Switzerland, 2014

“A world in which people know how to solve

their problems in peace without violence; a world

of freedom and mutual respect; a world where all

young people can look forward to finding work that

allows them to live a happy life.”

That, in his own words, is the world that a young man

from my country would like to see. His name is Damian

Vogt. He is in this Hall and represents Switzerland’s

youth at the United Nations. This week we work here

together to make that world a reality.

A little more than a year ago, another young person

stood in this very place and addressed the world. She

said:

(spoke in English)

“I speak not for myself, but for all girls and

boys ... Those who have fought for their rights:

their right to live in peace; their right to be treated

with dignity; their right to equality of opportunity;

their right to be educated.”

(spoke in French)

The entire world still remembers the words of

Malala Yousafzai. The entire world still remembers

her courage. What a difference in the lives that Malala

and Damian have known. What a difference between

going to school only at the risk of your life and going

to school as a right — the right to a better life. And yet,

Malala and Damian, like millions of other young people

around the globe, want exactly the same thing: peace,

human dignity, freedom and equality, an education, and

an opportunity to work. The youth of today have a right

to expect from all of us, we who represent the nations,

that we truly will be united in our commitment to do

everything within our power to place in their hands

tomorrow a world where humanity is synonymous with

security, freedom and prosperity.

It is a century now since the outbreak of the First

World War, and 75 years since the beginning of the

Second World War. The memory of those cataclysmic

events imposes a duty on humankind to work towards

greater security and freedom, to bring about the

conditions for prosperity, and to become an Organization

of genuinely united nations that is effective as a true

assembly of States at the service of the people. Here

at the heart of the United Nations, Switzerland wishes

to do its part by making the following twin objectives

a priority: strengthening international security and

reforming the United Nations.

The security challenges are immense. At no time

since the Second World War has humankind seen so

many people displaced. More than 50 million men,

women and children have been torn from their homes.

The story of each and every one of them is a human

tragedy. Caught up in this current of insecurity are

also 75 million young people who, without work, face

a future without prospects. We are talking about one

young person in 10 in the world, and in certain regions

one in two. Worse still, in ever more regions throughout

the globe there are waves of instability assailing the rule

of international law and, in particular the principles of

humanitarian law, which are being ignored, violated,

and swept away in the deluge.

This is extremely worrisome in the Middle East,

above all in Syria and Iraq. Switzerland condemns in

the strongest terms the brutal acts of the self-proclaimed

Islamic State and the groups that have allied themselves

with it. Islam can, and must, like other religions, be a

messenger of peace, humanity and fraternity. As for the

nations, they can and must be truly united as a constant

reminder at all times and in all places of the supremacy

of law over force.

Where serious violations occur, investigations must

be carried out. Here, the independent commissions of

inquiry play an essential role, especially that of the

Independent International Commission of Inquiry

on the Syrian Arab Republic, to allow for genuine

reconciliation and lasting peace. Switzerland and 60

other States have requested the Security Council to

refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal

Court. We have also committed ourselves to an increase

in our humanitarian aid in the region. The crisis in

Syria must be dealt with as a whole, and we call on the

parties to return to the negotiating table and to work

towards a political solution.

Switzerland calls on the Iraqi Government to

ensure accountability. It joins the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights in calling on Iraq to

consider accession to the Rome Statute.

With regard to all forms of extremism that can

lead to acts of terrorism, it is important also to address

their root causes to show young people that violence

holds out no promise for the future. The establishment

in Geneva of the Global Community Engagement and

Resilience Fund was an important step in this direction.

The world in 2014 has witnessed a conjunction of

many crises — in the Middle East, in the Maghreb, in

Africa, and also in Europe, where war returned this

year with the crisis in Ukraine. This situation weakens

the security of the entire continent.Violations of the

Helsinki principles and of international law, whether

in the form of an illegal annexation of territory, such

as that of Crimea by Russia, or of military incursions

in eastern Ukraine, demand a firm response from the

international community. But such a response must also

be balanced, leaving room for dialogue and cooperation

so that open discussion remains possible. To simply

isolate Russia from the rest of Europe will not solve

any problems and will only create more, in Europe and

beyond. Stability can be restored in Ukraine and in

Europe if we succeed in resolving this crisis by working

with Russia, not against it.

That stability will be all the more sustainable if the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE) — of which Switzerland this year holds the

chairmanship — is able to re-establish a firm basis for

security cooperation between the Euro-Atlantic and

Eurasian regions. Switzerland, in its capacity as current

chair of the OSCE, fully supports the vital work of the

contact group for Ukraine and Russia. We are currently

taking steps to increase funding for the special civil

monitoring mission, that will also require additional

support from the participating States, and we welcome

the excellent cooperation with the United Nations.

In today’s unstable world, Switzerland has made

an active commitment to achieving greater security

by focusing its efforts there where it can make the

greatest contribution — the prevention of conflicts.

The prevention of violence means, first and foremost

making certain that a proper education is available to all

and that there are opportunities for every young person.

We welcome the Secretary-General’s Global Education

First Initiative. Switzerland is working to promote

education through massive open online courses and

seeks to encourage the development of dual vocational

training, combining school studies with on-the-job

apprenticeships. This calls for a joint commitment on

the part of the State and the social partners.

