 I am excited to announce that I will be collaborating in the upcoming Public Diplomacy course that the DiploFoundation is offering in the spring of 2022. For more information about the course, check out this DiploFoundation webpage. I did not know about the existence of the DiploFoundation until my ministry of foreign affairs offered one of its courses in late 2012. But what a great institution it is! I already had experience with online education, as I graduated from the Global Master of Arts Program in 2008, offered by the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. However, it was a hybrid format, which allowed me to meet my classmates in three different residencies. For more about my experience, read my blog post, Remembering GMAP: Awesome learning and life experiences. The DiploFoundation offers magnificent advantages for most people interested in diplomacy and other vital subjects, such as internet governance. Here are some of them:
Another advantage is that The DiploFoundation also offers the possibility of obtaining a Master´s degree in Contemporary Diplomacy from the University of Malta, which is an excellent opportunity for anybody who does not have the chance to take time off work to get a full-time study degree. Besides the incredible array of courses, the DiploFoundation has excellent research and resources, such as my favorite history of diplomacy and technology or the up-and-coming digital diplomacy and digital foreign policy. In addition, the very active online web debates, conferences offer many opportunities to learn areas that might not be familiar. For those interested in internet governance and digital policy, the DiploFoundation is a powerhouse and the go-to institution. Besides, they are at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence and Diplomacy studies. After the courses with the DiploFoundation, I had many ideas and questions but did not have enough time to work on them until last year, when I started my blog about Consular and Public Diplomacies. In a way, the courses I took with Diplo motivated me to create this blog. And to complete the full circle, the blog opened the door for me to join the DiploFoundation as a lecture starting in spring 2022! I invite everyone interested in Diplomacy and Internet Governance to check out below the DiploFoundation courses and their research and ongoing activities. And hopefully, I will see you in the Public Diplomacy course that starts in February 2022. Upcoming course (February 2022) Public Diplomacy Humanitarian Diplomacy Diplomatic Theory and Practice Advanced Diploma in Internet Governance Introduction to Internet Governance Capacity Development Artificial Intelligence: Technology, Governance, and Policy Frameworks Here is an excellent video that clearly explains what entails to study at the DiploFoundation. DISCLAIMER: All views expressed on this blog are that of the author and do not represent the opinions of any other authority, agency, organization, employer or company.
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 During the summer, I had the opportunity to have a small taste of the experience of the persons who dedicate their lives to academia, and let me tell you; it is definitely not easy. First, I prepared and submitted a practitioners’ essay to a journal, which was a lot harder to write than I anticipated. I had worked on it since the day I started this blog, but I let it “marinate” for a few months before going back to it. This was valuable because, during this time, I read a lot about the subject, and it helped me to focus on the ideas that I wanted to share. One problem that I did not anticipate when I started writing about Mexico´s Consular Diplomacy in the United States was the enormous amount of all types of materials that had certain relation to the subject. However, with a few exceptions, all focused on specific topics, such as migration of Mexicans to the United States, the two countries´ bilateral relationship, the life and issues of the border region, and the experience of the Mexican community north of the border. This poses a significant challenge because with so much material, how could I find and review the most important pieces for my work? Besides, how to organize the essay to make sense of all this information? This, I think, is one of the daily challenges that an academic faces. It is a critical issue of all his/her scholarly work, from teaching to writing! Second, I was excited that my paper submission for an IR convention was accepted. This meant that I had to write another paper, different from the journal submission. As I mentioned in the post about Membership has its privileges: Participating in a professional association, participating in a professional organization, and its annual conference is a crucial element for any scholar and even for practitioners. It allows you to go out there, share your ideas and hopefully receive some feedback, and also learn from others' thoughts and experiences. Writing, usually, is a solitarily endeavor, even in a co-authored project. Therefore, having the opportunity to socialize your work in a convention is crucial to improving it, and there is no other way around it. Some academic friends could be willing to review your paper, but it is also important to receive comments from a non-related person that knows about the subject. I think this is the main reason for a convention, besides having fun with colleagues from around the country, region or the world. As a result of my participation in the convention, I was able to submit another practitioner´s essay to a different periodical. Let`s hope it can pass the review process! Third. In most jobs, you have a group of people that you can rely on if things get complicated. But for the academic, this extra help is not granted, particularly regarding teaching and research. The lucky few have teacher and research assistants and even some administrative staff. However, most scholars in the social sciences do not have any support staff, so they must juggle between teaching classes, doing their research, keeping up to date on their field of study, and even handling social media and blog accounts. It is a nearly impossible task! I commend all the scholars that have done so for many years and still are great teachers and extraordinary researchers. If all this is not enough, the changes in education because of the pandemic pose a significant challenge because suddenly, we all had to learn on the run new skills as teaching online from a house full of people and mascots. After experiencing a small bite of scholarly life myself, now, I am a lot more appreciative of all academics in the world that, against many odds, still produce amazing ideas that make the world a better place. So, when January 24 comes around, which is International Education Day, let´s congratulate and celebrate all scholars of the world. DISCLAIMER: All views expressed on this blog are that of the author and do not represent the opinions of any other authority, agency, organization, employer or company.  A couple of weeks ago, Mexico´s consular network in the United States, together with federal and state labor authorities, unions, community associations, and seven other consulates, successfully organized the 13th edition of the Labor Rights Week (LRW). The LRW “is a joint initiative between the governments of the US and Mexico that seeks to increase awareness in Mexican and Latino communities about the rights of workers and the resources available to them.”[1] As the reader will learn, it started in 2009. In 2021, the 50 Mexican consulates and 560 partners held 680 events with 520,000 persons and collaborated with the consulates of Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru.[2] Besides, the Embassy of Mexico in Washington renewed national cooperation agreements with the Wage and Hour Division (WHS), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Mexican consulates also updated 58 local collaboration agreements.