The Council of the Swiss Abroad makes a clear commitment to Swiss neutrality

With the current geopolitical situation giving cause for concern, the highly charged issue of neutrality has also become a topic of discussion within the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA). At its autumn meeting on 5 November 2022, the CSA addressed a motion from one of its delegates, John McGough (Hungary). Referring to the war in Ukraine, McGough said the CSA should urge the Federal Council and parliament to “observe the right to neutrality as an absolute imperative”. Even in times of war, Swiss expats have always been “free to travel to and from Switzerland as they please” thanks to their country’s “credible and universally recognised neutrality”, he argued, adding that the Federal Council should, therefore, be “strictly neutral” at all times.

But the CSA ultimately rejected McGough’s motion – and emphatically endorsed an alternative resolution put forward by the Executive Board of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) and its president, Filippo Lombardi. Instead of demanding that the Federal Council observe “strict neutrality”, the approved resolution now calls on the Swiss government to deliver a “coherent foreign policy that, above all, promotes peace and international dialogue, continues to walk the line of neutrality, defends our democratic values, and supports humanitarian efforts to help populations affected by armed conflict”. The CSA believes that such an approach also works in the interests of expats. “It is crucial that Swiss Abroad continue to enjoy freedom of movement and residence in times of conflict,” says the resolution. Free movement needs to be guaranteed at all times.