Switzerland welcomes the inclusion of this important debate on the responsibility to protect on the agenda of the seventy-second session of the General Assembly. Genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are the most serious crimes under public international law, which obliges all States — wh…
Switzerland thanks Poland for convening this open debate on a topic that, although often addressed within the United Nations, remains highly relevant. In that regard, allow me to draw the Security Council’s attention to the following five recommendations.
First, we witness almost daily violations o…
I join other speakers in thanking you, Mr. President, for convening this timely open debate. We are grateful to Lieutenant General Dos Santos Cruz, author of the report on improving security of United Nations peacekeepers. We also particularly welcome the presence of the African Union Commission Cha…
Humanitarian needs only continue to increase every year. The number of persons who have been forcibly displaced — because they had to flee either violence or disasters — has reached a record high. Civilians, as well as humanitarian workers, are frequently the targets of attacks. Gaining access to hu…
Switzerland condemns in the strongest terms the horrendous attack in Bir al-Abd, which cost the lives of many innocent victims and wounded many others. We support Egypt in its time of pain and express our most sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims, and to the Government and …
The Secretary-General’s first report on the issue of trafficking in persons in armed conflict (S/2017/939), drafted pursuant to resolution 2331 (2016), provides an
excellent point of reference for considering the activities undertaken by the United Nations agencies in that regard. It also offers an…
Switzerland thanks France for organizing today’s open debate. We would like to focus on three issues.
First, Switzerland welcomes the recent release of the annual report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (S/2017/821) and the listing of perpetrators based on credible evidence g…
This meeting is an excellent opportunity to reaffirm our political commitment in the fight against trafficking in human beings. The current large migratory flows confront us with new challenges. They require us to re-evaluate the gaps in prevention, protection, prosecution and partnership, namely, t…
I would like to thank the Egyptian presidency of the Council for organizing today’s important debate.
Our conceptual approach to preventing conflict and sustaining peace has evolved considerably over the past few years. In order to achieve conditions conducive to lasting peace, we should take a fre…
At the outset, I would like to begin by transmitting my sincere condolences to the Russian Federation after the sudden passing of Ambassador Churkin yesterday.
We thank Ukraine for organizing today’s meeting. The ongoing or protracted conflicts in Europe prevent the creation of a common space of se…
I thank Sweden for convening this important debate.
The multiple crises that we were faced with in 2016 show how acutely necessary this debate is and how important it is to draw lessons from the situation and improve conflict prevention. Switzerland is pleased that this debate is taking place in th…
Humanitarian needs continue to grow year after year. The fundamental rules of international humanitarian law are being violated as never before. The number of people forcibly displaced, to escape violence or natural disaster, has reached a record high. Humanitarian workers are regularly the target o…
Switzerland thanks you, Mr. President, for organizing this open debate on water, peace and security, and for bringing this important issue to the attention of the Security Council. We welcome Ms. Christine Beerli, Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross; Mr. Danilo Türk, Chair…
Switzerland welcomes the imminent adoption of draft resolution A/71/L.17, which will lead to a closer cooperation between the United Nations and
INTERPOL in combating transnational crime and other security challenges.
In today’s armed conflicts, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish…
Switzerland wishes to thank the President of the Human Rights Council for introducing the Council’s report (A/71/53). We express our gratitude and congratulations for his commitment during his presidency of the Council over the past year. He bore particularly great responsibility during this tenth a…
We thank the Russian Federation for having convened this debate, and the Secretary-General and the two briefers for their unflagging commitment to this issue.
When it comes to peacebuilding, the international community’s record this past year is uninspiring. Not since 1945 have there been so many d…
My delegation would like to thank President Lykketoft for convening this debate on such a crucial topic. We are dismayed by the elevated and growing number of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse committed during field missions and by the persistence of the most egregious forms of such acts.…
Switzerland thanks the Malaysia presidency for the organization of this open debate, as well as the briefers for their instructive briefings.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Graça Machel report (see A/51/306), which described the impact of armed conflict on children and alerted the…
Switzerland wishes to thank the French presidency for having organized this debate and welcomes the latest report of the Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence (S/2016/361) and its recommendations.
Switzerland would like to emphasize three elements: first, protection challenges in th…
We thank the President for organizing this meeting aimed at raising global awareness of the tragedies of irregular migrants in the Mediterranean basin, with specific emphasis on Syrian asylum-seekers. We also thank him for the informal debate held yesterday, which was rich in information and proposa…
