Swiss Politics

Swiss request seat on new UN rights body

This content was published on Apr 4, 2006 Declaring its candidacy, Switzerland pledged to ensure the council became “a strong and effective body capable of protecting and promoting all human rights everywhere”. The Swiss, who played a central role in the creation of the new rights body, called on fellow UN member states to support its candidacy when elections for the 47-strong council…

Swiss Politics

Fight against landmines goes on

This content was published on Apr 4, 2006 According to the Landmine Monitor Report, mines and unexploded ordinance kill or maim between 15,000 and 20,000 adults and children a year. Speaking in Geneva on Monday, Swiss diplomat Jürg Streuli said landmines remained a major problem worldwide despite the 1997 Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel mines. He…

Swiss Politics

Expatriates seek impact on Swiss politics

This content was published on Apr 3, 2006 The decision comes as the number of Swiss abroad entitled to take part in votes and elections has passed 100,000 for the first time. “The expatriate community has come of age and could with its political weight – in theory – force a nationwide vote,” said Georg Stucky, president of the Organisation of the Swiss…

Swiss Politics

Fifth Switzerland holds forth in Bern

This content was published on Apr 1, 2006 The many speakers will concentrate on Swiss expatriates’ priorities and prospects when it comes to participating in the political life of their country. The setting of Saturday’s discussion, the federal parliament, could not be more appropriate for what has often been termed the “Parliament of the Fifth Switzerland”. This year the subject of the council’s…

Swiss Politics

US fingers Swiss firm for North Korean ties

This content was published on Mar 31, 2006 The Treasury Department designated Kohas AG, an import-export firm based in Fribourg, as a supporter of weapons proliferation and ordered the freezing of any assets it may hold in the US. The department alleged that Kohas has financial ties to a North Korean company, Korea Ryonbong General Corporation. The US government froze the Korean firm’s…

Swiss Politics

Zurich feels ambivalent about Europe

This content was published on Mar 30, 2006 But the economy would clearly benefit from maintaining the current approach through bilateral treaties between Switzerland and Brussels. Zurich, one of the country’s 26 cantons, is the economic hub of Switzerland and home to about one sixth of the population. It also claims to be a pillar of the country’s agriculture sector. The report, published…

Swiss Politics

Bern threatens sanctions against Belarus

This content was published on Mar 28, 2006 It added that if there was no improvement in the political situation in the country, it would consider imposing sanctions – following similar moves by other countries. In a statement released on Monday, the Swiss foreign ministry said it “reiterates the regrets that it expressed after the presidential election, which did not meet recognised international…

Swiss Politics

End of the line for UN rights commission

This content was published on Mar 27, 2006 The United Nations body, which has been widely criticised for allowing some members to escape condemnation, is to be replaced on June 19 by a new global human rights watchdog. “We hope this is a new start,” Jean-Daniel Vigny, minister for human rights at the Swiss Mission to the UN in Geneva, told swissinfo. “Even…

Swiss Politics

A communist takes on the tax cutters

This content was published on Mar 27, 2006 Joseph Zisyadis moved to a mountain region in central Switzerland where voters approved the introduction of a degressive tax system in a bid to attract businesses and the wealthy. Zisyadis, who until January lived on Lake Geneva in the French-speaking part of the country, has lodged an appeal against the new tax regime with the…

Swiss Politics

EU cohesion fund needed to cement relationship

This content was published on Mar 26, 2006 Swiss Economics Minister Joseph Deiss echoed the diplomat’s comments, criticising the rightwing Swiss People’s Party for calling for a nationwide vote on the issue. Andreas von Stechow, Germany’s new ambassador to Switzerland, told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper that a “no” vote to the Swiss financial contribution to the so-called EU Cohesion Fund would damage…

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Swiss request seat on new UN rights body

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Fight against landmines goes on

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Expatriates seek impact on Swiss politics

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Fifth Switzerland holds forth in Bern

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US fingers Swiss firm for North Korean ties

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Zurich feels ambivalent about Europe

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Bern threatens sanctions against Belarus

More

End of the line for UN rights commission

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A communist takes on the tax cutters

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EU cohesion fund needed to cement relationship

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