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Former Federal Councilor Micheline Calmy-Rey initiated Switzerland’s candidacy for the UN Security Council in 2011.
Camilla AlaborEditor Sunday view
There was nothing to shake about the decision. Actually. However, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the question arose under new circumstances: Should Switzerland actually take a seat on the UN Security Council? No, the SVP found and in March 2022 called for the candidacy to be renounced. The party saw the neutrality of the country endangered. The majority of Parliament came to a different conclusion. That’s how it stayed: As of today, Sunday, Switzerland will sit on the top UN body for the next two years – and thus side by side with the great powers.
One is particularly happy about this: old Federal Councilor Micheline Calmy-Rey (77). In 2011, the Foreign Minister initiated Switzerland’s candidacy. She doesn’t see it as a personal victory, even if the presence on the UN Security Council is of course very compatible with the active foreign policy that the Geneva native advocated. In Calmy-Rey’s words, the seat is the “logical consequence of the fact that Switzerland has been actively involved in the UN for 20 years”.
The neutrality of Switzerland is in no way endangered, she says in an interview with SonntagsBlick: “Switzerland is not a party to conflicts, but defends international law.”
«Switzerland has a good reputation»
For Swiss diplomacy, the presence on the Security Council is a big plus. “You can expand your network and get access to the great powers and to information that you would not normally have.” The former Federal Councilor goes one step further and says: “Perhaps a seat on the UN Security Council could have avoided the chaos surrounding the sanctions against Russia.” Perhaps the Federal Council would have been less surprised by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “After all, the UN Security Council met two days before the invasion.”
First and foremost, however, Calmy-Rey sees the incarceration as an opportunity for Switzerland to assert its interests: an order that is based on international law and not on the law of the strongest. And the country can achieve a lot as an active member: “Switzerland has a good reputation. It is neutral, credible and has a great tradition of good offices.”
Calmy-Rey admits that there will of course be pressure attempts by the major powers. “This does not prevent Switzerland from defending its values: democracy, respect for international law and human rights.” And, the foreign policy expert adds: “I never said it would be a walk in the park. But we benefit from sitting on the UN Security Council. And the world needs the commitment of countries like Switzerland.”
Norway could make a difference
Norway, Switzerland’s quasi-predecessor on the UN Security Council, has experienced that small countries can definitely make a difference.
“Norway is part of NATO, but not of the EU – and is therefore regarded as an independent actor,” says Niels Nagelhus Schia (48), researcher at the Norwegian Institute for International Relations. Norway has worked successfully with Mexico: “The two countries took the initiative to have the Security Council support the UN Secretary-General in mediating a grain deal between Russia and Ukraine.” In the end, the UN Security Council came together and supported the Secretary-General’s proposal. “That was an important sign,” says Schia.
The country also broke new ground in the Security Council. Norway invited the members to a closed conference, as Schia explains. “The idea was to draw the attention of members of the Security Council to an important priority for Norway, namely peace diplomacy.” Apparently with success. Schia: “The response to this event was very positive.”