Amherd: Membership of the Security Council was a good decision
Published: Friday, Oct 25th 2024, 21:30
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Switzerland's membership of the UN Security Council will soon come to an end. The decision to apply for one of the ten rotating seats on the Council was the right one, said President Viola Amherd on Friday in New York. Her time as a member of the Council has helped to reaffirm the country's credibility as a mediator and a fighter for international law.
"The country's neutrality has not suffered as a result," explained President Amherd in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. "Switzerland has made an important contribution during its two years as a member of the Council."
Membership has brought Switzerland many new contacts at a high level. "In my international contacts, the good work that Switzerland does in the Council was always a topic of discussion. This is recognition for our country. The Ukraine conference that we held this year was also highly praised. We can do even more, or at least continue to do so," concluded Defense Minister Amherd.
Resolutions introduced
Switzerland has a high level of credibility when it comes to mediating in conflicts and initiating or supporting peacebuilding processes.
During its membership of the Council, Switzerland has repeatedly defended international law and introduced it in every resolution. It also introduced a resolution on the protection of humanitarian personnel, who have increasingly become victims of violence in recent years.
Even if sometimes no immediate or concrete results can be seen, one should not simply say "it's no use, we won't do anything more", said Amherd in connection with the Security Council debate on women, peace and security on Thursday.
Deteriorated situation
"The global situation has deteriorated significantly in recent months," said Amherd, looking back on a UN debate on women's rights in March.
"That became clear in Thursday's debate; also that women are always more affected in conflicts than men, that violence against women in conflicts has doubled in the last year if you look at the figures."
This makes it all the more important to implement the UN resolutions on women, peace and security. This is why UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on states to issue a written appeal to actually implement the guidelines for promoting the participation of women in peace processes.
More women on peace missions
For Switzerland, for example, this means further increasing the proportion of women in the army and in military peacekeeping missions. Fortunately, the proportion of women in the peacebuilding sector in Switzerland is already higher than in the rest of the armed forces, said Amherd. It is currently between 15 and 20 percent in the missions compared to 1.6 percent in the army as a whole.
According to the President of the Swiss Confederation, one concrete step in this direction was that, at the request of Sima Bahous, the head of the UN Women organization, a Swiss woman has been deployed there as a military advisor since the beginning of the year.
©Keystone/SDA
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