Switzerland aims for bigger role on world stage

Micheline Calmy-Rey shared the limelight with US secretary of state, Colin Powell, in Davos Keystone Archive

Switzerland’s foreign policy in 2003 has been marked by the country’s push to play a bigger role in world politics.

A breath of fresh air blew in to the Swiss cabinet at the beginning of the year in the shape of the new foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey.

“I wanted to bring foreign policy closer to the Swiss people,” Calmy-Rey said.

In February Switzerland launched a humanitarian conference to prepare for war in Iraq, and in December it helped unveil a new Middle East peace plan.

The country also played host to its first world summit since becoming a member of the United Nations, but failed to wrap up talks on closer ties with the European Union.

Much of the impetus for these initiatives came from the outspoken Social Democrat, Micheline Calmy-Rey, who regularly made the headlines of the Swiss press – and not always for the right reasons.

Open diplomacy

Her policy of open diplomacy- or transparency – almost backfired on her when she announced a pre-war humanitarian meeting on Iraq without consulting her cabinet colleagues in advance, as would have been customary.

Calmy-Rey says foreign policy requires a mixture of both public diplomacy and behind-the-scenes negotiations.

“What is important is that our neutrality does not lead us to become indifferent,” she said.

The humanitarian meeting became mired in controversy before it started, with the United States turning down an invitation to take part and Iraq not being invited.

In the end though, 21 aid organisations and 29 countries attended the two-day meeting in Geneva in February.

Calmy-Rey claimed it had helped bring together aid agencies and countries that had until then not liaised with one another.

Some felt the greatest achievement of the Geneva meeting was that it served as a reminder that preparations for war also had to include plans on how to help the populations caught up in the conflict.

War

Swiss public opinion was firmly against a possible war in Iraq – 40,000 people took to the streets to demonstrate in February.

Switzerland condemned the US threat to take military action without UN approval.

Nevertheless, Switzerland has pledged SFr30 million to help support the humanitarian situation in post-war Iraq.

Calmy-Rey has suggested that in 2004, financial contributions to Iraq might increase.

“It’s possible that in 2004 the amount of money given to Iraq for humanitarian assistance and development aid might increase in an effort to support the country as it converts to a democracy,” she said.

When Washington launched hostilities in March, Bern restated Swiss neutrality, only allowing US planes to use Swiss airspace for humanitarian and medical flights as well as for surveillance missions over Iraq.

Switzerland’s reaffirmation of its neutrality drew criticism from those who said that as a UN member the country should have taken a more critical stance towards the US.

The Swiss cabinet also seemed to be divided in its reaction. While this year’s president, Pascal Couchepin, said he regretted the outbreak of war, he refrained from criticising the US directly.

Meanwhile Calmy-Rey said she was shocked by the war. Once again tens of thousands of people around Switzerland took to the streets to protest.

The government rejected a US request for the expulsion of Swiss-based Iraqi diplomats, and organised a second meeting in Geneva at the beginning of April to focus on the immediate humanitarian needs both inside Iraq and in its border states.

Crossing the line

Calmy-Rey’s first major trip abroad also marked a historic step.

In May she became the first foreign government official to cross the demarcation line between North and South Korea.

While there, she offered Switzerland’s services as a mediator to resolve the nuclear standoff in the region.

Back in Switzerland as Calmy-Rey was marking the first anniversary of bilateral agreements with the EU governing trade issues and the free movement of people, Couchepin was in Geneva meeting President Bush ahead of the G-8 summit just across the border in the French town of Evian.

Tens of thousands of anti-globalisation protestors took to the streets of French-speaking Switzerland, leaving shop owners in Geneva and Lausanne with bills for millions of francs as windows were smashed and premises looted.

Geneva Accord

Geneva was the focus of world attention twice in December. First it was the scene of the launch of a Swiss-backed agreement for peace in the Middle East.

The Geneva Accord outlined a plan for the division of Jerusalem and the creation of a Palestinian state, and covered the issues of Palestinian refugees and Jewish settlements.

Later the city played host to Switzerland’s first world summit since becoming a member of the United Nations in September 2002.

The World Summit on the Information Society brought together representatives of governments, civil society and the private sector.

Switzerland was credited with pushing for civil society – including academics, interest groups and international agencies – to be part of the discussions, and organizers hailed the adoption of a blueprint to bridge the digital divide as a historic step.

Popularity

Calmy-Rey’s open diplomacy seems to be paying some dividends, at least in terms of her popularity at home.

Even the Swiss press has admitted that after one year in the job Calmy-Rey has stamped her mark on the foreign ministry.

This was confirmed in December when parliament endorsed her year in office by voting overwhelmingly to re-elect her to the cabinet.

swissinfo, Jonathan Summerton

In brief

2003 – the year Micheline Calmy-Rey took over at the foreign ministry – has been a particularly intense year for Swiss foreign policy.

Switzerland launched a debate on humanitarian assistance in the build-up to the war in Iraq.

In Korea and the Middle East there were attempts to boost Switzerland’s role as a mediator, and with its organisation of the World Summit on the Information Society, Switzerland showed that it had something to offer the international community.

Switzerland’s relationship with the European Union, however, remains tense and Bern has not made the progress hoped for over a second set of bilateral agreements.

Key facts

January 1: Micheline Calmy-Rey takes office as Switzerland’s foreign minister.
February 15: Geneva hosts two-day pre-war humanitarian meeting on Iraq.
May 20: Calmy-Rey crosses the demarcation line separating North and South Korea.
December 1: Geneva Accord is launched.
December 10-12: World Summit on the Information Society takes place in Geneva.