Unofficial translation
Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The countries of the Sahel are long-standing friends of Switzerland. For forty years they have also been our active partners in development. Switzerland pays careful attention to developments in this region and their immediate consequences for the rest of West Africa, North Africa and Europe.
Our ties are close and strong. And Switzerland is all the more concerned in view of the recent events in the region, in particular in Mali.
The situation in Mali is a threat to the entire region’s peace and security, as Security Council Resolution 2056 has underlined. It demands the immediate attention of the international community.
Switzerland has paid particular attention to this region and been active in it for many years. When it became apparent that stability in the Sahel-Saharan region was in increasing danger, Switzerland made dialogue space available in the various regions of Mali and neighboring Nigeria.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The situation also demands our solidarity. Switzerland is also active on this front. We share the suffering of all the people of Mali and, where security conditions allow, we continue to support them. Since the start of the food and security crisis affecting the region, Switzerland has considerably increased its humanitarian aid.
A return to peace is essential. This peace must first and foremost be wanted, negotiated and organized by the Malians themselves. Mali’s transitional President declared recently, on the occasion of their 52nd anniversary of independence, that “dialogue and negotiation remain the preferred choice”.
The Government of Mali knows that: it has the encouragement and support of Switzerland as it seeks to negotiate an end to the conflict.
From the outset of the crisis, Switzerland clearly stated its preference for the preservation of Mali’s territorial integrity. Switzerland stated this publicly, repeated it in the context of its mediation role, and reaffirms it here.
Switzerland is convinced: peace can only be restored if a dialogue framework is established, allowing the parties to negotiate.
To be effective, this framework must be simultaneously guaranteed and supported by the international community. We warmly thank the Secretary-General for his efforts in trying to establish such a process. The United Nations’ integrated strategy for the Sahel provides an essential reference point for common action for peace and development in the region. We welcome the decision to appoint a special representative for the Sahel. This is a strong sign of the international community’s engagement in this region.
Since the end of March, Mali can count upon the support of ECOWAS which has entrusted to Burkina Faso the task of flanking Mali in ending the crisis. Switzerland has lent its support to this regional mediation effort. Switzerland’s engagement was the result of a request from the Malian authorities as well as one of the parties to the conflict, the MNLA. Within this context Switzerland, as always, is providing its good offices in an impartial manner.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We must unite and double our efforts to help Mali out of this crisis as quickly as possible.
To this end:
- We must support the Government of Mali in its bid to approach the rebel movements in the North in particular by helping it to rapidly establish useful channels for real dialogue.
- We must firmly support the mediation efforts and allow them to provide a dialogue framework between the parties in conflict.
- We must recognize the importance of the active participation of all Mali’s neighboring countries in the process. This support must not only be constant, but also flexible, informal and close, resulting in a joint reflection by the international community, the Government of Mali, the armed groups and the mediator, within a defined and common framework.
- We must encourage the parties in conflict to reach agreement on a sustainable end to the crisis.
- Finally, we must integrate and coordinate development projects so that they benefit all the communities and regions of the country with their consent.
You will have understood that Switzerland is prepared to continue its commitment to finding peace through dialogue in Mali. Peace which we would like to see benefit all Malians and all of the regions populations who are greatly suffering from the havoc of war.
Thank you.