Swiss voters yesterday finally agreed to join the United Nations in a referendum. The 'yes' vote had support from the government, media and the business community. In an unusually high 58% turnout, 55% voted in favour of joining - but the result was in doubt until the last minute because a majority of cantonal votes was required as well as an absolute majority, and this was only secured late in the day.
The way is now clear for Switzerland to take up its seat as the 190th member of the UN – only the Vatican now remains outside its ranks. Foreign minister Joseph Deiss hailed the move as a big step for Switzerland: “I’m proud to be Swiss because I felt during the whole campaign that our citizens wanted to defend their independence, their values, their sovereignty,” he said. “And on the other hand this ‘yes’ to the UN signifies that nevertheless we are prepared to play our part on the international stage.”
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was pleased with Sunday’s result. He said it was a vote of confidence in the work and ideals of the UN and a commitment by Switzerland to the values of the world body.
Right wing politician Christoph Blocher, who had fought bitterly against joining,
said the decision would weaken Switzerland, arguing that Swiss neutrality would
be compromised by membership because the country would be forced to obey the
US-dominated UN Security Council. Objectors also pointed to the SFr540m annual
cost of membership - the government pointed out that Switzerland already pays
about SFr470 million per year. The UN’s European headquarters are based
in Geneva.
The Swiss business community had spent last week urging the country to vote 'yes' in the referendum. Although the ambivalence of Switzerland's businesses towards the UN had been a major factor in the decision to remain an observer in the global organisation last time a referendum was held on the subject, times have changed, and major companies such as UBS, Novartis, and Nestle joined the Government in their support of the move towards full membership, arguing that the country has nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
'On an economic level, almost half our GDP is generated with foreigners and it doesn't make sense not to join the only real universal organisation,' Rudolf Ramsauer, Head of Economiesuisse told the Swissinfo news service on Friday. He added that if the vote on Sunday went against UN membership, the business community would be likely to react with incomprehension, as Geneva already plays host to the organisation's European headquarters.
'There is no reason to reject membership particularly if you are already footing the bill - then, of course, you should participate in decision making. The world simply wouldn't understand.' .
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