Division I comprises three sections specialised in the following areas:

• human rights and counter-terrorism
• international humanitarian law and international criminal justice
• diplomatic and consular law

The Division deals in particular with the following themes in conjunction, where appropriate, with other competent areas of the FDFA and the federal administration:

• human rights, including the ratification of international instruments in this field and the preparation of reports on their implementation in Switzerland for the attention of the United Nations committees concerned
• combating terrorism (co-ordination in foreign policy), respect for human rights and international humanitarian law in the fight against terrorism
• the legal status of foreign representations in Switzerland and their employees (foreign representations in Switzerland and Swiss representations abroad: embassies, consulates and permanent missions to international organisations)
• the legal status of international organisations in Switzerland, their personnel, and of international conferences organised in Switzerland
• international criminal justice, in particular Switzerland’s commitment to the International Criminal Court
• international humanitarian law, in particular conducting initiatives with the aim of clarifying or strengthening this body of law to ensure that it meets the challenges of contemporary armed conflicts
• Secretariat of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission