Switzerland's good offices
Thanks to its mediation and facilitation efforts, Switzerland has played a part in resolving many international conflicts. It also represents the interests of states whose diplomatic relations have broken down and acts as a host for international conferences and high-level meetings. As a component of foreign policy, Switzerland's good offices are enshrined in its Federal Constitution.
As a neutral country with a long-standing federalist tradition, Switzerland regularly provides its good offices to parties in conflict. This may simply be a matter of offering its territory as a negotiating venue or go as far as active involvement. In such instances, Switzerland initiates contact between the opposing sides, offers to act as a mediator in order to find common ground and may even help negotiate a peace agreement.
In recent decades, Switzerland has been involved in as many as 30 negotiations in over 20 countries. For example, it successfully brokered the Nuba Mountains ceasefire agreement in Sudan. It took part in talks between rebel groups and the government in Colombia and facilitated official contacts between rebels and the government in Sri Lanka. It also helped bring about the peace agreement between Maoist rebels and the Nepalese government, as well as between the Mozambique government and opposition party Renamo. For years, Switzerland also aided the talks on Iran's nuclear programme. These negotiations were finally sealed with the signing of an agreement in 2015. In the context of Russia's ongoing military aggression against Ukraine, Switzerland organised a Summit on Peace in Ukraine in June 2024. The aim of the meeting, which was attended by 100 delegations from around the world, was to reach a common understanding on a path to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
Recent years have seen an increase in intra-state conflicts. Switzerland has adapted its good offices accordingly, now offering these services to rival groups within a country, as well as state representatives. Nowadays, Switzerland is often involved in operations coordinated by multiple countries, the European Union or by international organisations such as the UN or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In the case of the civil war in Syria, for example, it had seconded specialist staff to the UN, hosted talks in Geneva in 2016 and set up the Civil Society Support Room platform.
Switzerland's good offices also include ‹protecting power› mandates in the event of a conflict between two states. These involve Switzerland acting as a ‹postbox›, representing the diplomatic interests of the one state in the other, thereby allowing both sides to maintain a minimum level of relations. It currently has eight such mandates: Iran in Egypt and Canada, the US in Iran, Russia in Georgia and vice versa, Ecuador in Mexico and vice versa, and Ecuador in Venezuela.