In addition, preventing tensions from arising

requires knowing how to give everyone a voice. At the

heart of Switzerland’s history lies a willingness to share

power, to engage in direct dialogue with minorities,

and to distribute authority between central and local

government — an emphasis on consultation rather than

on confrontation. In order to better prevent and manage

tensions in the world, we must strengthen the mediation

capacities of both the United Nations and regional

security organizations, particularly those of the largest

among them, the OSCE.

Switzerland has decided to augment its

contributions to international development and

humanitarian cooperation. In the coming year we will

be allocating funds for this purpose amounting to the

equivalent of 0.5 per cent of our gross national income.

In other words, to help the neediest inhabitants of our

planet, each person in Switzerland will be contributing

a little over one dollar every day.

The post-2015 process provides us with the chance

to transform the world’s challenges into opportunities.

There must be a single agenda for universal sustainable

development, with shared objectives. We must all act

to ensure that they are truly achieved. If all nations

are genuinely united, it lies within our power to

make certain that no one in the world need face a

future of destitute poverty. It is within our power to

make certain that the creation of jobs and wealth, and

thus also companies doing business contribute to the

development of human rights and help to foster respect

for the limited resources of this Earth.

Today there are crises that cannot wait for the

outcome of discussions on an agenda, no matter how

sustainable it may be. Switzerland has increased its

humanitarian commitment to the fight against the

horror of Ebola. Swiss-based research centres, among

the best in the world, are working to arrange for the

clinical testing of vaccines. Similarly, we must also do

all we can every day to protect the world’s youth from

the horrors of war. The place of children and young

people is in school and with their families and not on

the battlefield. Switzerland is intensifying its efforts to

provide better health protection for women, especially

young girls, and has also launched an action plan to

combat the phenomenon of child soldiers, who are

being deprived ofthe right to be simply children.

In order to meet these challenges we will need not

only the common will of the United Nations but also an

organization that functions in an effective, transparent,

and democratic fashion. “We the peoples of the United

Nations” are the opening words of the United Nations

Charter. They are a reminder that the United Nations

must first listen to and serve the people of this world.

In concrete terms, this means that it must strengthen

bodies that are dedicated to the prevention of conflicts.

Switzerland applauds the initiative of the Secretary-

General to strengthen the commitment of the United

Nations to human rights, particularly in sensitive

regions. My country has launched an appeal for the

allocation of additional funds for those important

activities.

There is also a need to strengthen the United Nations

special political missions to prevent conflicts and

reinforce the activity of the Peacebuilding Commission.

The United Nations must devote all its energy to its

work in the field to serve the people. It must avoid

getting lost in an administrative maze. Together with

eight other countries, Switzerland has commissioned

a group of experts to draft recommendations for the

reform of planning and budgeting processes.

Lastly, the ability of the United Nations to be

effective in dealing with the challenges it faces depends

on the legitimacy it enjoys as well as its ability to be

transparent and inclusive in the Security Council. The

permanent members ought not to use their veto to block

action designed to prevent or put an end to genocide,

crimes against humanity, or war crimes. Switzerland

welcomes the French initiative for a voluntary

agreement by the five permanent members to restrain

their veto power in cases of mass atrocities.

One day, many years ago, a young man travelling

across the north of Italy was horrified by the suffering

he witnessed on the battlefield at Solferino in the 1800s.

The young man’s name was Henri Dunant. With the

help of local women, he cared for the wounded soldiers.

Later, when he returned home to Geneva, he dedicated

himself to raising public awareness of the tragedy that

had taken place. Through his commitment, the Red Cross

Movement was born. Through his persistence, the first

Geneva Convention was signed, 150 years ago in 1864.

This document — which I am holding up here and will

give to the President of the General Assembly — is a

reproduction of the original, in which States committed

themselves to providing assistance to wounded soldiers

and ensuring respect for humanitarian principles. Thus,

international humanitarian law was born.

Yet today, 150 years later, humanitarian law is

too often violated or ignored. Switzerland and the

International Committee of the Red Cross were

given a mandate to consult States and to issue

recommendations. We will present next year a specific

proposal to strengthen respect for humanitarian

law and to put in place some joint machinery and an

institutional framework. For the past 150 years, the

spirit of Geneva, the spirit of international law, has

shone forth throughout the world like a beacon, a place

of peace, a home to humanitarianism and a refuge for

humankind. Geneva is a gift, both for Switzerland and

for the world, and we would like to strengthen its role

further by finding useful solutions for humankind. Like

Malala and Damian, Henri Dunant dreamed of peace,

freedom and prosperity for the world. His story — the

story of the Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions — is

a message of commitment. The action of each one of us

can make a difference.

In a few days, Switzerland will rename one of the

highest mountain peaks in the Alps. It will henceforth

be known as Dunant Peak, after Henri Dunant, the

first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Here, where

the nations come together, we have the power to

move mountains, as long as we stand united, working

together to make the dreams of Damian and Malala and

all young people in the world a reality. We owe them

a better world. We are capable of building that world

together, if we find the will to work as nations truly

united in dialogue and action — united nations, whose

Governments draw their strength from the people, for

the people; united nations who draw their inspiration

from the youth for the youth.