The Association of Diplomats denounces the “poor condition” of many Foreign Ministry buildings abroad

Eduardo González The Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) has denounced "the poor condition of many of the buildings that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has abroad," specifically the Embassies and Consulates, whose "deterioration" poses "a serious risk both to the people who work in them and to the public who visit them" and generates "reputational damage to the image of our country." In a statement published last Friday following a recent report by the online newspaper 'The Objective' about "significant defects in several walls of the building" of the Consulate General of Spain in Mendoza (Argentina), the ADE asserts that, "unfortunately, the poor condition of many of the buildings that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has abroad is not something new, nor is that of the Consulate General in Mendoza an isolated case." In this regard, the statement recalls the "Report on the Situation of the Consular Network," published by the ADE in January 2024, according to which "a study conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself in 2019 revealed the serious infrastructure problems that already existed in the consular network at that time." According to that report, 28 consular offices were at the limit of their physical capacity and could not accommodate additional staff due to a lack of space; 68 offices had accessibility problems at the building entrance, 53 in the customer service area, and 76 in the rest of the facilities; ten offices lacked fire detection systems and 14 lacked fire protection systems; and at least 17 buildings were in poor condition. “Many consular offices and embassies fail to comply with Spanish occupational health and safety regulations, lack the necessary protection in highly unsafe countries, and are unprepared for contingencies such as earthquakes in countries with high seismic risk,” the ADE states. “The situation, far from improving, has continued to worsen since 2019,” it continues. “In fact, the Ministry's General Inspection of Services has recommended relocating headquarters in several cases in recent years, without any such changes having occurred to date.” According to the ADE, “this lamentable state of affairs is not surprising considering that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs then had approximately €13.5 million annually to maintain more than 500 buildings around the world, many of them historic.” Due to poor working conditions and low salaries, the unit responsible for the Ministry's real estate assets (the Subdirectorate General of Heritage Affairs) had only 19 of its 47 positions filled at the beginning of 2024, the Association states. "The deterioration of the Foreign Affairs buildings continues to worsen and poses a serious risk both to the people who work there (often in overcrowded conditions) and to the public who visit them, in addition to reputational damage to our country's image," warns the ADE (Administrative Office of Foreign Affairs). For all these reasons, the Association demands that, in compliance with the 2014 Law on State Action and Foreign Service, "the Executive Council for Foreign Policy urgently prepare a report on the adequacy of the deployment and structure of diplomatic missions, permanent representations, and consular offices, which, as stipulated in the Third Additional Provision of the aforementioned Law, must reflect the status of the buildings and material and personnel resources." Based on this report, it continues, "an action plan must be established—with the necessary budget and personnel allocation—to ensure that all General State Administration buildings abroad are properly maintained and comply with labor, risk prevention, and customer service regulations." Aside from the above, "it is urgent to adopt immediate measures for the most serious and pressing cases," adds the ADE, which "demands transparency and maximum urgency in identifying such cases, in order to avoid further risk situations for workers and citizens."

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