Protocol Directorate - P1.1 CIRCULAR NOTE THE ACCREDITATION OF A DIPLOMATIC HEAD OF MISSION IN BELGIUM (15 April 2011) The Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation presents its compliments to the Diplomatic Missions established in Brussels and has the honour of informing them hereafter of the guidelines relating to the accreditation of a diplomatic Head of Mission in Belgium, that is to say the accreditation of a bilateral ambassador to His Majesty the King. This memo does not, therefore, apply to the accreditation of Permanent Representatives and other Heads of Mission to the E.U., NATO and the W.E.U. The Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Diplomatic Missions established in Brussels the assurance of its highest consideration. To the Diplomatic Missions established in Brussels Table of contents THE HEAD OF MISSION 1 Agrément, 2 Accreditation to several States, 3 First arrival of the ambassador-designate and presentation of Letters of Credence, 4 Order of precedence, 5 Calls on ministers and political figures, 6 Absences and movements of the Head of Mission, 7 Accredited chargé d’affaires (“en pied”), 8 Final departure. 1 Agrément Agrément is given in accordance with article 4 of the Vienna Convention of 1961 on Diplomatic Relations. This article stipulates that: “(1) The sending State must make certain that the agrément of the receiving State has been given for the person it proposes to accredit as head of the mission to that State. (2) The receiving State is not obliged to give reasons to the sending State for a refusal of agrément.” The sending State sends the request for agrément by note verbale to the Protocol Directorate or to the competent Belgian Embassy in the sending State. This formal request is accompanied by as detailed a curriculum vitae as possible for the Ambassador-designate. The curriculum vitae shall be accompanied by a French, Dutch or English translation. The curriculum vitae must include the following information: – Surnames, first names and, if necessary, title(s) (with explanation), – Date and place of birth (town + country), – Marital status, family composition, – Diploma, education, professional training and educational certificates, – Career and professional information (in chronological order), – Language skills (active and passive), – Hobbies, special interests, – Any publications, professional specialisations, – Jurisdiction, and, if necessary, any other bilateral and/or multilateral accreditations, - Passport photo Examination of the request for agrément shall take a number of weeks. The utmost discretion shall be observed throughout this procedure. The Protocol Directorate shall notify the Head of the diplomatic Mission in Brussels of the response to the request for agrément by official letter. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the sending State shall also be notified via the Belgian Embassy. 2 Accreditation to several States As stipulated in article 5(1) of the Vienna Convention of 1961 on Diplomatic Relations, the FPS Foreign Affairs must be notified if a sending State wishes to also accredit a Head of Mission to another State or an international organisation. A head of mission resident in Belgium but who is also accredited to other States or to an international organisation shall firstly present his or her Letters of Credence to the King in Belgium. As regards the presentation of Letters of Credence to other States and international organisations, the head of mission shall address him or herself to the respective Heads of Protocol. 3 First arrival of the ambassador-designate and presentation of Letters of Credence The Embassy of the sending State shall notify the Protocol Directorate of the date and time of the Ambassador-designate’s arrival by means of diplomatic note. The Protocol Directorate shall arrange for the Protocol Services of the national airport to welcome the future head of mission and facilitate his or her arrival in Belgium. The Ambassador-designate shall be received, if he or she so requests, by the Chief of Protocol. The Ambassador-designate shall present him with an official copy of his or her Letters of Credence and the Letters of Recall of his or her predecessor. The Deputy Chief of Protocol, Director for the Diplomatic Missions (P1.1), shall participate in this meeting. From this moment on, the Ambassador-designate may conduct a series of visits. Nevertheless, he or she shall not yet participate in official functions, particularly those attended by the King. He or she shall also refrain from calling on Belgian ministers. However, the Ambassador-designate may have official contacts with the officials of the FPS Foreign Affairs and other ministries straight away. If in doubt, he or she may contact the Director of Protocol. The Protocol Directorate shall provide the Ambassador-designate, if so requested, with a temporary identity card indicating his or her status as Ambassador-designate. After presentation of his or her Letters of Credence, he or she shall be issued with a permanent diplomatic identity card valid for a maximum of 5 years. However, he or she may immediately avail himself or herself of personal tax privileges from the date of presentation of copies of his or her Letters of Credence to the Chief of Protocol. The members of his or her family will only receive identity cards after presentation of his or her Letters of Credence. The date of presentation of the Letters of Credence to His Majesty the King is set by the Royal Palace and communicated by the Protocol Directorate to the Diplomatic Mission. The said Diplomatic Mission shall then notify the address at which the vehicles of the Court will collect the Ambassador, the names of the maximum three diplomats who will accompany the Ambassador, all without their spouses, as well as the language that the Ambassador wishes to use during his or her meeting with His Majesty the King. If the ambassador wishes to use a language other than French, Dutch or English, the embassy shall provide an interpreter. According to tradition, several new Ambassadors-designate present their Letters of Credence on the same day to His Majesty the King during a royal audience organised at Château de Laeken or at the Royal Palace in Brussels. The order of presentation is determined, in principle, by the order in which the copies of the letters have been submitted to the Chief of Protocol. It should be noted that no presentation of Letters of Credence shall occur during the annual holiday period (between 21 July and mid-September). A special booklet describes in detail the ceremony at the Royal Palace or Château de Laeken. It will be given to the Ambassador-designate when he or she comes to present the true copy of his Letters of Credence. The Ambassador will be accredited in Belgium from the date on which the Letters of Credence will have been presented to the King. From this date on, he or she is the actual Head of the diplomatic Mission in Belgium. The presentation of Letters of Credence to His Majesty the King is published in the Belgian Official Gazette shortly afterwards. 4 Order of precedence The order of precedence between Heads of Mission shall be determined by the date and time of presentation of the Letters of Credence to His Majesty the King. Nevertheless, the representative of the Holy See always takes precedence over his colleagues and is the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps. Ambassadors accredited to the King take precedence over their colleagues, the Permanent Representatives to the E.U., to NATO or to the W.E.U., or over the Ambassadors, Heads of a diplomatic Mission to the E.U., NATO or the W.E.U. Permanent Representatives and Heads of Mission to the E.U. always take precedence over Ambassadors, Heads of Mission accredited to NATO and the WEU. However, on the occasion of a special event relating primarily to the E.U., NATO or the W.E.U., such as, for example, the anniversary of one of these institutions, or on the occasion of ceremonies organised by these institutions or invitations issued by heads of missions accredited to the E.U., NATO or the W.E.U., the Ambassadors accredited to the institution in question shall take precedence over their colleague accredited to His Majesty the King. It should be noted that according to current practice the title and rank of Ambassador is exclusively used for accredited Heads of Mission. An accredited Chargé d’affaires (“en pied”) takes precedence, according to protocol, over an acting Chargé d’affaires, even if they have the same rank. 5 Calls on ministers and political figures. There are no rules or practices governing calls on Belgian Ministers or senior political figures. The Diplomatic Mission may contact the cabinets of federal, regional and community ministers directly to organise official and/or courtesy visits. Only calls on the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs are requested via the Protocol Directorate. 6 Absences and movements of the Head of Mission. Diplomatic practice requires that the Protocol Directorate – P1.1 be notified of any travel outside the country of residence – for whatever reason – by note verbale. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that such notification is not required for travel of very short duration. As specified in article 19 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the appointment of an acting Chargé d’affaires by the Head of Mission is notified by note verbale, signed or initialled by him or her, and sent to the Protocol Directorate. The appointment of an acting Chargé d’affaires may also be notified by official letter sent to the Protocol Directorate by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the sending State.