Committee Name: General Assembly

Topic: UN Peacekeeping: Looking Into the Future

Country: Switzerland

Delegates Name: Aashi Lunia, Symbiosis International University

The advice of Switzerland's popular saint, Nicholas of Fle (1417-87), "Don't get involved in other people's affairs" 1has

been the hallmark of Swiss policy for nearly 500 years. The country has in effect been neutral since 1515. The status

of neutrality has not only protected Switzerland from war, but has helped prevent the country from being torn apart

when its different language communities might have been tempted to side with different belligerents in cases of

conflict. But since the end of the Cold War, Switzerland has redefined its understanding of neutrality. The Swiss

Confederation believes that it is much more important to be seen as an impartial facilitator by the parties in a conflict,

rather than to be seen as perpetually neutral.

Switzerland is an active member2 of NATO, The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, and OSCE

3. The Swiss

government supports the PBC Organizational Committee (GA/Res/A/60/180-2005) & (SC/Res/1645-2005) of the

United Nations. Switzerland (GCSP)4 hosted to the seminar on UN Peacekeeping Future Challenges along with

the DPKO5 and NUPI

6. Under a series of treaties concluded after World War I, Switzerland assumed responsibility for

the diplomatic and consular representation of Liechtenstein, the protection of its borders, and the regulation of its

customs. Switzerland has 220 military personnel deployed in support of peace-keeping operations in Kosovo7.

Switzerland has also sent services to allied troops in the War in Afghanistan. It deployed Yellow Berets to support

the OSCE in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Switzerland thus puts forward the following suggestions:

Peace Making vs. Peace Keeping Approach: Peacekeeping means keeping people from attacking each other by

putting some kind of barrier between them in form of neutral soldiers i.e. peacekeepers from the UN or a group of

neutral nations who simply keep the two sides apart. Peacemaking is the process of forging a settlement between the

disputing parties either through direct negotiations with just the two disputants or with a third-party mediator, who

assists with process and communication problems, and helps the parties work effectively together to draft a workable

peace accord.

Neutral Stand: Neutrality designates the legal status of a state that does not participate in a war being waged by other

states. This should not be confused with being egocentric. Its simple implication is that if a third country takes a side

during a war between two countries then it would eventually land into a BLACK TRIANGLE, i.e. giving invitations for

future wars and thus leading to global social, political and economic unrest.

Hence Switzerland urges all the member nations to work more towards Peace-Making approach so that the

resources wasted for wars could be optimally utilized for the best productive purposes and that would ultimately lead to

the sustainable development of all the nations.

1 http://www.swissworld.org/en/politics/foreign_policy/neutrality_and_isolationism/

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Switzerland

3 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

4 The Geneva Centre for Security Policy

5 Department of Peacekeeping Operations

6 Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

7 http://www.eurasiareview.com/201007265931/eu-foreign-ministers-float-serbia-kosovo-talks-offer-ratchet-up-

iran-sanctions.html