Minister defends Swiss seat on Rights Council
Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey has rejected calls for Switzerland to withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council.
She said such a move, demanded by rightwing politicians following the election of Libya to the council, would solve no problems.
“The Human Rights Council is not a club of the ‘good members’ who point their fingers at the ‘bad members’,” she told the Blick newspaper.
She said it was important to keep a dialogue with all the members to improve the human rights situation across the world.
“It is crucial for us to use the possibilities the council offers,” she added.
On Friday Switzerland and Libya, which have been locked in an ongoing diplomatic crisis, were elected to the council for a three-year term.
Human rights organisations warned against the election of Libya which they accuse of human rights violations.
Urs Geiser, swissinfo.ch
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