On 12 December 2014, the Undersecretary of State for Defence, Mr Domenico Rossi, in response to a parliamentary question, clarified the Italian position on the issue of the status of Italian military personnel deployed in Iraq with the task of training Iraqi security forces. In particular, Mr Rossi addressed the issue of immunity of the said personnel from Iraqi criminal jurisdiction, resulting from an exchange of diplomatic notes between the two Governments to that effect, based on the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, and stressed its binding force and applicability to the entire territory of Iraq, including the autonomous region of Kurdistan. He stated:

Continue reading →