Vienna Convention on Consular Relations

Vienna Convention on Consular Relations

Parties to the convention   Parties   Signatories   Non-signatories
Drafted	22 April 1963
Signed	24 April 1963
Location	Vienna
Effective	19 March 1967
Condition	Ratification by 22 states
Signatories	48
Parties	179 (as of May 2016)
Depositary	UN Secretary-General
Citations	500 U.N.T.S. 95; 23 U.S.T. 3227
Languages	Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
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The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between independent states. A consul normally operates out of an embassy in another country, and performs two functions: (1) protecting in the host country the interests of their countrymen, and (2) furthering the commercial and economic relations between the two states. While a consul is not a diplomat, they work out of the same premises, and under this treaty they are afforded most of the same privileges, including a variation of diplomatic immunity called consular immunity. The treaty has been ratified by 179 states.

The treaty is an extensive document, containing 79 articles. Following is a basic overview of its key provisions. For a comprehensive enumeration of all articles, consult the original text.

There are 179 state parties to the convention including most UN member states and UN observer states Holy See and State of Palestine. The signatory states that have not ratified the convention are: Central African Republic, Israel, Ivory Coast and Republic of Congo. The UN member states that have neither signed nor ratified the convention are: Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Palau, San Marino, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Swaziland and Uganda.