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https://www.gcsp.ch/global-insight/key-skills-five-main-diplomatic-functions-0

Key skills for the five main diplomatic functions

Diplomats represent their governments in fulfilling a number of professional tasks that can be best

performed if they possess or are trained to develop key sets of skills corresponding to the five recognised

functions of diplomats:

By Marc Finaud, Senior Advisor and 'Arms Proliferation‟ Cluster Leader

Representation, protection of national interests, negotiation, reporting, and promotion of friendly

relations. Such skills can also be of interest for non-diplomats engaged in professional activities
involving contacts with foreign people or cultures.

The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations codifies centuries of practice and standards
applied to relations between states. Once diplomatic relations are established between two nation-states,
they can decide to exchange diplomatic missions or embassies led by a Head of Mission or an
Ambassador; vis-à-vis each other, they become both a „sending State‟ and a „receiving State‟. One
important article of the Convention describes the functions of diplomats to be exercised within the
diplomatic mission. There are five recognized ones, which call for some specific skills required from
the diplomats.

1) “Representing the sending State in the receiving State”: this task of official representation
means that the Ambassador is the personal envoy of his/her Head of State to the Head of State of the
host country. Similarly, diplomats working in the host country under the leadership of the Head of
Mission are considered as representatives of their governments at all times. This means that they
cannot interfere in the host country‟s domestic affairs (for instance by making public political
statements); they cannot carry out commercial activities; they have a duty of discretion. In order to be
protected from local pressures, they enjoy inviolability (of the diplomat, his/her premises and vehicle),
immunity of jurisdiction, and tax exemption. However this does not mean impunity in case they break
the local law: they can be recalled by their governments and prosecuted in their home countries or they
can be declared „personae non gratae‟ and expelled. In sum, the skills required here are restraint,
integrity, dignity, professionalism.
2) “Protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and of its nationals,
within the limits permitted by international law”: this means that the main purpose of the diplomats‟
activity is to promote national interests whether diplomatic, economic, commercial, cultural, etc. This
includes catering to the needs of one‟s nationals living or travelling in the host country, which is also
the main activity of the Consulate or Consular section of the Embassy. Diplomats working to serve
their countries should therefore display qualities of patriotism, loyalty, national pride, and a good
knowledge of their national policies.

3) “Negotiating with the Government of the receiving State”: negotiation is an essential part of
diplomatic activity. In a bilateral context, between two governments, irrespective of the scope of the
negotiation (from a protocol arrangement for an official visit to a wide-ranging trade agreement),
negotiation skills require: good knowledge of the topic (or reliance on experts); flexibility and
readiness for compromise (at the proper moment and not without compensation); and a sense of win-
win outcome. In a multilateral context, with potentially multiple partners and adversaries, negotiation
is more complex but requires the same skills, and, in addition, a sense of initiative and coalition
building. Let‟s above all remember the wise words of Hans Blix, the former Director-General of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): “It is underestimated how important dignity is between
people and how important it is not to humiliate.

4) “Ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving State, and
reporting thereon to the Government of the sending State”: this is about the traditional and standard
work of diplomats: observing (via lawful means, i.e. excluding espionage) and reporting. This calls for
skills that can be acquired and developed on the job: prior knowledge of the situation and willingness
to understand it better; good contacts and interaction with all sectors of society, from officials to
civil society; agility in writing timely, clear, and concise reports to the right echelon, with the added
value of analysis compared to information available from other sources (mainly media, including
social media).

5) “Promoting friendly relations between the sending State and the receiving State, and
developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations”: finally, the tasks of diplomats include
the promotion of good relations between their countries in all spheres. This requires active contacts
with all sectors of the local population, not only the officials and the elites. Diplomats are expected
to entertain guests on a regular basis, hence the need for them to have good knowledge of both
universal and local protocol rules and a good practice of cross-cultural communication.