From quiet rooms in Geneva to talks in faraway conflict zones: how Switzerland acts as an impartial mediator on the world stage and contributes to peace.
As part of its good offices, Switzerland regularly provides platforms for international conferences and high-level summits on Swiss soil, often in the international city of Geneva. © Keystone
When conflicts escalate and positions are entrenched, mediators who enjoy trust, possess expertise and have no hidden agendas are needed. This is precisely where Switzerland's good offices come into play. They are a key instrument of Swiss foreign policy and an expression of its humanitarian tradition and impartiality. Swiss good offices thus make a concrete contribution to a more peaceful and stable world.
In Switzerland, solutions are generally sought in consultation with all stakeholders. Swiss diplomacy is also based on this principle, and seeks to facilitate dialogue, for example through good offices. Geneva can be offered as a venue for political talks.
Switzerland first acted as mediator during the so called Alabama Claims in 1872. An international arbitration tribunal based in Geneva ordered Great Britain to pay a fine to the USA for supplying warships to the southern states during the War of Secession. In this way, Switzerland contributed to resolving the conflict at a legal level.
Between April and July 1954, Switzerland organised peace negotiations on the Indochina conflicts. High-ranking representatives of the USA, the United Kingdom, the USSR, France, the People's Republic of China, North and South Korea, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Viet Minh took part and signed a ceasefire agreement in Geneva on 21 July 1954. Foreign Minister Max Petitpierre noted at the time that Switzerland was able to offer a favourable climate for discussion and work, which had strengthened the international position of Switzerland as a neutral state.
In 1961 and 1962, Switzerland acted as a mediator between France and Algeria in the final phase of the Algerian War. It facilitated open channels of communication between the parties to the conflict and played an important role in the negotiations for the ceasefire agreement in Evian (FR). The Algerian delegation stayed on Swiss soil at the time.
When the Iron Curtain divided East and West, Switzerland made an important contribution to easing tensions between the two blocs and thus also to ending the Cold War. For example, the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), the predecessor organisation of the OSCE, met in Geneva between 1973 and 1975. These meetings served as a platform for reconciliation and confidence-building between East and West. A summit meeting between then US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev took place in Geneva in 1985.
Switzerland has continued its commitment in the field of good offices to this day. In 2002, for example, as a host and co-mediator, it was able to negotiate on the Bürgenstock a ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains in Sudan. Between 2008 and 2015, it was the host state for negotiations on the nuclear agreement between Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany and the EU.
On 16 June 2021, all eyes were on Geneva: On that day, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for bilateral talks at the Villa La Grange on the shores of Lake Geneva. Switzerland, in close cooperation with the American and Russian delegations, had created the conditions for the smooth running of the summit.
On 15 and 16 June 2024, Switzerland organised a Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock (Canton of Nidwalden). The aim of that heads of state and government meeting, was to develop a common understanding of a path towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
The good offices refer to all activities undertaken by Switzerland to help reduce international tensions and facilitate dialogue. They are divided into three main areas:
Switzerland regularly provides a platform for international conferences and high-level summits on Swiss soil. These range from the conclusion of the peace treaties at the end of the Indochina War in 1954 to the meeting between US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Geneva on the weekend of 10 May 2025.
In between, Switzerland hosted, among other things, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in the 1970s – the origin of today's OSCE – the summit meeting between US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, the negotiations at Bürgenstock in 2002 for a ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains in Sudan, the summit between President Biden and President Putin in Geneva in 2021, and the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in June 2024.
As a protecting power, Switzerland assumes some of the consular and/or diplomatic tasks when two countries break off their relations completely or partially. Thanks to the protecting power, the countries can maintain minimal relations and the protecting power grants consular protection to nationals of the other country.
Switzerland may offer this ‘postman service’ to affected states on its own initiative or at the request of the parties concerned, provided that all parties agree.
Switzerland currently has eight protective power mandates: it has represented Iranian interests in Egypt since 1979, US interests in Iran since 1980, Russia in Georgia and Georgia in Russia since 2009, and Iranian interests in Canada since 2019. Since 2024, Switzerland has also represented Ecuador's interests in Mexico and Mexico's interests in Ecuador. In December 2024, Switzerland assumed a protecting power mandate for Ecuador vis-à-vis Venezuela.
