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Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis participated in three meetings of the UN Security Council on Monday. In the Middle East, he notably demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon as well as the release of all hostages.
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November 18, 2024 – 6.14pm
(Keystone-ATS) “The political solution is known to us” to achieve peace in the Middle East: “it is the two-state solution, which offers Israelis and Palestinians the prospect of living in peace and security,” underlined the head of Swiss diplomacy, as he had already done on October 29.
To build lasting peace in the Middle East, it is imperative to invest in young people, he added. He said he was “convinced that the new generations, who aspire to perspectives of life – and not death – are able to undertake the path of reconciliation and fight against hatred and extremism”.
“It is for this young generation that we will have to answer for our actions. Let’s make sure that these are not failed acts that would make them a lost generation,” says the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA).
The Ticino also returned to the two laws adopted three weeks ago by the Israeli Parliament against the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). These laws are problematic because they are largely inconsistent with international law and also threaten humanitarian assistance provided to the civilian population, he said.
Russian veto on Sudan
The Security Council also voted on a resolution that should have helped promote peace in Sudan, a country ravaged since April 2023 by civil war. Fourteen states supported this text proposed by Great Britain and Sierra Leone. But Russia vetoed it, denouncing a text “with a post-colonial flavor”.
Switzerland regretted, through Ignazio Cassis, the failure of this resolution, like many other countries. The draft resolution called on the parties “to immediately cease hostilities and engage in good faith in dialogue to enable steps toward de-escalation, with the aim of urgently agreeing on a ceasefire.” national fire.
In the afternoon, the Council was finally due to look at the situation in Ukraine, where the war has been raging for more than 1000 days. Discussions were expected to focus on the recent escalation of violence and the overall consequences of the conflict, including the destabilization of global food and energy security.
