YouSaid · the spoken record

Staehelin

lines on the record
121
first
1999-02-22
most recent
2004-04-22
sittings or episodes
18
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un-security-council

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  1. “Switzerland is convinced of the crucial nature of a concerted commitment on the part of all actors to assure the protection of civilians during and after conflicts. We favour strengthening the Organization's capacities in the area of rapid deployment and planning, as regards both civilian and police elements. Consideration of this subject is also under way in other organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It would be useful for the various initiatives to be complementary and consistent. My delegation supports the many proposals made in the report in the areas of light weapons, arms embargoes and anti-mine activities. Our priority task for in the next few years is to give concrete shape to the commitments that have been undertaken and to make a reality of established principles and norms.”

    1999-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4046Resumption1 (1999) · source

  2. “My country supports the work of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda and is in favour of the rapid entry into force of the International Criminal Court. Switzerland is also among the States to have adopted legislation to allow it to cooperate closely with the two ad hoc Tribunals. Swiss military law officials have been involved in bringing to trial nationals of Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia accused of having participated in crimes committed during the conflicts that recently affected their countries. With respect to the maintenance of peace, the comprehensive and integrated approach to crisis solving advocated by the Secretary-General is a necessity.”

    1999-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4046Resumption1 (1999) · source

  3. “Given the nature of current conflicts, in which attacks on civilian populations are often committed by non-State armed groups, it is important to promote respect for humanitarian law by those non-State entities, and to confirm the fundamental nature of the rules enshrined in common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Let us repeat here that non-compliance with the provisions that protect vulnerable groups can often be ascribed to all the parties to a conflict, whether they are States or not. The Security Council must take this into account and act accordingly. The suppression of acts of violence that deliberately target civilian populations must be effective and vigourous in order to avoid the establishment of a culture of impunity.”

    1999-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4046Resumption1 (1999) · source

  4. “Switzerland will be co-chairing a workshop on this subject within the framework of the twenty-seventh International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, which will be held in Geneva from 31 October to 6 November 1999. As depositary of the Conventions, we hope that this Conference will help the international community to further mobilize to promote compliance with international humanitarian law and that the appeal signed last 12 August on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Conventions will be heeded and furthered through concrete actions. Lastly, Switzerland wishes to welcome the entry into force on the very day of that appeal of the Secretary- General's bulletin on respect for international humanitarian law by United Nations forces.”

    1999-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4046Resumption1 (1999) · source

  5. “Too many States Parties violate their duty to respect and enforce the provisions of the Conventions as they are committed to do under common article 1 of all the Conventions. We must emphasize the need for all warring parties to respect the emblems and premises of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, which have recently been subjected to intolerable attacks. Switzerland invites States to recognize the competence of the humanitarian International Fact-Finding Commission by making the declaration contained in article 90 of Protocol Additional I to the Geneva Conventions. We are in favour of continued consideration of how to bring about better respect for humanitarian law.”

    1999-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4046Resumption1 (1999) · source

  6. “It is also urgent for us to consider the relationship between mass media and political decision-making. In fact, the United Nations and States must pay attention when solemn declarations and recognized principles on respect for humanitarian law do not succeed in arousing action exactly at the time when such action is needed. The credibility of our commitment is at stake. The recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General prompt me to make the following comments. First, my delegation supports the Secretary- General's appeal to all States to ratify the major instruments of international humanitarian law. States involved in conflicts of which the Security Council is seized are not all parties to the Geneva Conventions. Many States have not yet ratified the Protocols Additional to the Conventions.”

    1999-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4046Resumption1 (1999) · source

  7. “Practically no major event can take place anywhere today without societies and States being witness to it, including, in this case, violence against civilians in armed conflict. Civil societies and Governments become involved in such situations through remarkable and necessary actions of solidarity, or they intervene decisively. Nevertheless, on other occasions such events take place as if a culture of indifference to human suffering had become the norm in international relations and as if the ideals that are the foundation of the cooperation symbolized by the United Nations had been lost. It is therefore necessary to examine the mechanisms that help to make public opinion, parliaments and Governments decide what is intolerable and what is not.”

    1999-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4046Resumption1 (1999) · source

  8. “Mr. Staehelin (Switzerland) (spoke in French): I would like to thank you, Mr. President, and the other members of the Security Council, for giving me this opportunity to address the issue of the protection of civilians affected by armed conflict. Since the debate held on this question in the Security Council last February, new crises and further attacks on the lives and rights of civilian populations have reminded us of the urgency and gravity of the subject under consideration. The fine report of the Secretary-General before the Council emphasizes the magnitude of the challenge confronting the international community. It recommends precise and practical measures to counter the threats and to put an end to the violence and abuses against civilians in times of armed conflict. Those recommendations deserve our support.”

