Swiss Abroad

Deiss in Washington for talks with Bush administration

This content was published on Apr 9, 2001 The meeting is the first official contact between the Swiss government and the Bush administration. Deiss is expected to reiterate the Swiss government’s offer to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians to help them achieve a peace settlement. There has also been speculation that Deiss might raise the issue of the Kyoto Protocol on climate…

Swiss Politics

Swiss step up efforts against high-fatality arms

This content was published on Apr 6, 2001 The Swiss ambassador for disarmament, Christian Faessler, and Colonel Erwin Dahinden from the Swiss General Staff, spoke of the proposals at a preparatory meeting, ahead of the Geneva conference on conventional arms, in December. Colonel Dahinden said Switzerland would not ban cluster bombs because of their effectiveness in combatting enemy tanks, with the minimum of…

Swiss Politics

Kosovo minorities given leave to stay longer in Switzerland

This content was published on Apr 2, 2001 The Federal Refugee Office said on Monday that around 2,500 asylum seekers would likely be given leave to stay in Switzerland until at least the end of autumn. It said the move was prompted by fears that their safety would be threatened if they returned home. The decision affects mainly Serb and gypsy asylum seekers,…

Swiss Politics

Economic development key to human rights, Swiss president says

This content was published on Mar 30, 2001 “A world of glaring inequalities and growing poverty cannot be a world at peace,” Leuenberger said. “The right to development is an integral part of human rights.” “Rich countries bear a special responsibility in the face of this immense poverty,” he said, adding that protectionism, unequal trade, low levels of investment and cooperation did not…

Swiss Politics

Swiss to speed up processing of asylum seekers

This content was published on Mar 29, 2001 Spokesman, Dominique Boillat, said the new procedure would include a more thorough interviewing process at points of entry, as well as improved methods of verifying the legitimacy of an asylum seeker. “More and more people are coming to Switzerland without a true asylum motive but because they are seeking work,” Boillat told swissinfo. Under the…

Swiss Politics

Annan holds out hand to Switzerland ahead of UN vote

This content was published on Mar 29, 2001 Annan told a news conference he would say nothing while in Switzerland which could influence the vote, but added that “if the Swiss people vote ‘yes’ they would be welcomed with open arms into the United Nations”. He praised Switzerland’s role in UN agencies and as a host for UN institutions, as well as the…

Swiss Politics

Venezuela protests at Swiss arms embargo

This content was published on Mar 29, 2001 Speaking in Bern on Thursday, the Venezuelan commercial attaché, Magda Ruizpineda, said the Swiss ban was unjustified, and there were no grounds for believing that the weapons would wind up in the hands of Colombian guerrillas. Her comments come after the government announced that it had refused permission to a Swiss firm, which wanted to…

Swiss Politics

Report blames lack of leadership for failure of Expo.01

This content was published on Mar 28, 2001 The embarrassing public debacle over the collapse of the initial project was the result of “irresponsibility at all levels,” according to Michel Béguelin, vice- president of the senate committee investigating Expo.01. “Nobody had any idea of the complexity of a project of this kind at the time it was conceived,” he added. Switzerland’s national exhibition…

Swiss Politics

Annan urges Swiss business to help fight poverty

This content was published on Mar 28, 2001 Annan said that despite increasing globalisation, “a large proportion of the world’s population is still denied prosperity owing to hunger, illness, violence or a lack of education.” He said many leading Swiss companies had already responded to the Global Compact between the UN, the private sector and civil society, which he first proposed at the…

Swiss Politics

Book provides profile of a spontaneous ex-cabinet minister

This content was published on Mar 28, 2001 Entitled “Dölf a dit…Dölf hat gesagt…” (Dölf has said…) the book was compiled by Claude Gerbex and Claude-Henri Schaller while they were working as official spokesmen for the then Swiss president, Adolf Ogi, last year. The Swiss presidency is a rotating post which each of the seven cabinet members holds for one year at a…

Swiss Abroad

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