Eight former foreign ministers send a letter rejecting President Petro's order to eliminate ambassador requirements.

During the televised cabinet meeting on Tuesday, June 17, President Gustavo Petro ordered Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia to " remove all requirements" for becoming Colombia's ambassador abroad. The President's decision sparked mixed reactions, including those from eight former foreign ministers.

The president's argument is to "democratize diplomacy" and "fully exercise his right to direct the country's relations." However, this decision contradicts his promise to professionalize the foreign service and undermines his poor relationship with the diplomatic service.

The former foreign ministers' statement begins as follows: "We, the undersigned, former Foreign Ministers of the Republic, express our concern and rejection of the systematic weakening of the Foreign Service and the Foreign Ministry, materialized in instructions such as the one you issued to eliminate legal requirements for the appointment of ambassadors."

The former foreign ministers then listed the reasons why, in their opinion, the decision was inappropriate. The former ministers explained this:

Current regulations of the Foreign Service: The Colombian Diplomatic and Consular Foreign Service is regulated by Decree Law 274 of 2000. Since this is a decree with the force of law, its modification does not correspond to an administrative decision, but rather requires a law processed before the Congress of the Republic.

Violation of minimum requirements in foreign service appointments : Not only is Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia concerned about her public instruction, but also about the repeated decisions made during her administration, as her three foreign ministers, since 2022, have made appointments that fail to meet the requirements of academic training, experience, integrity, and suitability . These decisions have affected Colombian foreign policy, provoking justified criticism from unions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the judiciary, and members of the international community.

As you may know, ambassadors appointed by the President may be career diplomatic officials or freely appointed, but in both cases they are subject to compliance with the mandatory requirements established by law.

Failure to comply with the programmatic vote : The vote for the government program is enshrined in Article 259 of the Political Constitution and regulated by statutory laws 131 and 134 of 1994. This implies that the President has the duty to comply with the program he presented at the time of his registration as a candidate.

In your National Development Plan, approved as Law 2294 of 2023, you pledged to strengthen the Foreign Service and the diplomatic service. However, your actions have demonstrated an attitude contrary to that commitment, which also stigmatizes career civil servants and unions, whom you have even disparagingly referred to as "white."

Discrediting bilateral relations : Requesting approval from friendly governments for ambassadors who lack the qualifications of suitability, track record, and institutional responsibility compromises Colombia's standing with its strategic allies and undermines the credibility of our bilateral relations. It is important that you be aware of the risk of such appointments being rejected if they do not meet the qualifications and qualifications required by the Vienna Convention (Article 7).

At the end of the statement, the former foreign ministers invite the President to strengthen "technical, professional, and coherent diplomacy": "President, Colombia needs and deserves technical, professional diplomacy that is coherent with the needs of the Colombian people, especially at a time of great geopolitical complexity, in which we must strengthen, deepen, and diversify our relations, prioritizing those alliances that give the country greater relevance to achieve strategic objectives for the benefit of development, security, equity, and international cooperation," they stated.

In conclusion, they state: "Their current approach weakens our institutions, undermines the institutional memory that should be the guiding principle of a long-term strategic foreign policy, and delegitimizes the Foreign Service, undermining the trust of citizens and the international community. Colombia must recover the consensus that has traditionally characterized its foreign policy and ensure that it is a true state policy: nonpartisan, long-term, and based on legality, merit, and the national interest."

The statement is signed by:

Marta Lucía Ramírez, former vice president and foreign minister

María Ángela Holguín, former foreign minister

Jaime Bermúdez, former foreign minister

Guillermo Fernández de Soto, former foreign minister

Camilo Reyes Rodríguez, former foreign minister

María Consuelo Araujo, former foreign minister

Claudia Blum, former chancellor

Fernando Araujo, former foreign minister

Carolina Barco, former foreign minister

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