Political Affairs Division III

Political Affairs Division III, The United Nations and Other International Organizations, coordinates and implements Swiss policy on the United Nations (UN), its specialized agencies and other international organizations, including the International Organization of the Francophonie. In addition, it is responsible for Switzerland’s host-country policy, i.e. for hosting international organizations in this country. In this context, International Geneva is at the focus of its activities.

The Division comprises the following 4 Services:

1. UN Coordination: This Service maintains an overview of the UN and its activities, and it ensures the coherence of Swiss policy in relation to the organization. It is responsible for finalizing Switzerland’s positions on issues being debated at the UN and the directives for the attention of the Swiss missions and delegations to the UN Offices. UN Coordination is made up of the following 2 Sections:

• the Section for the General Assembly and ECOSOC, which is responsible for monitoring the business of these two bodies as well as the coordination of Swiss activities in the Human Rights Council
• the Section for the Security Council, Policy, which is responsible, on the one hand, for issues dealt with in or concerning the Security Council, and on the other, for ankering Swiss UN policy within internal politics

2. The Section Switzerland’s Presence in International Organizations is responsible for promoting Swiss candidatures for top international positions and for recruiting Swiss personnel for international organizations. This includes helping interested young Swiss university graduates start careers at the UN.

3. The Section International Organizations and Host-Country Policy is concerned with achieving the best possible conditions for international organizations based in Switzerland, in particular with regard to office premises and the organization of conferences. In addition, it helps other international organizations get established in Switzerland.

4. The Service for the Francophonie coordinates Switzerland’s policy in the International Organisation of the Francophonie and is responsible for its implementation.