[3] The significant results of the LRW amid the Covid-19 pandemic confirm that it is an example of an accomplished public-consular diplomacy initiative executed by Mexico and its network of allies in the United States. This effort adds to the successful public-consular diplomatic effort by Mexico is its Consular ID card program. However, the consular protection of Mexican workers in the United States has been a priority of the consular network since the 19th century.[4] In the third decade of the 21st century, it continues to be the focus of Mexico´s public-consular diplomacy. In the case of consular assistance in incidents of labor rights violation, Mexico developed the LRW, a successful model of collaboration where the host country authorities cooperate with the consular network to promote the rights available to all workers regardless of their immigration status. How this initiative started? The origins of Labor Rights Week After the failure to reach an immigration agreement between Mexico and the U.S., also known as “the whole enchilada”, partly due to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, both governments searched for opportunities for greater collaboration in new areas. One such field was labor rights. An alternative reason for the greater attention to labor issues by the government of Mexico is proposed by Xóchitl Bada and Shannon Gleeson. They state that it was the pressure from Mexican community groups to have a proactive role in labor rights cases that resulted in greater collaboration with U.S. authorities.[5] As a result, in 2004, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (SRE) and the Secretary of Labor issued a joint declaration followed by signing letters of intent with WHS and OSHA. The statement was renewed in 2010 and 2014.[6] After a few years of collaborating, in 2009, the SRE launched the first LRW, using the Binational Health Week as inspiration. In its first edition, fifteen consulates and 255 allies organized 199 events, with 18,788 persons. In total, 829 consular labor cases were registered.[7] Since then, Mexico´s consulates across the U.S. have entered into more than 400 agreements with regional offices of labor agencies, including OSHA, WHD, EEOC, and others (see table 1). The evolution of the LRW As with other consular assistance programs, after the successful first experience, all Mexican consulates were involved in organizing events around the LWR. During the week around Labor Day in the U.S., which is celebrated on the first Monday of September, Consulates and allies organize a wide variety of activities, from training at the consulate offices and workplaces such as canning factories and vegetable fields to individual consultations with labor lawyers, labor rights organizations, and unions. As the collaboration expanded, the Embassy of Mexico in Washington signed agreements with the NLRB in 2013, the EEOC in 2014, and the Justice Department's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) in 2016. In many instances, the consular network replicated these deals with the agencies' regional offices, especially with the EEOC. As part of this initiative, the SRE signed an agreement with the United Farm Workers in November 2019, the first of its type with a labor organization in the United States. The Results of the LRW Organizing a week of events focusing on labor rights has been very successful. More than 1.7 million persons have attended an event since 2009, including half a million this year alone, as the reader can see in table 1, at the bottom of the post. Regardless of the political discourse, continuity of the effort has been crucial, creating trust among the consulates and labor authorities with workers, unions, and labor rights organizations. Besides, an additional advantage is that new activities are proposed by consulates and partners every year, expanding and deepening the cooperation. For example, after a few years of the LRW, some consulates, with the help of their allies, offered workshops at different workplaces, including factories, restaurants, construction sites, and agricultural fields. They found out, though practice, that it was a lot easier to reach out to workers at their locations rather than asking them to go to a consulate or a church. The LRW has been identified as an example of “practical joint initiatives” to protect the labor rights of low-skilled immigrant workers.[8] Mexico promoted the LRW in the 2nd Global Consular Forum meeting held in Mexico in 2015, and some scholars have noted the success and some of its deficiencies.[9] It is well known that current public diplomacy strategies search to establish a long-term partnership between the receiving and the sending state. Therefore, the institutionalization of relationships with partners, through signing collaboration agreements and other forms, has demonstrated its usefulness in weathering changes of leaders and priorities of the different governments. It also has facilitated the continuity of the LRW, which has been vital to building lasting and successful relationships with allies and the workers themselves. Nina Græger y Halvard Leira state that “the degree of [consular] care provided for citizens abroad is thus tied not only to political system, but also to the state capacity, the perceived necessity for domestic legitimacy and responsiveness of foreign host governments.”[10] In the case of the LRW, the interest of the Department of Labor and other authorities in promoting labor rights in the immigrant community, through collaboration with the Mexican consular network, has been essential in its success. One of the most important results is turning the consulate into a trusted ally of local organizations and bridging them and the federal and state agencies.[11] In a country such as the US that offers fewer protections for workers and has multiple labor regulations and authorities, the LRW is an excellent public-consular diplomacy effort with a focus on some of the most vulnerable workers. It is also a perfect example of the collaboration of the governments of the sending and receiving states with civil society organizations. [1] Okano-Heijmans, Maaike and Price, Caspar, “Providing consular services to low-skilled migrant workers: partnerships that care”, Global Affairs, Vol. 5 No. 4-5, 2019, p. 436. [2] Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, “13th labor rights week comes to a close in Mexico´s US consulates”, Press Bulletin, September 6, 2021 [3] Ibid. [4] Gómez Arnau, Remedios, México y la protección de sus nacionales en Estados Unidos, Centro de Investigaciones sobre Estados Unidos de América, 1990, p. 127. [5] Bada, Xóchitl, and Gleeson, Shannon. “A New Approach to Migrant Labor Rights Enforcement”, Labor Studies Journal Vol. 40 No. 1, 2015, pp. 42-44. [6] Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Joint Ministerial Declaration on Migrant Workers Signed by US Secretary of Labor, Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare, April 3, 2014. [7] SRE, Derechos Laborales de Personas Mexicanas en el Extranjero: Semana de Derechos Laborales en Estados Unidos, Datos Abiertos. [8] Okano-Heijmans, Maaike and Price, Caspar, “Providing consular services to low-skilled migrant workers: partnerships that care”, Global Affairs, Vol. 5 No. 4-5, 2019, p. 436. [9] See, for example Bada, Xóchitl, and Gleeson, Shannon. “A New Approach to Migrant Labor Rights Enforcement”, Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 40 No. 1, 2015, 32-53 [10] Græger, Nina, and Leira, Halvard, “Introduction: The Duty of Care in International Relations” in The Duty of Care in International Relations: Protecting citizens beyond the border, eds. Nina Græger, and Halvard Leira, 2019, p. 3. [11] Bada, Xóchitl, and Gleeson, Shannon, 2015, p. 45. DISCLAIMER: All views expressed on this blog are that of the author and do not represent the opinions of any other authority, agency, organization, employer, or company. Table 1. Summary of results of the Labor Rights Week 2009-2021
Note: Participant agencies and other consulates totals could participate in different editions but are counted separately. Sources: 2009-2020 SRE, Derechos Laborales de Personas Mexicanas en el Extranjero: Semana de Derechos Laborales en Estados Unidos, Datos Abiertos, and 2021 SRE, “13th labor rights week comes to a close in Mexico´s US consulates”, Press Bulletin, September 6, 2021.