This form of good offices involves direct mediation in conflicts. Here, Switzerland acts not only as a host, but also as a driving force in peace processes. In recent years, it has supported over 30 peace processes in more than 20 countries. With the consent of the parties to the conflict, Switzerland creates the necessary space for negotiations without taking sides or influencing the content. It supports the parties in identifying the causes, formulating their concerns and developing solutions.
Mediation, as understood and practised by Switzerland, is more than just a round-table discussion with an impartial moderator. It is a profound, long-term process in which trust is built, compromises are reached and sustainable solutions are found.
One example is Mozambique, a country that, after a bloody civil war in the 1990s, found itself once again on the brink of armed conflict in 2013. Between 2017 and 2019, Switzerland played a decisive role in the negotiations between the government and the opposition RENAMO. Working closely with church actors and maintaining the strictest discretion, a peace agreement was negotiated. Switzerland provided expert knowledge, helped to structuring the negotiation process, maintained contact with both parties and thus ensured an environment in which both sides could negotiate on an equal footing.
In another context, Colombia, Switzerland has been committed to a sustainable and inclusive peace process for more than 20 years. It supported the negotiation of the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC-EP rebel group and has been helping to implement it ever since. At the request of the government and the parties involved, Switzerland is supporting the peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the rebel group ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional), as well as those with the EMBF FARC-EP (Estado Mayor de los Bloques y Frentes) and those with the CNEB (Coordinadora Nacional Ejército Bolivariano). Swiss mediators are present at all negotiations, support the parties in their search for solutions and provide technical expertise on request, for example in the areas of ceasefire and process design.
What makes Switzerland a sought-after mediator? It is not just its impartiality. It is also its culture of consensus, which is deeply rooted in its political structure. The Federal Council makes decisions collectively, minorities are involved, and four national languages and different religious traditions form the foundation of a society that sees diversity not as a burden but as a strength.
In addition, Switzerland has a worldwide presence: with 170 representations in more than 100 countries, it has a dense diplomatic network. In around 20 of these countries, so-called Human Security Advisers are active – specialists in peace promotion who are very familiar with local conditions and accompany peace processes on the ground.
The Peace and Human Rights Division at the FDFA in Bern is the hub for coordinating Switzerland's foreign policy peace efforts. Experts on conflicts around the world work there to develop tailor-made solutions and support Swiss representations with their expertise on issues such as ceasefires, power-sharing and dealing with the past.
Swiss mediation is not a rigid format, but comprises flexible instruments that can be adapted to the specific dynamics of a conflict on the ground.
Switzerland can thus...
act as a mediator, i.e. lead the peace process and work with the parties to develop concrete solutions;
provide support, for example by offering technical expertise in processes led by the UN or the African Union;
prepare negotiations by coaching the parties to the conflict and advising them on negotiation strategies;
structure dialogues to prevent misunderstandings and promote mutual understanding.
Switzerland pursues a pragmatic and principled approach: discretion, patience, impartiality, intercultural sensitivity and commitment to international law are the cornerstones of Swiss mediation efforts. The involvement of women and civil society actors is also particularly important – an aspect that is central to the sustainability of peace agreements in many contexts.
International Geneva – this is not just a term, but a reality. The city on Lake Geneva brings together many important players in one place: UN organisations, NGOs, think tanks and diplomatic missions all create an ecosystem that enhances the chances of successful mediation. Geneva is not only logistically well equipped, but also neutral ground where trust can flourish.
According to studies, three out of four Swiss citizens want our country to do more for peace. Good services, and mediation in particular, show how this is achieved in practice – through listening, expertise and perseverance. Through its good offices, Switzerland also fulfils a mandate set out in the Federal Constitution and thus contributes to the peaceful coexistence of nations, which in turn benefits the stable international structures on which Switzerland, as an export-oriented country, depends.
In a world full of tensions and uncertainties, Switzerland is a quiet but powerful player for peace. Not through grand speeches, but through quiet talks, workable compromises and sustainable solutions. This is precisely what makes its role so valuable.
