Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis is positioning Switzerland as a mediator at the 79th UN General Assembly. The war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and the civil war in Sudan are the main topics of the Foreign Minister’s visit.
Switzerland’s primary goal is to ensure that international law is respected and that humanitarian aid reaches where it is needed. “Switzerland must consider where it can be useful, and as a mediator it is,” Cassis told media representatives in New York on Wednesday.
The foreign minister is therefore also advocating a dialogue with Russia at the UN – unlike most Western countries. “If we want to be bridge builders, then we must also have the courage to talk to both sides, regardless of our condemnation of what the aggressor did and our sympathy for the victims. These emotions are of no use if we do not succeed in bringing the two parties together and finding a solution together,” said Cassis.
The Federal Council said it received a lot of positive feedback for the Ukraine conference that Switzerland held with almost 100 countries and organizations on the Bürgenstock this summer. “We did not end up with a peace agreement, but such things take time. In this first step, it was important to focus on who has which position and how the journey towards peace can continue.”
However, according to Cassis’s assessment, the prospects for peace in the near future are rather bleak. “The military element of the conflict is currently more active than it has been for a long time. Certainly, one does not have the feeling at the moment that the conditions for starting a diplomatic discourse are in place,” said Cassis.
He also pointed out that Ukraine is currently fighting on Russian territory. This could also be interpreted as the country gaining political capital to start negotiations. “There are many unanswered questions. But one thing is certain: we are continuously preparing for a second peace conference,” said the Foreign Minister.
By UN resolution, Switzerland, as depositary state of the Geneva Conventions, is called upon to organize a conference within six months on compliance with international humanitarian law with regard to the situation in the Middle East.
“We will hold this conference, which will address the question of how to create respect for international law and humanitarian access in the occupied Palestinian territories,” said Cassis. In preparation, there will be bilateral contacts that he will personally establish with both Israel and the Arab countries in order to coordinate expectations and the nature of the discussion.
Israel has signed the conventions and must abide by them, just like all Arab states. “Meeting and saying: ‘Yes, we signed that, why are we no longer abiding by it?’ opens up a difficult, painful discussion, but it is an important one. Switzerland owes this to the world as the depositary state of the Geneva Convention.”
At the end of his visit to New York, Cassis will attend a meeting on the situation in Sudan. Switzerland is part of a working group that aims to create peace in the country, which is plagued by civil war.
