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Triumphant ‘climate seniors’ cause a stir
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The big wolf hunt in the Swiss mountains
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Confusion over Swiss army funding
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The Ukraine conference of 15 and 16 June 2024, in the Bürgenstock luxury resort high above Lake Lucerne, is considered the largest diplomatic event ever hosted in Switzerland. At Switzerland’s invitation, delegations from over 90 countries, including the heads of state of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Spain and the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, convened at the location. In the run-up to the conference, President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis sought, in their role of conference hosts, to manage expectations, changing the name of the event from “Peace Summit” to “Summit on Peace in Ukraine”. The closing declaration at least adopted a clear position by referring to “Russia’s war against Ukraine”, thus expressly naming Russia as the aggressor. The final document also demanded the observance of Ukraine’s sovereignty and the securing of the war-damaged Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It further stated that attacks on Ukrainian wheat exports are not acceptable, as food security “must not be weaponised in any way”. President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd concluded: “We have achieved what could be achieved.” In the immediate aftermath, political commentators claimed Switzerland suffered something of a setback as a host and diplomatic actor, as not all delegations were prepared to sign the final document. Twelve of the participating countries withheld their signature. Notable non-signatories included India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Some of these countries may be able to assume the role of intermediary, given their intact ties to Russia. In fact, there was speculation just before the meeting that Saudi Arabia might host a follow-up conference – and include Russia. The closing declarations and the official final Bürgenstock document, however, did not include any reference to this. (MUL)
The final document from the Bürgenstock conference: www.revue.link/summit
Mindful of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the Federal Council decided in favour of increasing the budget of the armed forces. In February, it presented a package totalling in excess of 30 billion francs for the next four years. In June, the Council of States declared its intention to increase the budget more quickly and by more, to the tune of about four billion francs. In addition, it wants to commit more funds to expedite the purchase of air defence systems. A majority of the Council of States wants a large part of the extra expenditure to come from cuts in development aid. However, nothing has been decided as yet, as the matter still has to be submitted to the National Council. (MUL)
In May, the Federal Criminal Court sentenced former Gambian Minister of the Interior Ousman Sonko to a custodial sentence of 20 years for crimes against humanity. The trial attracted considerable international interest, as the judicial proceedings against Ousman Sonko were unusual in several respects: they were conducted under the principle of universal jurisdiction, i.e. Switzerland conducted the trial even though the crimes were committed in Gambia. Sonko also fled Gambia for Switzerland, where he was initially not recognised. The Federal Criminal Court found Sonko guilty of crimes against humanity for having committed multiple murders, repeated deprivations of liberty and repeated instances of torture. (MUL)
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