YouSaid · the spoken record

Maurer

lines on the record

273

first

1996-08-15

most recent

2022-01-25

sittings or episodes

35

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un-security-council

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1. “Mr. Maurer (Switzerland) (spoke in French): Terrorist acts are one of the gravest threats to international peace and security. Therefore, the fight against terrorism concerns the entire international community. In that regard, Switzerland welcomes the holding of an open debate and is pleased that the Swiss delegation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union had the opportunity to listen to this debate today. We thank Ambassador Denisov and Executive Director Ruperez for the work accomplished thus far, and particularly for the very useful information they provided to us this morning. Switzerland thanks the chairmanship of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) for having prepared the work programme for the thirteenth 90-day period. We must also thank the Committee for the remarkable work it has accomplished in three years.”

   2004-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5059 (2004) · source

2. “Furthermore, those elements must be given greater weight in the context of the efforts of the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly, the Secretariat, and in particular the United Nations funds and programmes. In that context, we would note that the preliminary recommendations made in the report of the Secretary- General do not go as far as the text itself had led us to hope. Switzerland calls on the Security Council and all Member States to ensure that adequate means are available to better meet the challenges posed by the promotion of justice and of the rule of law. Finally, we should not lose sight of the fact that steps to promote the rule of law and transitional justice are less costly, and their results longer-lasting, than the consequences of conflict, insecurity and impunity.”

   2004-10-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5052Resumption1 (2004) · source

3. “Switzerland also invites the Security Council to assume its responsibilities and to exercise its particular competence as recognized by the Rome Statute, namely that of bringing before the International Criminal Court situations in countries that are not parties to the Statute. The Secretary-General's report underlines the importance of the rule of law for the stabilization of post-conflict societies. It is thus necessary to clarify what the rule of law means in terms of concepts, policies and operations. Democratic legislative procedures; equality before the law and fairness in the application of the law; a humane penal system and a police force anchored in civil society - all these are elements of a transition process which deserve increased support.”

   2004-10-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5052Resumption1 (2004) · source

4. “49) With the recent accessions to the Rome Statute, more than half the States Members of the United Nations are now States parties to the Statute. The Court embodies the hope for a definitive end to impunity. Nevertheless, as the Secretary-General stated in the course of his address to the General Assembly, (spoke in English) "the rule of law starts at home" (A/59/PV.3, p. 3). (Spoke in French) That consideration is underlined by the principle of complementarity incorporated into the Rome Statute. In this context, we would like to call on those States that have not yet done so to ratify the Rome Statute and fully to collaborate with the Court.”

   2004-10-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5052Resumption1 (2004) · source

5. “The ad hoc international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda have made a considerable contribution to re-establishing justice and combating impunity in the regions concerned. The tribunals have also played a historical role in the development of international criminal law. It is essential that they receive the means necessary to discharge their mandates, as was eloquently stated earlier by the Permanent Representative of Jordan. Furthermore, Switzerland agrees with the Secretary-General's assessment that "the most significant recent development in the international community's long struggle to advance the cause of justice and rule of law was the establishment of the International Criminal Court". (S/2004/61 6, para.”

   2004-10-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5052Resumption1 (2004) · source

6. “In his report, the Secretary-General rightly stresses the need to base efforts to promote justice and the rule of law on processes that take account of local realities, and to support them by making better use of existing competences and capacities in the countries concerned. However, strict respect for the rule of law by United Nations organs and Member States in all their activities and their interactions at the international level remains indispensable if the Organization is to maintain its credibility in the process of the promotion of the rule of law at the level of individual States. I would like to highlight two particular aspects of the question of the rule of law: international criminal justice and the rule of law as an essential factor in the promotion of peace.”

   2004-10-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5052Resumption1 (2004) · source

7. “That concept is just as crucial in the process of elaborating sustainable development policies. Let me just say that in both cases, we are speaking of the "rule of law" - not "rule by law". The report recalls the crucial importance of respect for the international norms recognized by the Charter of the United Nations as well as in the context of human rights law, humanitarian law, international criminal law and refugee law. No lasting peace is possible without unconditional respect for those norms. Switzerland recalls, in that respect, that, according to article 1 common to the Geneva Conventions, all States have a duty to respect, and to ensure, respect for the fundamental standards of humanitarian law.”

