Switzerland’s Council Presidency at the United Nations: A Bridge-Building Role Focusing on Confidence-Building and Protection of Civilians

In 25 formal Council meetings at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Switzerland was able to contribute its skills as a bridge-builder, set substantive accents and focus on confidence-building and the protection of the civilian population, according to a statement on the website of the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs Affairs (EDA) from Friday.

Federal Councilor and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis chaired the first flagship event of the Swiss Council Presidency on 3 May. She dealt with building trust for peace under the motto “Where there is trust, everything is possible”.

Cassis, Berset and Amherd

At the end of May, Federal President Alain Berset traveled to New York to hold an open debate on the subject of “protecting the civilian population”. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric also attended. At the very end, Defense Minister Viola Amherd chaired a council meeting to mark the 75th anniversary of the UN peacekeeping missions.

For the first time during its membership of the United Nations since September 2002, Switzerland is a non-permanent member of the Security Council, the most powerful UN body, this year and next.

According to observers, the atmosphere in the Council, which Russia chaired before Switzerland, was very tense this spring. Not only because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also because of the rivalry between China and the United States.

The Swiss Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Pascale Baeriswyl, said that the presidency is an honour, but also a great responsibility, at the beginning of the Swiss Council Presidency.