Switzerland and the United Nations

Since joining the United Nations Organization (UNO) in September 2002, Switzerland has been very active and taken a pragmatic and constructive approach to the organization’s activities. The Federal Council has given an overall positive assessment of the first 5 years of Switzerland’s membership of the United Nations. The UN has become increasingly indispensable as an instrument for defending Switzerland’s interests and for achieving its foreign policy objectives.

The aims of the Charter of the United Nations coincide with those of Swiss foreign policy, in particular Switzerland’s efforts to help populations in need, fight poverty, promote human rights, democracy and the peaceful existence of nations, as well as preserve the world’s natural resources.

The United Nations makes an essential contribution to ensuring the stability of the international system and to resolving world problems. A strong world organization is therefore in Switzerland’s interests.

Switzerland focuses its activities in the United Nations on three particular aspects:

• Launching and following up its own initiatives
• Strengthening the presence of Swiss nationals at all levels of the organization
• Pursuing the day-to-day activities of Switzerland’s Permanent Missions to the UN in Geneva, New York, and Vienna

Even before becoming a full member of the UN, Switzerland had already developed a special relationship with the organization. Geneva is the main seat of the UN in Europe mainly due to the presence in the city of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Achieving agreement between all states in the world is essential for dealing with the major challenges of our times. Switzerland is therefore committed to strengthening the UN. To this end, it participates actively in the debates on the reforms to the UN by contributing ideas and pragmatic proposals to the efforts to find solutions. An excellent example is Switzerland’s involvement in the creation of the Human Rights Council.

Switzerland considers that coordinated action at the international level is often more appropriate and effective than pursuing individual plans. For this reason, it supports the UN’s efforts to promote peace and security, development cooperation and humanitarian aid, as well as the UN’s activities in the economic, social, cultural and environmental fields. The UN also offers the most suitable framework for developing and ensuring compliance with international law.

Further evidence of the UN’s appreciation of Switzerland’s commitment to the organization is the fact that there are a number of Swiss citizens in important positions at the UN, either as officials or as independent experts.