   2004-10-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5052Resumption1 (2004) · source

8. “Mr. Maurer (Switzerland) (spoke in French): At the outset, I should like to thank the United Kingdom for having convened this open debate on justice and the rule of law and, in so doing, enabled us to have an exchange of views on a topic that Switzerland deems to be essential and of priority interest. Switzerland thanks the Secretary-General for his report on the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies, dated 23 August 2004. The report addresses questions that are key to advancing the process of reflection and the efforts undertaken to allow our Organization to better contribute to the re-establishment of the rule of law and to the administration of an effective, impartial and professional justice in societies in conflict or post- conflict situations.”

   2004-10-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5052Resumption1 (2004) · source

9. “Switzerland hopes that during this year of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, on the eve of the Twenty-seventh International Conference of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, 10 years after the adoption of the international Convention on the Rights of the Child, 2 years after the adoption of the Ottawa Convention, 1 year after the adoption in Rome of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, that a new stage in the protection of victims of armed conflict can be entered. This should be done through the determined will of the international community to speedily reach an agreement on how best to protect children in armed conflicts.”

   1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source

10. “It could encourage United Nations agencies and States to initiate strategies, projects and programmes specifically focused on the needs of children. It could systematically draw the attention of parties negotiating a peace accord to the importance of taking the plight of children into account. More generally, it could encourage States to prepare their armed forces to meet the specific needs of particularly vulnerable groups, such as children. Finally, the Council itself could conclude without delay efforts already undertaken regarding targeted sanctions in order to ensure that there are humanitarian exceptions for vulnerable groups, children being particularly affected by such sanctions.”

    1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source

11. “This is particularly important with regard to access for humanitarian personnel. The Council could also encourage the dissemination of the provisions of international humanitarian law. The Council could call upon the parties to refrain from recruiting, in peacetime or wartime, children under the age of 18 and, if necessary, to demobilize and reintegrate into society this category of combatants. It could ensure that its peacekeeping operations benefit from the knowledge of experts on the rights of the child, and that dimension could be fully incorporated into peacekeeping operations. The Council could regularly request the Secretary-General to provide information, analyses and proposals for action to support children.”

    1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source

12. “Secondly, growing attention on the part of the international community is now focused on the social reintegration of combatants who were recruited and utilized under 18 years of age. Efforts must continue in that direction. Switzerland is convinced that better coordination efforts in this connection are also necessary. We think it is particularly important that actors from the political, humanitarian and development domains prepare joint strategies in order to avoid overlapping and to create new structures. Thirdly, the Security Council, because of its particular competence, could more explicitly support law and fundamental values. Whenever it addresses parties to a conflict, it could recall the applicability of international humanitarian law, as well as humanitarian standards and human rights.”

    1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source

13. “My country has supported raising the minimum age at previous meetings of that Working Group and will continue to support it in the January 2000 session in the hope that such a legal instrument will be adopted. Switzerland has also supported the activities undertaken by the coalition to put an end to the utilization of child soldiers since its establishment in Geneva in June 1998. My country is pleased that the efforts undertaken by this group of non-governmental organizations has made it increasingly possible to mobilize the international community. Switzerland is gratified that the declarations adopted at the Maputo and Montevideo conferences support raising the recruitment age and the age of participation in armed conflict to 18 years of age.”

    1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source

14. “The increase in extreme and cynical forms of violence, as well as the rapid breakdown of fundamental values and the legal framework, must spur us to develop a more sophisticated strategy of protection. What could be some of the elements of such a strategy? First, we must reinforce the legal framework as well as the implementation mechanisms. Switzerland is convinced that in order to ensure better protection it is particularly important to raise the minimum age for recruitment, whether voluntary or mandatory, to 18 years of age for regular armed forces or armed opposition groups, for direct or indirect participation in armed conflict. This objective could be achieved through the negotiations under way in the Working Group entrusted with the preparation of an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

    1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source

15. “The plight of girls and boys who are forced into prostitution, sexually abused, humiliated, brutalized and frequently kidnapped or subjected to forced displacement is also particularly alarming. My country would like to emphasize in this regard the importance of the initiatives undertaken by the United Nations Children's Fund as well as by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Mr. Olara Otunnu, and calls upon parties to conflict to comply with the recommendations made. Switzerland has supported and will continue to support in the future the work of the Special Representative, as well as the work of the relevant agencies.”

