Madam Chair,
Switzerland is shocked by the attack in Krasnogorsk and we would like to once more express our deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Russian people, and wish a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured.
Madam Chair,
It remains Switzerland’s strong conviction that it is of the utmost importance to ensure the full compliance of all measures taken to prevent and counter violent extremism and terrorism with international law, in particular international humanitarian law and human rights law. Not only is this a legal imperative, it is also the only way to achieve sustainable results. In addition, it is important to ensure that all such measures are gender-responsive. Ignoring these dimensions will not allow us to succeed in our common counter-terrorism efforts in the long term.
Against this background, targeted sanctions are an important and legitimate tool available to the international community when countering terrorism, but also to ensure respect for international law, including human rights law, and the rule of law. Great progress has been made with the introduction of humanitarian exemptions and specific targeting to avoid undesirable consequences of sanctions on the civilian population.
The sanctions adopted by the Security Council must be fully implemented. Their weakening or non-compliance cannot be justified by concerns about their unintended effects. This, however, goes hand in hand with the consistent application of humanitarian exemptions.
Finally, every state has the right to conduct its trade relations as it sees fit, in compliance with international law.
I thank you.