On April 1, 2024, the Israeli Air Force bombed the Consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus. Then, on April 5 of the same year, the Ecuadorian police forcibly entered the Mexican Embassy in Quito.
Such incidents are not entirely unprecedented, but what is new is that they are carried out by established, legitimate states that are signatories to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961)—not by pariah states or those in situations of insurrectional or revolutionary instability. We have witnessed the weakness of the international community’s response, especially from the West, which is usually quick to react to such events. The silence of the so-called “free world powers” is quite concerning, especially—but not exclusively—in a diplomatic context where international conventions seem easy to violate. This raises questions in a context where we are working to obtain extraterritoriality for an embassy to welcome an extraterrestrial civilization.
The rules governing modern diplomacy, especially since the Vienna Convention, have not been challenged, and these violations may well remain isolated cases for a long time. But isn’t one violation already too many? If it is an isolated occurrence that is not meant to recur, a one-off event that does not fit into any category and arises randomly without leading to further instances? Or is it the start of a series, the announcement of a process to come? Do these violations of diplomatic representations, though different in their execution, signal a relaxation, even a dissolution of the principles governing diplomatic relations between nations? We hope not, and better yet, that it will be a wake-up call for the international community.
Building an embassy on Earth to welcome a civilization from another planet is akin to officially signaling to the universe that “we are ready!” The embassy likely has a universal scope. It indicates that a certain level of civilization has been reached. This goes beyond conventions and formalities. It is primarily about the idea of a neutral space where distinct entities meet. This status and the entity that goes with it, whether called an embassy, consulate, temple, or anything else, likely belongs to the essential structures of intelligent life. By “essential structure,” we mean those that are enshrined in descriptive laws and are thus inviolable.
For now, let’s take it as a given that the embassy, in the broad sense, is the seal of civilization. It is certainly not the only one, but it is a distinctive and universally recognizable one: “Here, we grant protection to the messengers from beyond (whatever that may be).” To attack it is to attack the very idea of civilization, and to invade or destroy a diplomatic representation or harm its personnel is an act that falls short of our humanity. Such acts can only be followed by unanimous condemnation.
For us, and surely for you, an embassy represents a sacred place; this term derives from the Latin adjective sacer, which means “that which cannot be touched without being tainted, or without tainting.” This allows us to return to the previous considerations concerning the “inviolable laws,” those upon which intelligent life depends and which we have, throughout our evolution, identified and erected as sacred principles. The violations of diplomatic representations are violations of this human sacredness, and any violation must not be tolerated. By breaking the rules of diplomacy, it is inviolability itself that is threatened, as both a principle and a practice. Inviolability is what separates civilization from barbarism. There are rights, freedoms, neutralities, protections, and rules that are inviolable.
We claim to understand what is now sacred. We also defend it, and that is why we seek extraterritoriality for the embassy we will build for an extraterrestrial civilization. It is also why we vehemently defend inviolable rights and principles. This embassy is not a mere building. It is a reminder that there is sacredness and inviolability that allows humanity to emancipate itself and extricate itself from its primitive state and thus aspire to be civilized and peaceful. This means that the planet must be populated by civilized people, in the common sense of the term, women and men who do not violate and are not violent.
Fundamental freedoms or Human Rights are only complete with the recognition of others, which requires the recognition of the messenger of others; the diplomat, his family, his home, his rights, and his security, no matter where he comes from or his planet of origin.