    1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source

16. “The responsibility of States, however, is of primary importance, and the Security Council must take this into account and act accordingly. Children are doubly vulnerable in conflict situations. They can be Victims of conflicts that affect them physically and mentally while they are still developing physically and mentally. Children continue to be recruited and utilized in armed conflicts by Governments or armed opposition groups before reaching 18 years of age. As combatants, these children become legitimate targets under international law. Moreover, because of their age, they are particularly susceptible to indoctrination or drugs, thereby often becoming tools of grave Violations of international law.”

    1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source

17. “Mr. Maurer (Switzerland) (spoke in French): Mr. President, first I should like to congratulate you and your country for having taken the initiative to conduct this important debate and to thank you for allowing Switzerland to address the Security Council. As the depositary State of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, Switzerland attaches great importance to compliance with the legal norms applicable in armed conflict. Switzerland would like to recall that the Conventions are universally applicable and that it highlights the responsibility of States, in accordance with common article 1, to respect and ensure respect for the Geneva Conventions. Failure to respect provisions protecting vulnerable groups frequently involves all the parties to the conflict, State and non-State parties alike.”

    1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037Resumption1 (1999) · source

18. “The unilateral renunciation, announced internationally, will soon be incorporated into Swiss legislation. Moreover, Swiss authorities are convinced that only an international regime banning anti- personnel mines - a regime strengthened by concrete and periodic surveillance measures - will make it possible for anti-personnel mines to be effectively eliminated. As a depository for the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the additional Protocols I and II to these instruments, Switzerland feels a special moral responsibility in the area of anti-personnel mines. Their use flouts basic principles of humanity and the requirements of public morality. A ban on anti-personnel mines must therefore become an essential component of international humanitarian law.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

19. “Nevertheless, the improvements to the text are not completely satisfactory. In the view of the Government of Switzerland, only a total ban on anti- personnel mines will allow us to vanquish this scourge. In spite of the improvements of the revised version of Protocol II, the Swiss Government believes that the campaign for a total ban on anti-personnel mines must continue and must be intensified. It will therefore take part in any reasonable initiative along those lines, in accordance with the humanitarian objectives of its foreign policy. It is not enough, however, to express the intention to put an end to the use of anti-personnel mines. States must be prepared to proceed to action. This was done by the Swiss Government in November 1995, when it unconditionally renounced the use, production, laying and transfer of these mines.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

20. “It will increase its voluntary financial contributions for the various mine-clearance programmes, the programmes that raise awareness of the mine problem, and the programmes for rehabilitating victims that it already supports. It will continue to support the development of humanitarian demining technology. It will also seek to make competent staff available to the United Nations Department of Peace-keeping Operations. For now, the Swiss Government is pleased to announce a voluntary contribution of 1million Swiss francs to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance. Mine-clearance efforts may still be in vain if the rules of international law on the use of land-mines are not strengthened. Protocol II, relating to mines, to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons has just been revised.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

21. “The responsibility of the United Nations within the framework of maintaining international peace and security makes it the natural body to ensure the coordination of such an endeavour. For that purpose the United Nations must have at its disposal a structure adopted to this task and obtain the financial resources enabling it to act wherever the situation requires and permits. It will be in a position to fulfil this mandate only when the international community decides to accord to mine-clearing assistance the urgent character and the global dimension that it has been lacking to date. With this in view, the Swiss Government will step up its contribution to the international effort for assistance in mine clearance.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

22. “Aware of the crucial role the United Nations has played and is called on to play in this area, the Government of Switzerland would like here to pay tribute to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which as part of its humanitarian operations is faced every day with the ravages caused by mines. In view of the scope of the threat posed by the uncontrolled spread of some 110 million mines in more than 60 countries, mine- clearing assistance must necessarily become a priority task for international cooperation, as part of both peace-keeping and humanitarian assistance. This priority must given form in the establishment of large-scale demining activities. Indeed, no economic or social recovery is possible in areas where mines kill and maim on a daily basis.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source

23. “Mr. Maurer (Switzerland) (interpretation from French): The Permanent Observer of Switzerland would like to thank the President of the Security Council for taking the initiative for this meeting, one which enables States which so desire to express in this prestigious Chamber their determination to combat the scourge of land- mines. At the end of the twentieth century, thousands of human lives continue to be threatened by these deadly devices that kill and maim innocent people, often long after conflicts have ended. This situation is intolerable and cannot be accepted as inevitable. Only the unswerving political determination of States, allowing for the establishment of genuine international coordination in the area of mine clearance, will put an end to this situation.”

    1996-08-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3689 (1996) · source