Representatives of the “Small Five” facing the membership

The “Small Five” or S-5 (Costa Rica, Liechtenstein, Jordan, Singapore, Switzerland) presented their draft resolution on improving the working methods of the Security Council to the membership. At the well-attended meeting, the Permanent Representatives of the S-5 invited participants to adopt the draft which was tabled at the end of March. The resolution suggests to the Security Council, the UN’s most powerful body, a number of measures to improve transparency, accountability and dialogue with the 178 Member States that are not on the Council. The measures proposed do not require any changes of the UN Charter.

 Working Methods of the Security Council

On 3 March 2002, the Swiss people adopted a popular initiative mandating Switzerland to join the United Nations. 1 489 062 yes votes (54,6 percent) and 1 237 719 no votes were counted. 57,6 percent of all eligible citizens participated in the vote. Besides the popular vote, a majority of cantons (states) was required to adopt the initiative. 12 cantons voted yes, 11 voted no. Switzerland is the only country to join the United Nations on the basis of a popular vote.

Based on the report of the Human Rights Council special session of last December, the General Assembly debated the situation in Syria. Addressing the mounting violence in the country, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated that according to “independent, credible and corroborating accounts” there was a “widespread and systematic attack on civilians” ongoing, and that “the Government of Syria has manifestly failed its obligation to protect its population” . Among the more than 30 speakers in the debate, Swiss Permanent Representative Paul Seger took the floor, condemning the accelerating “spiral of violence” and the repression against the civilian population. Switzerland demands that all humanitarian actors can operate without interference and that the situation in Syria remains on the agenda of the UN and that all its organs cooperate together. Switzerland specifically called on the Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court without delay and on Syria to cooperate “to the fullest extent” with the Human Rights Council’s Independent Commission of Inquiry and future Special Rapporteur.

Prof. Walter Kälin

The States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights elected Professor Walter Kälin as member of the Human Rights Committee, a treaty body composed of 18 experts which monitors the application of the Covenant. Prof. Kälin, a renowned expert in international human rights law, replaces Prof. Helen Keller who, after having been elected in 2010, had to resign recently, following her election as a judge to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Prof. Kälin will now complete the mandate held before by Prof. Keller, which will end in 2014. He had already been a member of the Committee from 2003 to 2008. Besides holding other important international functions he was also the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on the human rights of internally displaced persons from 2004 to 2010. Born in 1951, he teaches constitutional and international law as member of the Law Faculty of the University of Berne (Switzerland).