Exhilarating Roller-Coaster Ride: One Year of Blogging about Consular and Public Diplomacies9/8/2021  On September 2, 2021, this blog celebrated its first anniversary. It has been an exhilarating roller-coaster ride, with big ups, deep downs, and sharp turns. It has been quite an experience! First, let’s talk about the big ups. Learning a new skill is always challenging but doing it alone in the midst of a pandemic turned out to be a highlight. Never in the history of humankind learning something new has been so easy. From watching tutorials to reading blogs about blogs, the only requirement is time and perseverance. Of course, a good internet connection and a decent computer are essential nowadays. Besides, you can now set up a blog or webpage in minutes using website builders’ platforms—no need for coding or SEO expertise. Choose and click, and you are done in minutes. In addition, today´s online trends are moving towards the intensive use of visuals, so I became a graphic designer with the help of online services such as Canva. However, as always, nothing is as easy as it seems, and you can get stuck very quickly, so never underestimate the value of an expert. The acme of this year has been writing about topics that I am passionate about that hopefully could be interesting to someone. Some of the ideas for the posts have been in my mind for a very long time, but I did not have the platform to publish them either an instant to create them. It also has allowed me to connect with persons and ideas that otherwise could have been impossible. And some exciting opportunities rose too! Now, the deep downs. As in any roller-coaster ride, the car rises slowly to the top, and then it flies towards the bottom in nanoseconds. Sometimes, blogging felt exactly like that! Technology can facilitate almost everything, but once you are stuck, there is no way out. So, even after a year, I must confess that I am still struggling with some issues as basic as how to embed the link into a Twitter post. Another issue has been the topics of the blog. While public diplomacy continues to expand rapidly in the academic realm and real-world practices, issues related to consular diplomacy have not moved a lot in recent years. Even Google SEO tools know that very few persons worldwide are searching the web for the term consular diplomacy! The life of a budding learner without institutional links and passwords can be brutal; like a child with no money outside a candy store, you can see them but cannot eat them. Fortunately, I have been able to get some books and articles as a professor or sometimes have to pay. There are so many things open access, but there is still much more behind the paywalls of publishing mammoths. And if you are curious as I am, it can turn to be quite frustrating. And there is also the issue of the almost insurmountable language barriers. One of the reasons I write the blog in English is because some of the accomplishments and experiences of Mexico are not known beyond my colleagues. But, by doing these, I am keeping people that do not speak it. As a compromise, I write in another platform a summary of my blogpost in Spanish. There are always sharp turns in a roller-coaster. Even the best-laid plan can turn south. When I write a blog post, I have an idea of the theme, but it gets complicated as I read and write, so there are sharp turns everywhere. Writers-block does exist, but not in the way I imagined! Besides, life does not stop, so there are too many distractions, particularly when the specific blogpost is turning to be a hassle. The pantheon of dead blogposts ideas in my computer is proliferating rapidly. And there are always surprises! A post that did not take much time could be a hit, while the most-researched piece, a big miss. Even a Twitter post that was written in a rush could outperform a supposedly well-though one. You just never know. A year of blogging has been an exhilarating roller-coaster ride, and who does not like a good one?  When there is a new term linked to diplomacy every day, it is not surprising to learn about the emergence of corporate diplomacy. The rise of corporate diplomacy could make some scholars uncomfortable, as it is not a government-led activity to achieve a foreign policy goal, e.g., traditional diplomacy. I don´t think it can pass the test proposed by Katharina E. Höne of the DiploFoundation to distinguish imposters from real diplomatic tools, as the reader will see at the end of this post.[i] In previous blog posts, I wrote about this issue, "New" Diplomatic Tools: Imposter Diplomacy or the Real Deal? and Consular Diplomacy: Cinderella no more, but not yet a princess. However, in the expanding concept of diplomacy, where non-state actors now participate in the international arena, the idea of businesses adopting some diplomatic practices is intriguing. Two trends in the corporate world international engagement: Either too powerful or not influential Currently, there are two overlapping trends regarding the engagement of corporations in global governance. On the one hand, there is the rise of the powerful tech giants,[ii] while on the other, most Multinational Corporations (MNC) do not participate directly in world affairs´ decision-making. On the one hand, some argue that tech companies are very different from other types of corporations, as they “govern the spaces they control. And by developing new technologies that are deployed as platforms, they can govern entirely new spaces before national governments are even aware that a new governor has emerged.”[iii] Because of the tech giant’s role as emerging influential global actors, now a few countries, such as Denmark, have named Tech Ambassadors to implement their nation´s Technological Diplomacy -TechPlomacy-.[iv] An example of the growing power of tech companies is the permanent suspension of several social media accounts to a seating president, no less of the US. On the other hand, some experts, like Andrew F. Cooper, Jorge Heine, and Ramesh Thakur in the introductory essay of The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy, ascertain that MNC are not a part of the global governance discussions and “deserve a seat at the table and a voice in the room commensurate with their role and influence.”[v] One reason behind the businesses´ lack of international power or influence could be that no single or unifying international business organization represents all companies, from tech giants to micro-enterprises. There is a myriad of industry-wide associations across the globe that focuses solely on their home country and a few that are genuinely bilateral. In some multilateral gatherings like G20 and APEC, certain business leaders attend, but they do not participate in the negotiation of central issues. Most corporate involvement in world governance is in an advisory capacity without the power to decide the outcome. But, let´s not be mistaken. Companies are not powerless in the international arena. They do partake in global affairs, but via their countries´ domestic politics and their government´s involvement in international affairs. However, the corporations’ interests are not the same as the authorities´, so businesses´ power and positions in global affairs do not reflect their significance. Besides, nation-states have lost the monopoly of international engagement. At the same time, companies gained a certain degree of autonomy from the “home” country and got involved in “state-like” actions such as environmental protection, community development, and even private maritime security.[vi] What is Corporate Diplomacy? All these circumstances have resulted in the emergence of corporate diplomacy. Not long ago, as part of the country´s commercial diplomacy, MNC worked closely with their home governments in promoting trade and investment. Nowadays, businesses engage directly with foreign officials and are adopting certain diplomatic practices. In the book Diplomacia Corporativa, Manuel Alejandro Egea Medrano, María Concepción Parra Meroño and Gonzalo Wandosell Fernández de Bobadilla walk the reader through the rise of corporate diplomacy and its instruments. Their work is focused on Spain´s experiences but includes examples from other parts of the world. In the book´s first section, the authors explain the growing importance of reputation and credibility in world politics and the ascent of Public Diplomacy. I enjoy reading it, and now I have a better understanding of its relevance in today´s international affairs. Coming from an IR/Diplomacy background, reading Diplomacia Corporativa was very interesting because I learned about all the tools and ideas developed by business scholars and applied by corporations about the importance and value of the companies´ reputation. In part, this is what Nation-branding is. John Chipman in “Why your Company Needs a Foreign Policy” indicates that geopolitical risks, power changes in the international system, and economic sanctions demand businesses to have a company foreign policy that includes corporate diplomacy and geopolitical due diligence. [vii] Today, civil society around the globe is making MNC accountable for their products' sources, even when it is the supplier of the company´s provider. And a crisis can ensue in a second via social media. The authors of Diplomacia Corporativa use the definition of corporate diplomacy as the “Instrument framed in a corporate foreign policy that allows generating favorable setting for the company’s interests through the effective management of political influence and its repercussion on the host society, as a result of State´s diplomacy typical mechanisms that grant the company an institutional role and more legitimacy to operate, which leads to a competitive advantage.”