Responds regarding handbag incident of Minister of International Relations and Cooperation at the Oslo Airport
QUOTE
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR ORAL REPLY
QUESTION NO: 191 (NO3775E)
PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO: 32-2011 OF 18 OCTOBER2011
MR S MOKGALAPA (DA) TO ASK THE MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION:
On what specific provision of the Vienna Convention did she rely when she refused to have her handbag scanned at the Oslo Airport at the end of her official visit to Norway in September 2011?
REPLY:
Article 29 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations protects the inviolability of diplomatic agents and thus according to customary international law, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation as South Africa’s Number One Diplomat is entitled to personal inviolability, which provides her with full immunity and privileges.
