The Nation : Envoys’ Immunity Backed

The State Department’s chief of protocol defended a treaty that guarantees diplomatic immunity, despite testimony from victims who told tales of rapes and assaults gone unpunished. Selwa Roosevelt told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee she feels compassion for victims of diplomatic crime, but she said legislation to limit diplomatic immunity here would ultimately hurt U.S. envoys abroad. Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) has introduced a bill to deny or limit immunity to some members of the diplomatic corps for violent crimes, drug trafficking or reckless or drunken driving.