Madam Special Representative,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to Switzerland, welcome to Montreux! I am pleased to be with you today at the opening of the
15th Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights.
ASEM is an ideal platform for dialogue and cooperation. Political dialogue is essential to foster good relations between Asia and Europe. And discussing political, economic and cultural issues, with the aim of enhancing mutual understanding, is essential for fruitful cooperation. This is why Switzerland became member of ASEM. And this is also why Switzerland advocates strengthening the role of ASEM as a forum where political questions can be discussed in a spirit of respect and equal partnership.
It is important that we speak and identify common ground, because Asia and Europe have grown closer together. Switzerland’s trade with Asia is a case in point: In 2000, about 12 per cent of our total trade was with Asia. Today, about 25 per cent of our goods [72 billion US dollars], are exported to or imported from Asia. And we expect this share to increase in the coming years.
We are therefore deepening our contractual network with our Asian partners. Switzerland was the first country in Continental Europe to conclude a free trade agreement with Japan in 2009 and with China in 2014.
Through the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), we have agreements with three more countries in Asia and we are currently working on expanding our network further.
We have friendly relations with all Asian and Pacific countries, large and small, and we constantly aim to nourish and strengthen bilateral relations. This year, I travelled twice to Asia, visited six Asian countries and met with many Asian colleagues on the margins of international conferences, such as the ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Luxembourg earlier this month.
This greater interdependence with Asia has also prompted Switzerland to increase its presence in important venues for regional cooperation, such as ASEM. We also aim to conclude a partnership with ASEAN. We want to engage with our Asian partners in dialogue not only on economic matters but also on political ones, for example on international security issues. I promoted the core idea of the OSCE, that is to say using an inclusive, consensus-based and comprehensive approach to tackle challenges and crises in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Many of my colleagues agreed that it would be useful to strengthen the dialogue between Asia and Europe also on such issues.
Finally, Switzerland continues to stand in solidarity with its partners through its humanitarian assistance, development cooperation and human security efforts. We also offer our good offices to facilitate negotiations for peace processes and conflict resolutions. Switzerland has a genuine interest in the sustainable development and stability of the region, which in turn influence global stability.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The protection of human rights is the basis for global stability, peace and prosperity. Based on our long humanitarian tradition, Switzerland is committed to making a lasting and useful contribution in this field at the international level.
Switzerland therefore attaches particular importance to the Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights. This seminar reflects Swiss principles: It is based on the universality of human rights and human dignity, dialogue and bridge-building.
Strengthening human rights is a priority of Switzerland’s foreign policy, provided for by the Federal Constitution. Human rights violations, armed conflicts and political crises endanger human beings and impede social and economic prosperity.
Any environment that facilitates illicit financial flows, corruption and organised crime is a threat to human security. Human rights and the rule of law are the basis for economic growth, for sustainable development and hence for long-term stability and peace.
Switzerland is committed to dialogue and a culture of compromise, to political and social participation and to inclusive, democratic decision-making. Through dialogue and perseverance, we can find and develop viable political solutions for key international issues. This seminar fosters dialogue not only between Asia and Europe, but also between governments and civil society. This cooperation is essential to promote human rights and protect victims whose rights are being violated.
Thanks to its neutrality, impartiality and credibility, Switzerland can play the special role of a bridge builder. With its experience and expertise and its network of representations abroad, Switzerland is well placed to build bridges between ASEM member states and between various stakeholders. By searching for compromises and constructive, concrete and innovative solutions, Switzerland can act as a facilitator between different interests and values, and thereby contribute to the goal of building a more peaceful world.
These core values, the regional aspect and the concrete and informal nature of this seminar combine essential aspects for a long-term and sustainable Swiss engagement. I am therefore very pleased to announce that Switzerland will join the Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights as a partner. This offers new possibilities for cooperation and most importantly for promoting dialogue and building bridges between the ASEM member states and their various stakeholders. This partnership underlines Switzerland’s political commitment as an ASEM member state as well as its commitment in the field of human rights.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Human trafficking is a complex crime and constitutes a serious violation of human rights. Victims of human trafficking are robbed of their right to self-determination, and are trafficked and utilised as goods: they are deprived of their human dignity.
Human trafficking affects all countries in the world, be they countries of origin, transit or destination – or a combination of all three. We all face the same challenges: human trafficking takes various forms, mostly transnational in nature. Moreover, fighting human trafficking is a multidisciplinary task. It requires prosecuting traffickers and at the same time placing assistance to victims at the centre of our action.
This is why it is highly relevant and timely for us to exchange views and share lessons learned from promising practices and recent trends in individual countries and international standards in this area regional developments, such as the newly signed Asean Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, (ACTIP). In bringing Asian and European governmental and non-governmental representatives together to increase cooperation, this seminar marks an important step in combatting human trafficking.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me outline the measures Switzerland has taken against human trafficking at the national and the international level:
• Switzerland is party to all the relevant international conventions in the field of human trafficking, both within the framework of the UN and the Council of Europe. At the same time, Switzerland amended its Criminal Code and other national legal provisions to bring them in line with international obligations. We have thereby established a solid basis to hold perpetrators to account and to protect the victims of human trafficking.
• In order to combat human trafficking effectively, it is essential to involve all stakeholders. In Switzerland this has been done since 2003, with the establishment of the Swiss “Coordination Unit against the Trafficking of Persons and Smuggling of Migrants”. As part of this coordination mechanism, we launched a national action plan against human trafficking in 2012. Under this national action plan, Switzerland’s measures against human trafficking are based on four pillars: prevention, prosecution, protection for the victims and strengthening of international partnerships.
At the international level, Switzerland is therefore engaged in migration dialogue with countries of origin and transit and is forming partnerships to better address the root causes of trafficking.
• For example, in cooperation with partner countries and international organisations we support projects in Western Balkan states which empower social groups that are vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. These activities include efforts to ensure access to education and improve living conditions.
• Together with Romania we launched initiatives to improve mutual cooperation. This has led to an increased exchange of information between police services and specialised NGOs, better identification of the victims, and more successful efforts to hold perpetrators accountable.
I would also like to highlight two international initiatives at the multilateral level:
• First, during the Swiss presidency of the OSCE, we lent strong support to the initiative of the Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings on how to prevent human trafficking for domestic servitude in diplomatic households. It is therefore significant that at the side event co-organised by Switzerland and the OSCE today in Montreux we launched a French-language version of a handbook for practitioners. Switzerland is working closely together with the OSCE and with other states that are committed to protecting domestic workers. We invite you all to join this initiative and make the most of this fruitful international exchange of experiences.
• Second, we intend to strengthen international provisions to fight human trafficking, in particular to clarify the international definition of trafficking in persons, which is a starting point for combating human trafficking. Switzerland has therefore launched an initiative as part of the Conference on the “UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime”. This initiative is intended to provide clarification on the key elements of the international definition of trafficking in persons as well as guidance to practitioners for the implementation of the Trafficking Protocol to the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Like many other countries Switzerland is committed to reinforcing the international fight against human trafficking.
Together we can make real progress in improving the situation on the ground and bringing about the necessary changes. Together we can improve the life of the victims and protect their human dignity.
I would like to thank you all for your participation in this seminar and your openness to dialogue. I wish you inspiring days in Montreux and I look forward to continuing our mutual cooperation.
Thank you.