Humanitarian law “not an à la carte right”: Swiss foreign minister
Cassis: humanitarian law "cannot be an à la carte right".
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Humanitarian law “not an à la carte right”: Swiss foreign minister
The Geneva Conventions are not "an à la carte right" to pick and choose only when they are convenient, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in a speech on Monday. Cassis called for countries to send a "political signal" and to "set an example" in an increasingly turbulent world.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Français
fr
Cassis: le droit humanitaire ne “peut être un droit à la carte”
Original
United Nations Security Council members, with the exception of Russia, are in Geneva for an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions.
More
More
Geneva Conventions: protecting prisoners of war for 75 years
This content was published on
The Geneva Conventions have existed for 75 years. A look into how they have developed.
From Sudan to the Middle East, via Ukraine and Yemen, “international humanitarian law is being severely tested”, said Cassis. The 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions provides an “opportunity to reaffirm our common responsibilities” with regard to an agreement that has saved “millions of people”.
His counterpart from Sierra Leone, Timothy Musa Kabba, whose country holds the Security Council presidency for August, recalled that he had been a child soldier. “I would not be the person I am without the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the international community”, he said.
Among the 15 members of the Council, Russia, which is at odds with Bern over Ukraine, declined the invitation, considering it “a waste of time”.
More
More
Seventy-five years of the Geneva Conventions in pictures
This content was published on
A look through the decades at the Geneva Conventions, which, when they were adopted in 1949, were a continuation of earlier provisions of international humanitarian law.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Foreign affairs
What Trump’s return or a new Harris administration would mean for Switzerland
Should raw milk sales be banned or should consumers decide?
Swiss food regulations do not allow raw milk to be sold for direct consumption. However, a loophole allows 400 raw milk vending machines to do just that.
Is reforming the Swiss pension system still possible, and if so, how?
Solutions still need to be found to meet the challenge of an ageing population and to improve the pensions of low-paid workers, the majority of whom are women.
Poll suggests Donald Trump has many fans in Switzerland
This content was published on
Around a quarter of Swiss citizens would vote for Donald Trump if they had the chance, according to a recent poll. This percentage is higher than in many other European countries.
Swiss court rejects special assistance for student with disabilities
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Court has rejected an application for special assistance from a student with disabilities at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich.
Police arrest 15 drug dealers in Verbier in southern Switzerland
This content was published on
Swiss and French police have arrested 15 suspected drug dealers operating in the mountain resort of Verbier in southern Switzerland.
New European space tech centre in Switzerland launches its first project
This content was published on
The European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI), launched in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), is to be located in the immediate vicinity of the PSI in northern Switzerland.
Swiss Federal Railways launches campaign for safety on public transport
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Railways is launching a campaign for greater respect and safety on public transport, with posters to go up in stations and on trains starting next week.
Swiss scientists to use AI for improved weather and climate forecasts
This content was published on
MeteoSwiss and the Swiss Data Science Center have signed a four-year agreement to make greater use of AI in meteorology and climatology going forward.
This content was published on
Prices of owner-occupied homes rose in the third quarter of 2024 by 0.5%, with inflation affecting both apartments and single-family houses, says the Federal Statistical Office.
This content was published on
The honey harvest is projected to be lower than usual this year, as Swiss beekeepers report harvesting an average of just 16kg of honey per bee colony.
More young refugees in Switzerland following vocational training
This content was published on
More than half of young refugees and temporarily admitted persons between the ages of 16 and 25 are now in training. This is significantly more than five years ago.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.