Parliament rejects unilateral Swiss sanctions

Parliament has voted against the move, but the issue is unlikely to go away. Keystone / Anthony Anex

In a final vote on Friday, the Swiss parliament rejected a proposal that would have allowed Switzerland to unilaterally sanction countries and individuals.

The House of Representatives rejected it by 118 votes to 70 on the last day of parliament’s autumn session, although it was approved by the Senate the same day. Previously it seemed that parliament had largely agreed to the move, provided Swiss companies were not disadvantaged.

Only the centrist parties voted in favour in the lower house. The right-wing Swiss People’s Party has consistently opposed such a move, saying that it would damage Switzerland’s neutrality. Left-wing and Green parties wanted to go further down the road of autonomous sanctions against individuals and entities involved in atrocities.

At present, the Swiss government can only opt to follow sanctions already imposed by the United Nations, the European Union or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE). The government had recommended keeping the current status quo on sanctions, saying that a change in policy could further expose Switzerland to counter-measures by other countries.

After some initial hesitation, Switzerland has followed EU sanctions against Russian entities and individuals over the war in Ukraine.