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Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations

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Permanent Representative of Switzerland
to the United Nations
Reports toFederal Department of Foreign Affairs
Seat633 Third Avenue
New York, New York, U.S.
AppointerFederal Council
Formation2002
First holderJenö Staehelin

The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations office was established in 2002, after Switzerland joined the United Nations. It is located at 633 Third Avenue in New York.[1]

The current Permanent Representative is Pascale Baeriswyl, who will also assume a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council on 1 January 2023.

History

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Switzerland held observer status in several United Nations (UN) organs since 1948, but did not join the UN over neutrality concerns[2] and was a full member only of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.[2] In March 2002, the people of Switzerland voted to join the UN, and Switzerland became a member in September of that year.[3] Since then, an ambassador has represented Switzerland at the UN.[4]

Representatives

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Neutrality continued to be an issue but, according to the first ambassador, Jenö Staehelin, Switzerland's role as a neutral country was accepted by fellow member states.[3] Peter Maurer succeeded Staehelin in 2004 and served as the head of the budget commission of the United Nations General Assembly for the term 2009–2010.[5] Switzerland aimed to assist the United Nations to evolve into a more democratic body or to strengthen the ICC.[6] In terms of transparency, its third representative, Paul Seger, equated the election of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the election of the Pope.[6] During the tenure of the next ambassador, Jürg Lauber, the UN celebrated its 75th anniversary and had to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

Seat on the United Nations Security Council

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In 2011 the Federal Council decided to campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council for the term 2023–2024.[8] Its campaign slogan was "A plus for Peace".[9] In 2020 Jenö Staehelin voiced concern about the Federal Council's goal to aim for a seat on the Security Council.[8] Recalling Switzerland's tradition of neutrality, he assumed the superpowers would eventually exert more pressure than Switzerland would be able to withstand.[8] In March 2022 the Swiss People's Party entered a motion to withdraw the candidacy.[10] Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis stated that withdrawing from a decision taken eleven years earlier was not an option for the Federal Council and the motion did not succeed.[10] Switzerland and Malta were the only two eligible countries and it was assumed that the election would be a formality.[10] In June 2022 Switzerland was elected a non-permanent member of the Security Council, with 187 votes.[11]

Representatives

[edit]
Image Name Start of term End of term
Jenö Staehelin 2002 2004
Peter Maurer 2004 2010[12]
Paul Seger [de] 2010 2015[6]
Jürg Lauber 2015 2020[13]
Pascale Baeriswyl 2020 2023

References

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  1. ^ "Mission of Switzerland to the UN in New York". www.eda.admin.ch. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b Wildhaber, Luzius (1970). "Switzerland, Neutrality and the United Nations". Malaya Law Review. 12 (1): 140–159. ISSN 0542-335X. JSTOR 24862646 – via JSTOR.
  3. ^ a b "Die Schweiz beginnt ihr zweites Jahr als UNO-Mitglied". Swissinfo (in German). 7 September 2003. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Erster Schweizer UNO-Botschafter "kein Fan" einer Kandidatur der Schweiz". SWI swissinfo.ch (in German). 18 September 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Botschafter Peter Maurer zum Vorsitzenden des Budgetausschusses der UNO-Generalversammlung gewählt". www.admin.ch. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Schweiz - Botschafter Seger: Bereit für neue Herausforderung in Burma". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (in German). 23 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  7. ^ ""Tagesgespräch": Uno-Botschafter Jürg Lauber - Rendez-vous - SRF". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Ex-diplomat warns Switzerland about UN Security Council bid". Swissinfo. 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Switzerland, a plus for..." Switzerland – Candidature to the UN Security Council 2023/24. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  10. ^ a b c "Trotz Krieg in der Ukraine - Die Schweiz kandidiert definitiv für den UNO-Sicherheitsrat". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). 14 March 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Wahl der Schweiz in den UNO-Sicherheitsrat". www.admin.ch. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Peter Maurer neuer Staatssekretär im EDA". www.admin.ch. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  13. ^ "schweiz-uno Jürg Lauber – Im Einsatz für den Multilateralismus" (in German). 16 November 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
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