Persona non grata
Unwelcome person
A person declared undesirable by a state and required to depart, particularly in the case of foreign diplomats.
Persona non grata is a Latin term that literally means ‘undesirable person’. In international law, and in particular pursuant to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the designation is used to signify that a foreign diplomat or other official representative is no longer acceptable to the receiving State.
The declaration enables the receiving State to require the individual to depart within a reasonable period without the need for formal criminal proceedings or extradition. This diplomatic instrument is invoked in cases of serious misconduct, such as espionage, interference in the internal affairs of the receiving State, or other conduct prejudicial to bilateral relations.
In practice, such a declaration frequently gives rise to reciprocal measures, whereby the sending State may in turn declare a diplomat of the receiving State persona non grata.
“Following the espionage scandal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared the Russian diplomat persona non grata.”
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