    1999-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4046Resumption1 (1999) · source

  9. “Following the example of the ad hoc tribunals set up to try offences committed in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda, these actions should also aim at guaranteeing respect for humanitarian law and punishing violations that may have been committed. We believe that the Security Council should take due account of possible negative repercussions of economic sanctions on the civilian populations of the State concerned and on third States. Finally, Switzerland believes that humanitarian law, the needs of the civilian population and the particular problem of child soldiers should be duly taken into account when crafting the mandates for peacekeeping operations.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  10. “Twelfth, and finally, we need to give much more thought to identifying machinery that could be set up to monitor the implementation of humanitarian law in specific situations, bearing in mind already existing organs such as the humanitarian International Fact-Finding Commission. The Swiss delegation cannot conclude its remarks without addressing more specifically the role of the United Nations in protecting civilians affected by armed conflict, as well as the specific responsibility of the Security Council in this field. In the view of Switzerland, the actions of the United Nations should be aimed at preventing conflicts and promoting the reconstruction of local capacities after hostilities end, by contributing to appropriate economic, political and social development.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  11. “Eighth, we must pursue the elimination of anti- personnel mines, particularly by promoting the implementation of the so-called Ottawa Convention and by giving increased priority to demining and to international cooperation in this area. Ninth, we should establish tighter control over the transfer of light weapons and substantially reduce the existing stocks of these weapons. Tenth, we need to promote the rapid adoption of an instrument banning the recruitment of children below the age of 18. Eleventh, in the same spirit, we must prevent the enlistment of such children and their direct or indirect involvement in hostilities and promote the demobilization of children thus recruited.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  12. “Fifth, we should take specific steps to punish acts of violence directed against civilians and, in particular, to promote the International Criminal Court becoming operational as soon as possible. Sixth, we need to guarantee that the obligation to punish violations of humanitarian law is supported by complementary efforts to achieve national reconciliation. Seventh, we should make better known the statutes and the competencies of humanitarian organizations and encourage these organizations, insofar as possible, to coordinate their activities, both with one another and with other actors working in the field.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  13. “Second, we should intensify dissemination of humanitarian law and fundamental humanitarian values so as to counteract the development of a culture of violence, while taking into account local customs and situations and the possibilities provided by modern means of communications, as well as the need to educate civil society as broadly as possible. Third, we need to promote respect for humanitarian law by non-State entities and to confirm the fundamental nature of the rules enshrined in common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Fourth, we should make it possible for the interested parties to establish and maintain appropriate lines of communication with all the parties to an armed conflict, be it international or national in character.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  14. “States may also rely on the support of relevant organs such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, and they can envisage increased cooperation with them and with international organizations, first and foremost the United Nations, as indicated in article 89 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. More specifically, Switzerland believes that, first, the international community must promote the universal application of international humanitarian law, for example by encouraging the ratification of pertinent instruments.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  15. “The obligation to respect and ensure respect for humanitarian law above all has an effect at the national level, but it can also have consequences internationally. It can, inter alia, result in creating international cooperation, bilateral or multilateral. The reports drawn up by the chairmen of the meetings held in January and October 1998 set forth a series of steps to remedy the problems identified. These steps can be taken before, during or after a conflict. They have legal, political, economic or social dimensions and can also be unilateral, bilateral or multilateral in nature.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  16. “Thus it is essentially political and legal disputes relating to the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention which have so far hampered the application of that instrument. We are aware that States have to respect and to ensure respect for humanitarian law, which means in particular that States must protect civilians against the effects of armed conflicts. The obligation enshrined in common article 1 of the Geneva Conventions clearly has a legal scope. But the content of that obligation is not spelled out. Hence the law essentially leaves it up to the political evaluation of the States concerned to identify measures to be taken in a particular case. States must respect the principle of good faith in making such a choice.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  17. “We were responsible for convening the first periodic meeting on international humanitarian law, which in January 1998 dealt with the protection of humanitarian personnel and so-called unstructured conflicts, and also the expert meeting on the Fourth Geneva Convention, which in October 1998 considered general problems relating to the implementation of the Convention in general and in occupied territories. These meetings were concerned with promoting the protection of civilian populations in armed conflicts. They confirmed that the difficulties which impede respect for humanitarian law may have diverse causes, which may be either technical or financial. They may also be related to insufficient norms or ignorance thereof. But their main source without doubt lies in the determination not to apply that law.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  18. “The proliferation of other conventional weapons, such as light arms, has also had an impact on hostilities and has had devastating effects indeed. In the light of numerous violations of humanitarian law committed throughout the world, punishment is of particular importance. Although the instruments of humanitarian law contain rules governing this matter, the perpetrators of these offenses are not always tracked down, persecuted and punished. Like other States, Switzerland has given thought to each of these topics. We are particularly anxious to define the scope of common article 1 to the Geneva Conventions, as well as machinery which could help promote respect for humanitarian law.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  19. “The sufferings of civilians are particularly great when the parties involved do not have, or no longer have, chains of command and are thus acting without any instructions or control, or when their actions are based on ethnic considerations and are designed to eliminate the other. The appearance and persistence of these new types of conflict confront the staff of humanitarian organizations with specific challenges. The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mr. Cornelio Sommaruga, mentioned this in his statement to us. In recent conflicts, weapons with indiscriminate effects have inflicted heavy casualties on the civilian population. The use of anti-personnel mines has defied some of the elementary principles of humanity.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  20. “The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Geneva Conventions and the commemoration of the centenary of the first international Hague Peace Conference affords States an opportunity to take a comprehensive look at the way in which this law has been respected and the possibility of taking specific steps to prevent and punish violations of that law. Crises which have recently broken out in various parts of the world have inflicted great suffering on the civilian populations, particularly the most vulnerable groups such as children, women, the elderly, refugees and displaced persons.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source

  21. “Mr. Staehelin (Switzerland) (interpretation from French): I would like to thank you, Sir, and your delegation, as well as members of the Security Council for having organized this debate. As depositary of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, Switzerland attaches major importance to respect for humanitarian law and sincerely appreciates your commitment to the protection of civilians affected by armed conflict. It was with particular interest, therefore, that my delegation listened to the statements just made, as well as those made in the Council on 21 January and 12 February 1999. The Presidential Statement dated 12 February reflects the conviction that humanitarian law is based on universal values.”

    1999-02-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3980Resumption1 (1999) · source