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Swiss back Palestinian UN observer status

Switzerland says it will vote in favour of the Palestinian bid for enhanced status at the United Nations, echoing similar announcements by France and a slew of other nations.

Swiss back Palestinian UN observer status
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas meeting with Swiss Foreign Affairs MInister Didier Burkhalter (Photo: AFP)

The Palestinian draft resolution to be voted on at the UN General Assembly on Thursday was "both constructive and pragmatic", the federal government said in a statement.

It said its decision chimed with Switzerland's policy to seek "a negotiated, just, and durable peace between Israel and an independent and
viable Palestinian state within secure and internationally recognised borders".

France on Tuesday became the first major European nation to say it would back the Palestinian bid to upgrade its United Nations status to that of a non-member observer state.

The proposal is set to sail through as it has the backing of the majority of the UN's 193 member states, although it is opposed by the United States, Israel's strongest ally.

A positive vote will improve the chances of the Palestinians joining the International Criminal Court and UN agencies, while Bern said it would also place "Israel and Palestine on an equal footing in future peace negotiations".

The Palestinians want to launch legal action at The Hague-based ICC to challenge Israel's occupation of the West Bank.

But Switzerland cautioned that observer states had "not only rights but also obligations", such as refraining from the threat or use of force, as enshrined in the UN Charter.

Bern's decision follows a visit to Switzerland on November 15th  by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who repeated his intention to relaunch the peace process after the UN vote, the Swiss statement said.

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UN

‘The war must end now’: UN Sec-Gen meets Swedish PM in Stockholm

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met Sweden's Prime Minister in Stockholm on Wednesday, ahead of the conference marking the 50th anniversary of the city's historic environment summit .

'The war must end now': UN Sec-Gen meets Swedish PM in Stockholm

After a bilateral meeting with Magdalena Andersson on the security situation in Europe, Guterres warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to a global food crisis that would hurt some of the world’s most vulnerable people. 

“It is causing immense suffering, destruction and devastation of the country. But it also inflames a three-dimensional global crisis in food, energy and finance that is pummelling the most vulnerable people, countries and economies,” the Portuguese diplomat told a joint press conference with Andersson. 

He stressed the need for “quick and decisive action to ensure a steady flow of food and energy,” including “lifting export restrictions, allocating surpluses and reserves to vulnerable populations and addressing food price increases to calm market volatility.”

Between the two, Russia and Ukraine produce around 30 percent of the global wheat supply.

Guterres was in Stockholm to take part in the Stockholm 50+ conference, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. 

The conference, which was held on the suggestion of the Swedish government in 1972 was the first UN meeting to discuss human impacts on the global environment, and led to the establishment of the UN Environment Program (UNEP). 

At the joint press conference, Andersson said that discussions continued between Sweden and Turkey over the country’s continuing opposition to Sweden’s application to join the Nato security alliance. 

“We have held discussions with Turkey and I’m looking forward to continuing the constructive meetings with Turkey in the near future,” she said, while refusing to go into detail on Turkey’s demands. 

“We are going to take the demands which have been made of Sweden directly with them, and the same goes for any misunderstandings which have arisen,” she said. 

At the press conference, Guterres condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “a violation of its territorial integrity and a violation of the UN Charter”.

“The war must end now,” he said. 

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