1973 Diplomatic Protection Convention

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 1973 and entered into force on 20 February 1977. It is commonly shorthanded as the "1973 Diplomatic Protection Convention," though it should not be confused with the International Law Commission's later Draft Articles on Diplomatic Protection (2006), which deal with a state's right to espouse claims on behalf of its nationals.

The Convention was a direct response to a wave of kidnappings and assassinations of diplomats in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the 1973 murder of US Ambassador Cleo Noel in Khartoum. It complements the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which set out inviolability rules, by adding a criminal-law enforcement layer.

Key features:

• Article 1 defines "internationally protected person" to include heads of state, heads of government, foreign ministers abroad, and accredited diplomatic agents and their family members.
• Article 2 requires states parties to criminalize murder, kidnapping, and other attacks on such persons, as well as attacks on their official premises, residence, or means of transport.
• Article 3 establishes jurisdiction where the offense occurs on the state's territory, on its registered vessels or aircraft, or where the offender is its national.
• Article 7 embodies the aut dedere aut judicare principle: a state party that finds an alleged offender on its territory must either extradite them or submit the case to its competent authorities for prosecution.
• Article 8 treats covered offenses as extraditable in any existing extradition treaty between parties.

The treaty has broad participation, with over 180 states parties, making it one of the more widely ratified counter-terrorism instruments under UN auspices. It is often invoked alongside the 1979 Hostages Convention and the 1997 Terrorist Bombings Convention in extradition requests involving attacks on embassies.