What does it mean for a person to have diplomatic status?
It means that a country has designated a person as a diplomatic representative of that country to another country or to an international organization, such as the United Nations. Each nation has the right to name its own diplomats. Diplomats have certain rights under international law. Specifically, diplomats have “diplomatic immunity,” meaning that a designated diplomat cannot be arrested, criminally charged or sued while serving in a diplomatic capacity. Example: Diplomatic representatives to the UN regularly park illegally in New York. The police cannot give them tickets. Another example: Several years ago, the son of the Brazilian ambassador to the United States committed a murder. Because he was the son of a diplomat, he had diplomatic immunity and could not be arrested. He went back to Brazil and has never been charged.
