GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Reform at the United Nations and issues of international security are being presented this week by Swiss President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf as priorities for the organization’s 67th General Assembly in New York.
Widmer-Schlumpf, who spoke on Monday 24 October at a high-level General Assembly meeting on the rule of law, and who is scheduled to address the official debate at General Assembly Tuesday 25 October, said that the international organization needs to be reformed in order to become more efficient. Making the Security Council more democratic continues to be a major concern, she added. The Security Council’s permanent members, which are the victorious powers following the Second World War, no longer represent today’s reality, according to the president of the Federal Council.
She said the Security Council should defer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court and that possible crimes against humanity may be investigated.
Switzerland became a member of the UN 10 years ago. Last month UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon addressed the Federal Assembly in Bern to commend Switzerland’s participation in the organization and its role in international poverty reduction.
More than 120 heads of state are expected to address the Assembly, which meets all this week. US President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak to the General Assembly on Tuesday at the opening of its ministerial session. France’s president François Hollande is also set to address the assembly Tuesday afternoon.