[viii] For IR students, corporate diplomacy could be a source of job opportunities, but they need to make sure that they understand both the private and diplomatic worlds to be successful. It is also an avenue for retired members of foreign services to share their diplomatic expertise and know-how. Does corporate diplomacy is imposter diplomacy? To know if corporate diplomacy is imposter diplomacy, Katharina E. Höne proposed that “in order to tell the imposter from the innovator, we need to look closely at diplomacy as a practice, its relation to the state, and the purposes of these new diplomacies.” [ix] In terms of the state's participation in corporate diplomacy, there is none, except for being on the other side of their lobbying activities, as regulators. However, as mentioned above, MNC are adopting some of the government's roles, such as protecting the environment, overseeing regional development, and providing security. For me, diplomacy must be conducted by the government to fulfill its role. However, it is an interesting concept with some technics that diplomats could use, especially in public diplomacy strategies. Regarding the diplomatic practice, it seems that corporate diplomacy performs the traditional functions of representation, negotiation, and communication. Therefore, even if the government is not involved, it could be considered a new tool of international engagement by a non-state actor. Lastly, the ultimate goal of corporate diplomacy is to gain a competitive advantage in every country the company has interests and is part of a corporate foreign policy, so it fulfills the idea that to be diplomacy has to look for to achieve a foreign policy goal. The fact that is a non-state actor´s foreign policy rather than a government is the distinction. Overall, I don´t think corporate diplomacy is a real diplomatic tool, and another term should be used to define this new way for companies to engage in foreign countries. Of course, using the term diplomacy helps people to identify the activity in the international arena. Still, it could lead to confusion regarding the government´s role and the ultimate objectives of this instrument. To conclude, I think that one of the most striking features of corporate diplomacy is the adoption of diplomatic practices and tools for the company to survive and thrive in a globalized world. By implementing these types of activities, maybe businesses worldwide would finally have a direct seat at the table rather than go through their governments. The new international role of companies could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how it is executed and should be accompanied by seating vulnerable people at the table, which generally are the most affected by any change in the international arena and by corporates decisions. I believe there should be a greater dialogue between corporations and diplomats to learn from each other and take advantage of new techniques and policies that can help both achieve their goals. [i] Höne, Katharina E., “Would the Real Diplomacy Please Stand Up!”, DiploFoundation Blog, June 30, 2017. [ii] The commonly referred U.S. tech giants are Alphabet (Google); Amazon; Apple; Facebook and Microsoft. Besides, there are the three Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent. [iii] Blumental, Paul, “Big tech companies are so powerful that a Nation sent an Ambassador to them”, Huffington Post, June 23, 2018. [iv] See, for example Strategy for Denmark’s Tech diplomacy 2021-2023. [v] Cooper, Andrew F., Heine, Jorge, and Thakur, Ramesh, “Introduction: The Challenges of 21st-Century Diplomacy” in The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy, 2013, p. 12. [vi] Egea Medrano, Manuel Alejandro, Parra Meroño, María Concepción, and Férnandez de Bobadilla, Gonzalo Wandosell, Diplomacia Corporativa, 2017, p. 32. [vii] Chipman, John. “Why your Company Needs a Foreign Policy”, Harvard Business Review, September 2016. [viii] Authors translation from Spanish. Egea Medrano, Manuel Alejandro, Poder e influencia para operar en mercados internacionales: la diplomacia corporativa como herramienta de dirección estratégica. Tesis Doctoral, UCAM, 2016, cited in Egea Medrano, Manuel Alejandro, Parra Meroño, María Concepción, and Fernández de Bobadilla, Gonzalo Wandosell, Diplomacia Corporativa, 2017, p. 62. [ix] Höne, Katharina E., 2017. DISCLAIMER: All views expressed on this blog are that of the author and do not represent the opinions of any other authority, agency, organization, employer, or company  1. Introduction Recently, I had the opportunity to finally read the seminal book on Consular Diplomacy titled Consular Affairs and Diplomacy, edited by Jan Melissen and Ana Mar Fernández. This work allowed me to rethink what is Consular Diplomacy. Ten years have passed since its publication in 2011. Since then, there has been more changes to diplomacy in general and the consular institution in particular. An example of the relevance of Consular Diplomacy today is the response of all ministries of foreign affairs to the COVID-19 pandemic that required a massive effort to repatriate and assist nationals stranded overseas as the world closed in March 2020. The book is divided into three sections:
It includes articles about the history and recent developments of consular affairs of Spain, France, the Netherlands, China, Russia, and the United States, as well as consular experiences of the European Union. The order of the book is a little bit odd because it starts with consular affairs´ contemporary issues and ends with the consular history of three European nations. However, it is a great read that has tons of fascinating information and ideas. If you can only read a few chapters, I suggest checking out the following:
In the introduction, Jan Melissen identifies four conceptual or empirical observations about the development of the consular institution:
These four observations are beneficial for the reader, as they help navigate through the book´s twelve chapters and explore the concept of Consular Diplomacy. 2. Reconsidering Consular Diplomacy After reading the book, one of the first things that hit me was that each country has a unique consular affairs history, from China´s recent interest in assisting its citizens overseas to the Netherland´s reliance on honorary consuls. Learning the consular history of six countries gave me a different perspective of Consular Diplomacy in general, and specifically about the development and characteristics of Mexico´s Consular Diplomacy. I think this is one of the reasons that comparative studies in International Relations are so critical. For example, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, millions of Russian citizens suddenly lived in foreign countries, which happened to Mexicans after the 1846-1848 Mexico-U.S. War. In both cases, the two countries' governments had to step up their consular work to assist and protect their nationals, now living abroad. Another example is the problems raised from the extraterritoriality clauses of international treaties with Western powers. In Mexico´s history, foreign government´s interventions on behalf of their citizens were critical in shaping its foreign policy principles. Therefore, learning a bit about the origins of the Capitulations treaties signed between the Ottoman Empire and European powers was enlighten. Halvard Leira and Iver B. Neumann´s explanation about why the Ottoman Empire granted European nations extraterritorial jurisdiction of their own citizens is excellent for understanding a different perspective from the traditional view of European imposition of those terms.[ii] The book clearly demonstrates that the Capitulations had a significant impact on the development of the consular institution, particularly its judicial attributions. Before, I thought that Mexico´s consular institution was distinctive. However, after reading the book, now I realize that each country´s consular affairs had a specific evolution that is different from all others. Of course, there are common patterns and trends, but each nation experiences them in unique ways. The themes are similar, but the differences are in the details. This new perspective is helping me to have a deeper understanding of the differences between the consular services offered by each country, such as the distinction of providing funds for the repatriations of human remains offered by Mexico to only assisting in the paperwork done by the U.S., Canada, and others. This new understanding is making me rethink the concept of Consular Diplomacy, which is closely related to the history of the country´s consular institution. Another realization is that every country, in general, has the same diplomatic objectives, but in consular affairs, it varies depending on its specific evolution and the relationship between the government and its citizens. Therefore, I believe that Consular Diplomacy is hard to generalize. There is a need to look deeper into what Melissen states as “the long-time neglect of the societal dimension of world politics and diplomacy”[iii] to grasp the idea of diplomatic activities in the consular realm. 3. The division between diplomacy and consular affairs persists but is narrowing The second impression of the book is that the link between diplomacy and consular affairs has always been there, but it has changed as societies and the international arena evolved. Even today, after the rise of the Consular Diplomacy, the division between the two still exists. There is not a single path for the relationship between the two. Each country has its own. However, the incorporation of consular responsibilities to the ministries of foreign affairs from the 17th Century onward is a common feature in most nations. The consular history of the six countries demonstrates the highly complex interaction of the two services. To me, their amalgamation in the early 20th Century did not diminish the perception of consular affairs as a Cinderella´s service. It is not till the end of the 20th Century, as Maaike Okano-Heijmans explains in “Change in Consular Assistance and the Emergence of Consular Diplomacy”, that consular affairs become a true priority not only for the foreign ministries but the government as a whole.[iv] It is then, when globalization speeded up, together with the digital revolution and the democratization of diplomacy, when Consular Diplomacy was able to break through its `glass ceiling´ and become an openly acknowledged core activity of foreign ministries. The modernization and standardization processes that consular affairs have endured in the last 20 years to meet the ever-higher expectation of the public is a clear example of the new status of consular services. Even after the unification of the diplomatic and consular services, most countries still see them as separate entities. The existence of two Vienna Conventions (one for each) is the perfect example of this division. By the early 1960s, when the conventions were discussed, the fusion of the two services was widespread. Why was it so difficult to merge both in just one convention? 4. A greater understanding of the evolution of the consular institution. The book allows the reader to understand better the multiple responsibilities that consuls had, from being judges, tax collectors, trade promoters, and sometimes even chaplains.[v] No wonder there is still a lot of misconceptions about what consuls do nowadays. Even the word `Consul´, is still mixed up with `Counsel´ (law-related) and `Councilor´ (city authority), which in the past were some of the main attributions of the position. Through centuries, and as the Westphalia state-system developed, the consular institution experienced a gradual process of specialization of its functions. Consuls slowly were stripped of some of their core responsibilities[vi] and focused on two critical issues of today´s consular affairs: documentary services and assistance to citizens in distress abroad. At the same time, it seems that a process of homogenization took place in international relations that affected the consular institution. As the articles about the six countries exhibit, consular affairs worldwide suffered the same transformations and are now mostly limited to documentary services and the protection of their nationals. Maybe the concentration on these two activities helped in its rise to the top of the foreign policy agenda? In contrast, there is not such massive evolution of the functions of diplomats. Since the early days, their fundamental responsibilities of representation, negotiation, and communication, including information gathering, have changed little, even with drastic advances in communications and transportation. 5. The connection between public and consular diplomacies It is stimulating to see that Melissen links Public and Consular Diplomacies. “In spite of all their differences, consular work and public diplomacy are somehow kindred activities. To all intents and purposes, both are evidence of new priorities and changing working practices in foreign ministries.”[vii] I think the association between public and consular diplomacies is particularly relevant in the visa policies that directly affect the country´s image among the other nation´s citizens, as the article about the EU´s visa policy clearly showcases.[viii] I consider that, in some cases, both go hand-in-hand and are closer than we usually think. In the case of Mexico´s it may be one and the same, as I wrote in my blog post titled “Public-Consular Diplomacy at its Best: The case of the Mexican Consular ID program”. Besides, Diaspora Diplomacy is also related to Public and Consular foreign policy efforts. The idea of the connection between Public and Consular Diplomacies needs to be looked at in a deeper perspective. Hopefully, I can do this in the not-so-distant future. 6. Conclusion Jan Melissen wanted the book to “hopefully break some new ground”[ix], which I think it definitely did. Since its release, there have not been works of such dimensions;[x] therefore, it is still the standard-bearer of Consular Diplomacy and a must-read for anybody interested in the consular institution. Consular Affairs and Diplomacy is an excellent contribution to the field of study, as it associates the history and development of the consular functions with contemporary tendencies of consular affairs. It also demonstrates the always present interrelation of diplomacy and consular services, regardless of its priority ranking. In a time of a drastic reduction of the State in the international arena, consular affairs are an area that has experienced the opposite. This is partly because of the ever-growing demand and expectations of citizens abroad (and their families at home). Also, since the consular function was never part of the great division between foreign and domestic policies.[xi] For me, the work made me think again about Consular Diplomacy, mainly as a result of the relationship between the government and its citizens, not just part of foreign policy and diplomacy. There is definitely a need for more works like Consular Affairs and Diplomacy. Hopefully, there will be more coming as Consular Diplomacy continues to rise in the field of International Relations and Diplomacy studies. [i] Melissen, Jan, “Introduction The Consular Dimension of Diplomacy” in Consular Affairs and Diplomacy, Jan Melissen and Ana Mar Fernández (Ed), 2011, pp. 1-4. [ii] Leira, Halvard and Neumann, Iver B., “The Many Past Lives of the Consul” in Consular Affairs and Diplomacy, 2011, pp. 225-245. [iii] Melissen, Jan, “Introduction” in Consular Affairs and Diplomacy, Jan Melissen and Ana Mar Fernández (Ed), 2011, p. 2. [iv] Okano-Heijmans, Maaike, “Change in Consular Assistance and the Emergence of Consular Diplomacy” in Consular Affairs and Diplomacy, 2011, pp. 21-42. [v] See, for example the consular responsibilities of French consuls in Ulbert, Jörg, “A history of the French Consular Services” in Consular Affairs and Diplomacy, 2011, pp. 307-313. [vi] For example, in France, with the creation of trade attachés in 1919, consulates were stripped from one of their original responsibilities: trade. [vii] Melissen, Jan, “Introduction” in Consular Affairs and Diplomacy, 2011, p. 2. [viii] Wesseling Mara, and Boniface, Jérôme, “New Trends in European Consular Services: Visa Policy in the EU Neighbourhood” in Consular Affairs and Diplomacy, 2011, pp. 115-144. [ix] Melissen, Jan, “Introduction” in Consular Affairs and Diplomacy, 2011, p. 1. [x] Since the book´s publication, there are some very interesting works released, like the The Hague Journal of Diplomacy´s special volume dedicated to `The Duty of Care´, published in 2018, and Revista Mexicana de Política Exterior volume on Consular Diplomacy (2014), and the books La Diplomacia Consular Mexicana en Tiempos de Trump (2018), The Duty of Care in International Relations: Protecting Citizens Beyond Borders (2019), and Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization (2020). [xi] Melissen, Jan, “Introduction” in Consular Affairs and Diplomacy, 2011, p. 2. DISCLAIMER: All views expressed on this blog are that of the author and do not represent the opinions of any other authority, agency, organization, employer or company.  In January 2021, for the first time, I was hired to teach a course about diplomacy to international business administration majors in Mexico. It was an incredible experience that I recommend that everybody go through at least once. I have always been interested in teaching but did not have the chance before. Everybody in my family has taught at university, so I think it runs in the family, and I was the exception till January. As I mentioned in a previous post, in International Relations studies, not everybody has the chance to take a course about diplomacy. It is less so for students of international business administration, so it was a unique opportunity. After more than 20 years as a practitioner of diplomacy, teaching a course about the subject was not as easy as I thought. Teaching is definitely hard work. I now appreciate even more all the efforts my professors made so I could learn about the course they taught. I have realized that you can teach, but it is not guaranteed that your students will learn. After being a long-life learner, I had some ideas of what works and what does not, but it is very different being responsible of the class as a professor. In preparation for the course, I had to read many books and articles to organize the ideas and make them more accessible for the students to understand. It was a labor-intensive process that required me to think thoroughly about the course, from identifying materials and videos to assessment and student participation. Only teaching teaches you how necessary is preparation for the class. Through the semester, I enjoyed immensely interacting with my students, and like most professors, I also became a learner of their experiences and perspectives. Being a professor means being humble because you don´t have all the answers, so it helps you look at yourself from a different perspective. If teaching in person is a challenge, imparting classes via videoconferencing is a true character test for the teacher and the students. Even for them, used to spend long hours behind the screen (whether a videogame, tablet, computer, or smartphone), was a difficult process. But their enthusiasm and energy help us all to have a successful learning experience. What I most relished in the semester was when my students asked questions and shared experiences and ideas because I knew they were following the class and dared to inquire or talk about their encounters or thoughts. In summary, teaching taught me:
I want to thank all my students for giving me the experience of a lifetime. I also want to tell all my teachers the great appreciation that I have for them, for working so hard so I could learn the subjects of their courses.  Last week I participated, for the first time, in the International Studies Association 2021 Virtual Convention. It was an amazing experience and reminded me of the importance of participating in these types of activities, which is hard to do for practitioners of IR and diplomacy. I think participation in a professional association´s conventions should be mandatory not only for MA and Ph.D. students but also for BA learners. There are many reasons why this should be, as there plenty of benefits beyond what the organization offers. It was heartwarming to see great scholars (new and experienced) saying they were nervous about presenting their work at the ISA Convention. In a few panels, presenters talked about the “impostor syndrome” even when they already published excellent research! However, in all cases, they received excellent feedback from fellow panelists and the participating audience. It is the perfect opportunity to develop a thick skin and tolerance, improve their presentation skills, and get awesome advice. For first-time members, participating in a convention is challenging to say the least, even if you are not presenting any paper. The challenges multiply in a virtual environment. However, ISA had a first-time participant live meeting, which was extremely helpful. I believe that the more you participate in the association and its conventions, the easier it gets. So, familiarity with the organization´s idiosyncrasy will help anybody enjoy the convention even more. It is also a great experience to connect with people who are doing interesting research, expand your horizons, and bring new perspectives to what you are doing. I saw a presenter using physics to describe power and influence in the global arena, which was awesome! Membership in professional organizations is an excellent way to network beyond your academic institution or work milieu. It opens up a whole world of opportunities to learn, share, and discuss your ideas with like-minded people. Besides, the breadth and depth of knowledge shared in a convention are mind-boggling. It will take me some time to absorb and process all this information. It definitely makes you think in different ways than before. After a year of reduced contacts and little or no traveling, it was refreshing to see so many people excited about the convention, even if it was digitally. Watching from home had its challenges but the coffee, according to many comments on Twitter, was a lot better than at the site´s coffee shops. I am not sure, but having a virtual convention might have boosted participation from Global South scholars, that usually would not attend as it is expensive to do so. And with the pandemic right out impossible to travel to most countries across the globe. The possibility of recording the sessions will make many of the convention participants continue to explore the panels that they missed or watch their favorite ones again. I know I will be watching panels for the rest of the month! Practitioners can learn so many things going on around the world, some of which can help them with their work. And there are so many panels; they can concentrate on just one topic throughout the convention and get real insight on that particular issue. Conventions are treasure-troves of information and knowledge from experts in that specific topic. Membership has its privileges, from seeing old friends (and a few intellectual foes) to participating in committee meetings and connecting with scholars. Therefore, I invite you to join a professional organization and attend their conventions. There is no downside to it.  1. Introduction As I mentioned in my previous post, “Focus on Women: Specialized Consular Assistance in the United States”, today I am writing about another example of a successful public-consular diplomacy effort implemented by Mexico in the United States: The development of specialized consular care protocols. This initiative resulted in the publication of three protocols that provide detailed information to consular officials to offer specialized consular assistance to victims of human trafficking and gender-based violence, as well as migrant unaccompanied children and teens. These three issues usually have a more significant impact on women than men, so they focus on them. The effort is quite interesting from different perspectives:
This post will cover the origins of specialized consular care and the three protocols created as part of this initiative. 2. Origins of specialized consular care In the late part of the first decade of the new millennium, Mexico’s Congress assigned funding to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) to provide consular assistance to victims of mistreatment (maltrato) with particular emphasis on women, children, and senior citizens, and victims of human trafficking.[ii] As part of the effort, the Department of Consular Assistance to Mexicans Abroad (DGPME, in Spanish) included in its regulations two new subprograms: Gender equality and Consular assistance to Mexican victims of human trafficking in 2012.[iii] The congressional funding helped consulates to support consular cases and the establishment of new partnerships. All these activities promoted a better understanding of these vulnerable groups’ particularities and the need to have better tools to assist them, including training of consular officials and the community at large. Therefore, there was a need to work on new instruments to provide specialized assistance to vulnerable groups. Besides, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs established a new consular care model using the “pro-persona” principle as a result of the Human Rights Constitutional amendment of 2011.[iv] Since then, Consulates started cooperation pilot projects with different stakeholders, including the Ventanilla de Atención Integral para la Mujer or the “Initiative for the Comprehensive Care of Women” (VAIM) in Kansas City Missouri, in 2015. See post here. Meanwhile, in Mexico, the DGPME began working on the creation of a protocol to attend unaccompanied children and adolescents (UCA) detained at the border by U.S. immigration officials. 3. Protocol for the consular care of unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents In 2014, the DGPME agreed with UNICEF Mexico´s office to develop a consular assistance protocol focusing on unaccompanied children and adolescents. This happened as the number of the detention of Central American unaccompanied minors soared in the Mexico-U.S. border due to a non-repatriation policy of non-Mexican UCA implemented by the Department of Homeland Security. The protocol was a milestone in consular care, as it radically changed the way consular officials approached and interviewed Mexican unaccompanied children and adolescents. It was very revealing that the protocol investigators identify the consular interview as a critical moment for the children.[v] The Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the Protocol in May 2015, together with the President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and UNICEF’s Chief of Child Protection.[vi] As part of its implementation, the Ministry undertook the broadest training program ever conducted. All personnel of the department of protection of 27 consulates participated in one of the six seminars that took place in three cities in the U.S.[vii] In total, 200 consular officials participated in this effort.[viii] The training included children and adolescents’ psychology, so consular officials were better prepared to obtain as much information as possible in a friendly, non-threatening way. This, in turn, was very useful for their future family reunification, either in Mexico or the U.S. “The Protocol has been structured based on the “inquire by informing” technique, which looks at building trust between the interviewer and the interviewed children and adolescents, so as not to depersonalize them. The Toolbox takes the same approach and is an instrument to apply the Protocol.”[ix] Thus, the Protocol’s toolkit (Caja de Herramientas) includes different items that assist the consul in interacting with UCA, such as playing cards with various images, colored pencils, and some toys. Because the idea behind the protocol’s development was also to share it with other countries, an effort was made to translate it into English. For example, as part of the Regional Conference on Migration, Mexico shared the Protocol and its implementation experience.[x] The launching of the protocol coincided with the negotiation of the renewal of the Mexico-U.S. Local Repatriation Agreements; therefore, there was an opportunity to agree with the DHS agencies on the facilitation of implementation of the protocol at the border.[xi] An essential part of the protocol development, several specialized organizations reviewed it, so it was as comprehensive as possible.[xii] It was an innovative approach as it was the first time it was done. Besides the initial training, UNICEF and the SRE agreed to do a “Train the trainer” program, so new consular officials were instructed as needed. Together with the Instituto Matías Romero (Mexico´s diplomatic academy), UNICEF created an online course about the Protocol to expand training capabilities further.[xiii] Nowadays, it is usually offered twice a year. In 2015, “there were about 13,000 cases of consular protection for migrant children and the protocol and its innovative electronic registration platform helped improve monitoring and coordination with Mexican authorities such as the National Migration Institute and the National DIF.”[xiv] 4. Protocol for the Consular Care of Victims of Gender-Based Violence While the first protocol was being rollout, the SRE started to work on the second specialized consular care protocol focused on victims of gender-based violence.[xv] In November 2015, the Minister signed an agreement with Mexico’s UN Women Office to develop the Protocol for the Consular Care of Victims of Gender-Based Violence. The first draft was presented in July 2016.[xvi] The protocol was finished in 2016 and published in 2017. The training was provided to officials in charge of the consular assistance departments in consulates across the U.S. As in the previous protocol, a group of specialized organizations reviewed the protocol before its publication.[xvii] The VAIM incorporated the Protocol’s practices and recommendations into the assistance to women, or men, who suffered from domestic violence to provide better consular care and offer all the consulate’s programs and initiative to take care of their needs. The protocol helped consular officials identify local allies that could provide services to the victims, including housing, clothing, and assistance to find a job. 5. Protocol for the Consular Care of Mexican Victims of Human Trafficking Abroad After overcoming some obstacles, in 2018, the SRE was finally able to create its third specialized protocol, which focused on Mexican victims of human trafficking abroad. On March 6, 2018, the Undersecretary for North America and the Director of the International Organization for Migration Mexico’s Office signed an agreement to develop this protocol jointly.[xviii] The International Organization for Migration was a perfect partner for its creation. Its Mexico office previously worked in the elaboration of at least two protocols regarding human trafficking victims. Besides, it was working on the subject in the framework of the Regional Conference on Migration. One difference from the two previous protocols was that as part of the Mexico-U.S. collaboration, the Embassy of the United States in Mexico partially funded the protocol’s development.[xix] It is an example of working together to tackle a crime that is not limited by borders and where migrants are particularly vulnerable. As in the previous two protocols, several specialized organizations participated in the review process.[xx] The SRE officially launched the protocol on November 22, 2018.[xxi] Following the best practice of elaborating an online course to have a permanent training tool for new consular officials, in 2019, the DGPME and the Instituto Matías Romero put together a virtual module about the subject. It is now offered regularly. Human trafficking, like gender-based violence, are topics that are a significant concern for law enforcement offices; therefore, they were gateways for collaboration, sometimes with authorities that did not like or care about migrants. Consulates participated in different ways, like becoming members of local task forces, establishing strategic alliances, and even signing MOUs.[xxii] A great example of the collaboration that resulted from the greater emphasis on assisting human trafficking victims is the one developed with Polaris. This organization manages the national human trafficking hotline in the U.S. It has trained consular officials for several years now. Also, the consulates have participated in some Polaris outreach activities.[xxiii] Most importantly, they work together when they identify a Mexican victim of human trafficking. In recognition of the assistance provided to Mexicans in the U.S., the Embassy of Mexico in Washington bestowed Polaris the Ohtli Award in September 2020. 6. Conclusions The combination of better knowledge about the needs of the Mexican migrants in the U.S. and the new focus on the person propelled the consular network to provide specialized consular care to vulnerable groups. To achieve this goal, the SRE enlisted three international partners' assistance to develop the protocols of consular care of UAC and victims of human trafficking and gender-based violence. The development and implementation of the consular care protocols changed the mindset of consular officials. Besides, the Mexican consulates actively searched for and expanded partnerships to elevate the services provided to these vulnerable groups. An important reason behind the collaboration with UN specialized organisms in elaborating the three protocols was their expertise and the opportunity to incorporate international standards, not only to the document but also to its implementation. By focusing on issues that heavily affect migrant women, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is moving forward to gender equality in the consular services it provides to the Mexican community in the United States. And by doing these has significantly expanded the reach of its public-consular diplomacy. [i] Okano-Heijmans, Maaike, “Change in Consular Assistance and the Emergence of Consular Diplomacy”, Netherlands Institute of International Relations ´Clingendael´, February 2010. [ii] Márquez Lartigue, Rodrigo, “Focus on Women: Specialized Consular Assistance in the United States”, Consular and Public Diplomacies Blog, March 8, 2021. [iii] In 2017, the program and subprograms were updated to its current name: Normas para la Ejecución del Programa de Protección Consular a Personas Mexicanas en el Exterior, SRE, May 2017. [iv] Calva Ruiz, Vanessa, “Diplomacia Consular y acercamiento con socios estratégicos” of the book La Diplomacia Consular Mexicana en tiempos de Trump, 2018, p. 206. [v] Gallo, Karla, “En el camino hacia la protección integral de la niñez migrante”, UNICEF México Blog, August 21, 2019. [vi] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, 3er Informe de Labores de la SRE 2014-2015, 2015, p. 195. [vii] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, 3er Informe de Labores de la SRE 2014-2015, 2015, p. 191. [viii] Gallo, Karla, 2019. [ix] SRE-UNICEF, Toolbox Pedagogical Basis, 2015, p. 3. [x] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, “The Foreign Ministry enhances its consular diplomacy and protection for Mexicans abroad”, Press Bulletin, December 29, 2015. [xi] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, 4o Informe de Labores de la SRE 2015-2016, 2016, p. 191 [xii] To see the list of organizations that participated in the review process, view page 64 of the Protocol. [xiii] Gallo, Karla, 2019. [xiv] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, “The Foreign Ministry enhances its consular diplomacy and protection for Mexicans abroad”, Press Bulletin, December 29, 2015. [xv] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, “The Foreign Ministry enhances its consular diplomacy and protection for Mexicans abroad”, Press Bulletin, December 29, 2015. [xvi] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, 4o Informe de Labores de la SRE 2015-2016, 2016, p. 200. [xvii] To see the list of organizations that participated in the review process, view page 96 of the Protocol. [xviii] Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Desarrollaran la SRE y la Organizacion Internacional para las Migraciones un protocolo de atención a víctimas de trata”, Press Bulletin, March 6, 2018. [xix] Protocolo p. 101 [xx] To see the list of organizations that participated in the review process, view page 101 of the Protocol. [xxi] Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “La Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores presenta el ´Protocolo de Atención Consular para Víctimas Mexicanas de Trata de Personas´”, Press Bulletin, November 22, 2018. [xxii] See for example the collaboration mechanism described in the Protocol, pp. 87-88. [xxiii] Polaris Organization, “Engaging Consulates in the Fight Against Sex Trafficking from Mexico”, Polaris Blog, May 22, 2017. DISCLAIMER: All views expressed on this blog are that of the author and do not represent the opinions of any other authority, agency, organization, employer or company.  As part of the celebration of International Women´s Day, I will write about a topic that is not well known but very relevant: specialized consular assistance for Mexican women in the United States. It is one of the many examples of the successful implementation of public consular diplomacy by Mexico. The conclusion is that this initiative forced the Mexican Consular network in the U.S. to seek new partnerships with local organizations that further expanded the reach of Mexico´s public consular diplomacy. 1. Origins of a specialized consular care In the late part of the first decade of the new millennium, Mexico’s Congress assigned funding to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) to provide consular assistance to victims of mistreatment (maltrato) with particular emphasis on women, children, and senior citizens. Later on, in 2011, due to the Human Rights Constitutional amendment that adopted the “pro-persona” principle, the SRE established a new consular care model emphasizing specialized assistance to vulnerable groups.[i] Mexico´s consulate began engaging with local and state authorities, NGOs, and the Mexican community to enhance the consular assistance to these groups. As part of these efforts, they strengthened their collaboration with traditional partners and expanded cooperation with new organizations. Some consulates established strategic alliances and designed new initiatives. An example of these partnerships was promoting the “Violentrometro” or the violence against women measuring ruler. As part of these collaborations, the Consulate of Mexico in Kansas began a pilot program offering comprehensive services for Mexican women that visited its office or participated in their events. Besides, at the Ministry´s headquarters, the Department of Consular Assistance to Mexicans Abroad (DGPME, in Spanish) spearheaded with UNICEF Mexico an effort to create a tool to improve consular assistance to unaccompanied Mexican children detained at the border. In the next section, I will detail one of the most important specialized consular assistance programs that focus on women: the Initiative for Comprehensive Care of Women (Ventanilla de Atención Integral para la Mujer -VAIM-). In a different post, I will write about the other program: the consular care protocols focused on unaccompanied children, gender-based violence, and human trafficking. 2. Initiative for Comprehensive Care of Women (Ventanilla de Atención Integral para la Mujer -VAIM-) As mentioned, the Ventanilla de Atención Integral para la Mujer or the “Initiative for the Comprehensive Care of Women” (VAIM) began as a pilot program in Kansas City in May 2015.[ii] Its objective is to interconnect all areas of the consulate to offer specialized assistant to Mexican women. Besides, it promotes training and sensibilization about their challenges and creating a resources and a services directory.[iii] Its ultimate goal is to empower women in all aspects of their lives.[iv] “In the framework of Consular Diplomacy, the VAIM boosted actions to provide consular assistance [to women] through the establishment of an important network of strategic alliances. [The Consulate in Kansas] signed 18 memoranda of understanding that resulted in a wide range of benefits to the women that requested assistance.”[v] Besides, there was a great effort to train law enforcement officers about the consular functions, collaboration mechanisms, and consular notification.[vi] As part of the 2016 International Women´s Day celebration, the SRE announced the expansion of the VAIM to all the consulates in the United States.[vii] It was an important milestone as it was a whole-of-consulate approach. Mexico´s consulate had to be proactive in developing and strengthening alliances with new and old stakeholders. “The creation of a strategic support structure allows increasing resources, early detection of potential cases, providing better consular care and expanding additional outreach channels.”[viii] From March 2016 to June 2018, the Mexican consular network organized 5,088 VAIM outreach events with a total participation of 387,980 persons and consular assistance provided to 10,627 cases.[ix] 3. Conclusions. The establishment of VIAM highlights the versatility of Mexico´s public consular diplomacy. As many Mexican women and children migrated north, the community's needs changed; therefore, the consular care offered by the consular network had to change too. There were efforts focus on assisting women, but the VAIM was a milestone as it was comprehensive consular care, not focused on one issue, but searching to offer as many consular services as needed. I believe that the most important result of the VAIM was a change in the mindset of not only consular officials but also the Mexican community at large and local allies about the need to provide specialized consular care to Mexican women. It was a significant change as in the past, most consular assistance was provided to men, as they were the majority of migrants to the U.S. Besides, it opened the door for a whole new set of allies and strategic partnerships that enhance the consular care given to Mexican women, which opened the doors for empowering them. Vanessa Calva Ruiz explains that “the establishment of partnerships not only takes care of urgent needs of the Mexican community but also assist them in integrating to the host society by linking them with local actors that offer resources.”[x] [i] Calva Ruiz, Vanessa, “Diplomacia Consular y acercamiento con socios estratégicos” of the book La Diplomacia Consular Mexicana en tiempos de Trump, 2018, p. 206. [ii] Gómez Maganda, Guadalupe and Kerber Palma, Alicia, “Atención con perspectiva de género para las comunidades mexicanas en el exterior” in Revista Mexicana de Política Exterior, No. 107, May-August 2016, p. 197. [iii] Calva Ruiz, Vanessa, 2018, pp. 208-209. [iv] Gómez Maganda, Guadalupe and Kerber Palma, Alicia, 2016, p. 197. [v] Ibid. [vi] Gómez Maganda, Guadalupe and Kerber Palma, Alicia, 2016., pp. 197-198 [vii] Government of México, 4º Informe de Labores SRE· 2015-2016, 2016, pp. 189, 201. [viii] Calva Ruiz, Vanessa, 2018, pp. 209-210. [ix] Government of México, 6º Informe de Gobierno 2017-2018, 2018, p. 681. [x] Calva Ruiz, Vanessa, 2018, pp.213-214. DISCLAIMER: All views expressed on this blog are that of the author and do not represent the opinions of any other authority, agency, organization, employer, or company. |
Rodrigo Márquez LartigueDiplomat interested in the development of Consular and Public Diplomacies. Archives
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