Buenos Aires, 2nd July 2025 — The Secretary-General of the Organisation of Southern Cooperation (OSC), having arrived in Buenos Aires on the night of 2nd July 2025, expresses his profound regret regarding the lack of cooperation from the consular services of the Argentine Republic in facilitating the success of the Greater South Colloquium in Argentina.
Convened jointly with the Association of Latin American and Caribbean Universities (UDUALC) and the National University of Avellaneda (UNDAV) in Buenos Aires, the Greater South Colloquium aims to provide a fruitful platform for exchange amongst intellectuals, artists, and practitioners of the Greater South. Its purpose is to reflect on the most pressing challenges and potential solutions facing Southern countries and Humanity as a whole.
Whilst the Colloquium will still be held on its scheduled dates, 4–5 July 2025, the Secretary-General notes with great disappointment that, despite repeated attempts, the relevant authorities of the Argentine Republic have refused to grant visas to numerous participants—predominantly from Africa—including Boubacar Boris Diop (Senegal) and Ezra Abate (Ethiopia), amongst others. As a result, the Colloquium will be limited primarily to Latin American participants.
Although mindful of potential bureaucratic processes that may have hindered the issuance of visas to the aforementioned invitees, the Secretary-General is dismayed that senior officials and Secretariat members of the OSC were subjected to similar treatment. These include the Under-Secretary-General for Technological Innovation and Digitalisation Enhancement (Ethiopia); the Technical Advisor to the Secretary-General and Director of the Office of Culture, Heritage, and the Arts, and Principal Coordinator of the Colloquium (Chad); the Personal Assistant to the Secretary-General (Ethiopia); and the Junior Liaison and Protocol Officer (Cuba), all of whom faced either non-issuance or outright refusal of visas.
Whilst the Secretary-General recognises that, as a non-member State of the Organisation, the Government of the Argentine Republic is not bound by the General Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the OSC, he wishes to emphasise that this marks the first instance since the Organisation’s establishment in January 2020 in which all OSC Secretariat members requesting visas from a consular service—including from non-member Latin American States and countries of the Global North—for official business were denied or faced inordinate delays in the issuance of the necessary travel authorisations, directly impacting OSC activities.
The Secretary-General acknowledges the sovereign right of the Government of the Argentine Republic to regulate visa issuance in accordance with its national policies and understands that its current foreign policy orientation may not align with the overall spirit of South-South cooperation. Nevertheless, he reiterates his profound regret that these decisions appear to have disproportionately affected African and OSC participants, thereby hindering independent South-South academic cooperation and depriving the Argentine university ecosystem of the opportunity to engage with peer institutions from other regions of the Greater South.
Finally, the Secretary-General reaffirms the imperative of public policies that promote academic and people-to-people exchanges across the Greater South and calls for the building of sustainable and non-partisan bridges amongst the sovereign Nations of Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
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The Argentine government’s refusal to grant visas to numerous intellectuals from various countries of the South is particularly regrettable. All the more so given that they were meant to engage in meaningful exchange with their Argentine counterparts on Culture, Heritage and the Arts. If we do not speak to each other today, then when shall we? To forbid the fraternity of women and men of goodwill is a very poor idea indeed. This backward closure of Argentina’s borders does not even provoke anger – it causes sadness.
Boubacar Boris Diop, writer, Senegal.
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Open Letter Regarding Visa Denial and Unprofessional Conduct at the Argentinian Embassy in Addis Ababa
July 02/2025
I am writing to formally express my deep disappointment and concern regarding my recent experience with the Consular Section of the Argentinian Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
I had the honor of being invited by the Organization of Southern Cooperation (OSC) to participate as a panelist in a high-level colloquium to be held at the National University of Avellaneda in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 4–5, 2025. Upon receiving the official invitation from OSC, I immediately initiated the visa application process with the Argentinian Embassy in Addis Ababa, complying with all procedures and submitting all the required documentation within the prescribed timelines.
Despite fulfilling all formal requirements and responding promptly to every request made by the consular office—regardless of how burdensome or redundant they were—the process was marked by a lack of professional communication from the consular section. The Consular Office failed to provide timely and clear updates regarding the status of the application, causing significant logistical disruptions. As a result, the OSC was forced to reschedule my flight twice and ultimately had to cancel the trip altogether due to the absence of a visa decision.
What is most troubling, however, is not simply the denial or delay of the visa—which, I understand, is within the discretion of any sovereign state—but the manner in which the entire process was conducted. The behavior exhibited by the head of the consular section was unprofessional, discourteous, and, frankly, disrespectful. There was a marked lack of transparency and effective communication throughout the process. Such conduct does not reflect the diplomatic standards expected of a foreign mission, particularly in the 21st century when global collaboration and mutual respect are paramount.
As someone who was preparing to contribute meaningfully to an international academic dialogue, it is disheartening to be denied the opportunity due to the inefficiency and unprofessionalism of a diplomatic office. I believe it is imperative that this matter be brought to the attention of all relevant authorities to ensure that future applicants are treated with the dignity, respect, and professionalism they deserve.
Embassies are not only gatekeepers of national borders but also representatives of their countries’ values and commitments to international cooperation. I sincerely hope that the Argentinian Embassy in Addis Ababa will take immediate steps to evaluate and improve the conduct of its consular section head, particularly with respect to customer service, communication, and procedural transparency.
I remain deeply disappointed by this experience and urge all concerned bodies to take the necessary actions to uphold the integrity and professionalism of diplomatic engagements.
Best Regards,
Ezra Abate (PhD)
Associate Professor
Vice Executive Dean – Yared School of Music
Addis Ababa University
