroad for an unspecified period, suggesting that Ukrainian men should return home and fulfill their duty. Poland and Germany have since reaffirmed their commitment to providing temporary protection and refugee status to Ukrainians, irrespective of their passport validity.

In both instances, the embassies have ceased to provide services for political reasons. In one instance, the embassies have excluded a specific group by gender and age. Both countries' nationals are at risk of not having any valid identification documents required to travel, work, and study abroad, while they face danger to their life and freedom at home.

Both countries are signatories to international agreements and treaties, including the 1961 Vienna Convention.

  • Did these countries violate any international law on the conduct and operation of diplomatic missions abroad?

  • What legal consequences, such as sanctions, may these countries face following these violations, if any?

Improve this question
8
  • 3
    There are other countries who refuse to issue passports in certain cases. Some (including the US) will not issue passports to people with severe tax delinquency. I don't think the Vienna convention is relevant.
    – littleadv
    Commented Apr 27 at 19:29
  • @littleadv Does the US do that inside their country or to already-expats? These are different.
    – alamar
    Commented Apr 27 at 19:51
  • 1
    @alamar I think it is at the discretion of the state department. They're only obligated to provide a document to return home (same applies to the countries in question)
    – littleadv
    Commented Apr 27 at 19:53
  • 1
    I don't see how the 1961 Vienna Convention, which is about diplomatic immunity, is relevant. Perhaps some other convention applies.
    – Rick Smith
    Commented Apr 27 at 23:15
  • 1
    Sanctions are not 'legal consequences', but political ones, generally speaking. Even if some countries choose to put sanctions in their own laws. (Also, such laws generally give wide latitude to the executive to use them or not.) Not much in international law requires a country to sanction another, except some UNSC sanctions. (And even those are largely political in how they're decided.) Nor does international law prevent much 'unilateral' sanctions for random/capricious reasons.
    – Make StackExchange GREAT 4ever
    Commented Apr 27 at 23:37

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
7

The ICCPR would be the only relevant international treaty. Article 12 states:

  1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence.

  2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.

  3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictions except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Covenant.

  4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.

Which means that Belarus and Ukraine must allow their citizens to return home and both will indeed issue a document for that purpose. Since Ukraine is in a state of war right now, it's clearly reasonable for them to restrict conscript-eligible men from leaving ("necessary to protect national security").

Did these countries violate any international law on the conduct and operation of diplomatic missions abroad?

No, they did not, as both countries will issue a document valid for a trip home to their citizens abroad.

What legal consequences, such as sanctions, may these countries face following these violations, if any?

In the case of Belarus there's already numerous sanctions in place, though not specifically due to the passport renewal debacle. In the case of Ukraine sanctions are unlikely. I suspect most Western countries will simply choose to accept Ukrainian passports past their official date of expiry, thus undermining Ukraine's plan to force emigres to go back and fight in the war.

Recognized refugees are also eligible for a travel document in most countries, though this solution won’t work by default for Ukrainians who aren’t registered as refugees and instead have a work visa or a permanent residency. Some countries might choose to make an exception and issue such documents to Ukrainian men who aren’t formally registered as refugees.

Improve this answer
6
  • Or, issue their own refugee travel documents, as countries routinely do for refugees.
    – littleadv
    Commented Apr 27 at 21:17
  • @littleadv thank you, updated. But note that many (most?) Ukrainian men abroad are not registered as refugees and instead have a work visa or a permanent residency. Perhaps governments will make a blanket exception and issue travel documents for all Ukrainians regardless of visa status. Hard to tell just yet.
    – JonathanReez
    Commented Apr 27 at 21:26
  • Penultimate para were you "suspect most Western countries will simply choose to accept Ukrainian passports past their official date of expiry" appears to be based on speculation. Surely Russia will do that [for selected people they choose to see as dissidents], but do you have any evidence Western countries do, for random travel? Or are you talking about war-refugee status ('temporarily protected persons' or however it's called--it's not asylum.) That last observation also applies to your last para about 'refugees'.
    – Make StackExchange GREAT 4ever
    Commented Apr 27 at 23:35
  • @thegodsfromengineering all of this is conjecture at this point. It’s possible that the West will entirely refuse to do much for Ukrainian men. It’s possible that they’ll issue them travel documents. Will probably depend on who’s in power this year in each country.
    – JonathanReez
    Commented Apr 28 at 2:51
  • 1
    Side note, the EU gave Ukrainians a kind of 'generalized refugeee status' which is not permanent residency. The latter is an individual status. The Temporary Protection Directive removed individual checks.
    – o.m.
    Commented Apr 28 at 4:35

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .