News Excerpt: 

Mexico has severed diplomatic relations with Ecuador after heavily armed police raided the Mexican embassy in Quito, in a direct violation of international norms.

Background:

• On April 7, local police entered the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador’s capital, to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who had requested political asylum in the embassy.
• The violation of the sovereignty of Mexico’s Embassy sets a dangerous precedent, especially as there is a questioning or rejection of international norms and standards involved.
• It is a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961.
• This convention lays down the rules of engagement between countries. Article 22 states: “The premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of the mission.” Here, “mission” refers to the diplomats, the staff and other representatives in a host country.
• It further states “The premises of the mission, their furnishings and other property thereon and the means of transport of the mission shall be immune from search, requisition, attachment or execution.” 
• The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963, similarly speaks of how the consent of the head of the consular post is required for authorities of the receiving state to enter it.
• Later, Ecuador declared Mexico’s Ambassador as persona non grata (Unacceptable/ unwelcome person).
• Mexico, which says its sovereignty has been breached, has now moved the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands, demanding the expulsion of Ecuador from the United Nations.

About the city of Quito:

• Isolated in the Andes at 2,818 m. altitude, the city of Quito is spread along the slopes of the Pichincha Volcano and is bordered by the hills of Panecillo and Ichimbia.  
• Founded by the Spanish in 1534, on the ruins of an Inca city, Quito proudly possesses one of the most extensive and best-preserved historic centers of Spanish America.
• The city offers a remarkable example of the Baroque school of Quito.
  • This school of art brings together the indigenous and European artistic traditions and is renowned for providing the greatest contribution of Spanish America to universal art. 
  • Baroque architecture was taken up with enthusiasm in the capital of Ecuador, but they developed their particular style. Quitena School created a Baroque fusion of Spanish, Flemish, Moorish, and Italian art.
• The city was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.
• The city of Quito, the cradle of pre-Columbian cultures and an important witness of Spanish colonization maintains unity and harmony in its urban structure despite centuries of urban development.