Directorate of International Law annual event on the role of international law in our daily lives – speech by Didier Burkhalter and six interactive exhibitions in the centre of Bern
Bern, 14.12.2015 - Public international law affects our daily lives without us always knowing. The FDFA Directorate of International Law (DIL) chose to demonstrate this at its traditional annual event, which took place on 14 December 2015 in Bern. Didier Burkhalter, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, opened the event in the Rathaus. The visiting audience was then invited to view a series of interactive exhibitions at various venues in Bern, before participating in a discussion involving some major Swiss business players.
The DIL annual event, which was held at the Rathaus in Bern, drew a large audience. In his opening address, Mr Didier Burkhalter highlighted the fact that international regulations have an impact on the everyday lives of people in Switzerland, noting that although public international law may seem very abstract in nature, it plays an ever-present and indispensable role in modern life – from catching planes to reading foreign novels.
Mr Burkhalter emphasised the importance of public international law in Switzerland’s past, present and future. Without it, the Congress of Vienna would not have guaranteed Switzerland’s independence 200 years ago. Today, public international law allows Switzerland to be a place of social and economic inclusion that takes part in world affairs. And last but not least, it was a historic public international law agreement that made it possible to bring the Paris climate conference to a close.
After this, the official part, participants at the annual event were invited to attend various exhibitions and visits related to public international law at different locations in Bern.
The first exhibition, “Daily life”, featured a range of items including a toy, a mobile phone and a Swiss army knife, subsequently illustrating how these everyday objects are subject to public international law.
The Natural History Museum of Bern was the second stop, where the director of the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office answered the audience’s questions on issues related to the import and export of animals, and to the nature and implications of the illegal animal trade.
A third exhibition, which revolved around video clips of public protests and dissent, gave participants the chance to listen to the stories of people who regularly address the issue of demonstrations in their professional work, and learn how human rights standards are implemented in practice in the city of Bern.
Another installation, this time in the Käfigturm, was dedicated to video war games. Entitled “Game over”, it used images to describe a project by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that enables the rules of international humanitarian law on protecting civilian populations to be incorporated in war games and simulations.
Participants also visited a cheese shop in the centre of Bern, where they learned about the appellations d’origine concept while sampling various cheeses for themselves. With more than 450 varieties and annual per capita consumption at around 22 kilogrammes, cheese is a staple Swiss food.
The sixth and final part took the form of a tour through the Old Town of Bern, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bern is also the headquarter of the Universal Postal Union – and thus a place with its fair share of anecdotes about public international law.
The DIL annual event concluded with some major players from Swiss business – Hans Häfliger, CEO of Freitag, Regula Dettling-Ott, Vice-President of EU Affairs at Lufthansa Group, and Daniel Bloch, CEO of Chocolats Camille Bloch – discussing the aspects in their respective fields of activity that are affected or governed by international law.
Address for enquiries
FDFA Communication
Federal Palace West Wing
CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
Twitter: @SwissMFA
Publisher
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html
