This Word Means: Persona non grata

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Wednesday, “The Defence/Military, Naval and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata. They have a week to leave India. India will be withdrawing its own Defence/Navy/Air Advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.”

WHAT DOES PERSONA NON GRATA MEAN?

Persona non grata is a Latin phrase which means “unwelcome person.” It has a specific meaning in diplomacy, referring to a diplomat or foreign person whose entry or presence in a certain country has been prohibited by that country.

The designation received diplomatic meaning at the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which lays the ground rules for how diplomats are to be treated, including in relation to their rights and privileges in host countries. Article 9 of the treaty mentions that a country can declare any member of a diplomatic staff persona non grata “at any time and without having to explain its decision.”

Soon after the declaration, the person concerned usually returns to their home nation. In case they fail to do so within a reasonable period, the country “may refuse to recognise the person concerned as a member of the mission.” The article also says that a person can be declared persona non grata even before arriving in a country.

WHEN CAN A PERSON BE DECLARED PERSONA NON GRATA?

There aren’t any fixed rules regarding when a country can declare a foreign person persona non grata, as there is no requirement of an explanation under the Vienna Convention.

Historically speaking, countries have used it to express their discontent with the actions of other nations. During the Cold War, it became a tit-for-tat sanction as both the US and the Soviet Union liberally declared each other’s diplomats persona non grata.

In 2023, China declared a Canadian envoy in Shanghai persona non grata after the Canadian government alleged that the Chinese state had interfered in its local elections. Before China’s action, Canada had expelled a Chinese diplomat for his alleged participation in influencing the elections.

India previously labelled a Pakistan High Commission staffer persona non-grata for espionage activities in 2016 after he was arrested by Delhi Police with documents relating to defence deployment.

Notably, the imposition of a persona non grata designation isn’t limited to diplomats. One DW report noted that Hollywood actor Brad Pitt was declared persona non grata by China after starring in the 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet, though the ban was lifted in 2014. Donald Trump, much before becoming US President, was also labelled as persona non grata by Panama City’s Municipal Council after he said that America was “stupid” to “give away the Panama Canal for nothing.”