The Jamaican consulate, like all other consulates in this country, enjoys many privileges.  Supporting Deval Patrick for Governor of Massachusetts is not one of them.

Deval Patrick might become the first Democrat to serve as Governor of Massachusetts since Michael Dukakis.

I ask this question as a resident of both the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

On 351 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston one will find the Consulate of Jamaica.  Inside the windows of that same address one will also find several signs that state, “Deval Patrick – Democrat for Governor 2006 – No Ordinary Leader.”  

Now when I saw this I thought to myself, isn’t a tad unusual for a foreign consular office to be taking sides in an election – statewide, local or otherwise?

Well, according to international law it is.

International consular affairs are governed by the Vienna Convention on Consular Affairs, which was ratified by the United Nations in 1963.

Chapter 2, Article 55, paragraph 1 of the Convention clearly states:

Without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State.  They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of the State.

This provision also applies to Honorary Consular Officers as set out in Chapter 3, Article 58, paragraph 2 of the Convention.

Having a sign endorsing a political candidate in the window of a consular office represents a clear breach of the Vienna Convention on Consular Affairs.

But one might ask, what is an Honorary Consular Officer?

To begin with, Honorary Consular Officers are not full-time diplomats.  When foreign governments are not in a position to send diplomats abroad they will instead appoint an individual who already lives in the host country to serve in that role.  The individual in question need not be a citizen of the host country.   Honorary Consul enjoy all the immunities and privileges bestowed upon diplomats but usually do not perform this role on a full-time basis.  Honorary Consular Officers will combine consular activity with other business activities.

This is certainly true in the case of the Consulate of Jamaica in Boston, where Kenneth Guscott serves as the Honorary Consul.  Guscott is also the General Partner of the Long Bay Management Company, a real estate management and consulting firm, which is also housed at 351 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston.  It should be further noted that Guscott appears on a list of individuals and organizations endorsing Deval Patrick’s candidacy for Governor of Massachusetts. 

I have no objection to Guscott providing support for Patrick’s bid for gubernatorial office.  What I object to is the use of consular offices to express that support.  Now one might argue that signs in the windows represent the support of the Long Bay Management Company and not the Consulate of Jamaica.  But therein lies the problem.

When one looks at the home page for the Long Bay Management Company, its phone and fax numbers are identical to that of the phone and fax numbers listed for the Jamaican Consulate in Boston.  So where does the Consulate of Jamaica end and the Long Bay Management Company begin?

If a consular office was not located at that address I would not have given the matter a second thought.   Again, Kenneth Guscott can support whomever he wants for Governor as an individual.  But consular officers, even honorary consular officers, are bound not to interfere in the internal affairs of the state.  If a consular office placing a sign in its window supporting a candidate for office in the host country isn’t interference in internal affairs, then what is?

It would be equally wrong if the Irish Consulate on Boylston Street placed a sign supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Kerry Healey on its premises.  If such an occurrence arose I would be equally critical.  The presence of a sign endorsing a politician on the premises of a consular office not only violates international law, it gives the appearance of political impropriety.

Let’s put it another way.  Somehow, I don’t think Jamaicans would be amused if they saw a sign in the window of the American consulate in Montego Bay endorsing Jamaican Labor Party leader Bruce Golding for Prime Minister in the 2007 elections.  Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller and the People’s National Party would cry foul to the U.S. State Department and rightly so.

The Jamaican consulate, like all other consulates in this country, enjoys many privileges.  Supporting Deval Patrick for Governor of Massachusetts is not one of them.