UN General Assembly: Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis calls for a peaceful solution to the Syrian conflict and climate change mitigation
Bern, 24.09.2019 - Federal Councillor and head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis has set several priorities as Switzerland celebrates 100 years of multilateralism this year. Last week, he signed a joint declaration with the Canton and City of Geneva reaffirming their commitment to International Geneva's role as a centre of global governance. At the high-level week of the UN General Assembly in New York, Mr Cassis has now called on the international community to strengthen human rights, adding that this will require innovative approaches. During his stay in New York, Mr Cassis will also speak about UN reforms and climate change mitigation, hold bilateral talks, and meet staff of the Swiss mission to the UN and the Swiss consulate general in the city.
Multilateralism has been in the spotlight on both sides of the Atlantic this past week. On 16 September, Mr Cassis signed a joint declaration with the Canton and City of Geneva, reaffirming their support for Geneva as a centre of global governance and a platform to address future challenges. The declaration marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of multilateralism and the designation, in 1919, of Geneva as the seat of the League of Nations, laying the foundation for Switzerland's multilateral engagement.
A week after signing the joint declaration in Geneva, Mr Cassis is now attending the high-level week of the UN General Assembly in New York. Switzerland has defined human rights, support for the UN's reform processes and the promotion of science diplomacy as its priorities for the 74th UN General Assembly. Today, Mr Cassis also attended a high-level event on the Syria crisis, where human rights and science diplomacy were high on the agenda.
At the Syria event, Mr Cassis called for innovative approaches to respond to the increase in violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism in Geneva, which since 2017 has been gathering evidence on violations in Syria, is an excellent example of how the scientific and diplomatic communities can work together to create synergies and strengthen human rights, said Mr Cassis.
At the World Economic Forum's Sustainable Development Impact summit, held alongside the General Assembly, Mr Cassis also underlined the vital role of innovation in achieving social, economic and environmental goals. "Innovative approaches are key to developing workable solutions to the challenges of the future, such as reducing CO2 emissions." Science and business have a leading role to play in this area, said Mr Cassis. The Federal Council has set the goal of a carbon neutral Switzerland by 2050. The present challenge is to develop joint ways of achieving this goal while ensuring the security of energy supply.
On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Mr Cassis also held bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Algeria, Austria, Eritrea, Oman and Ukraine. The meetings were also an opportunity to discuss bilateral issues and the UN reform process, which Switzerland has been actively supporting. Other topics on the agenda were the role of International Geneva as the city marks the 100th anniversary of multilateralism, the promotion of science diplomacy, and how Switzerland is addressing the social challenges resulting from digitalisation. With Eritrea's Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, Mr Cassis also discussed the issue of migration.
During his stay in New York, Mr Cassis also took advantage of the opportunity to meet the staff of the Swiss mission to the UN and the Swiss consulate general in New York.
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