Road to Lausanne

At the 'Geneva Day', which took place on 16 January 2024 as part of the World Economic Forum, the Swiss Mission to the United Nations and the FDFA's Peace and Human Rights Division hosted an event on humanitarian mine action. In addition to President Viola Amherd and Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, the event was attended by Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister, Yuliia Svyrydenko, Philipp Hildebrand, Vice Chairman of BlackRock, and Assistant Secretary Ramin Toloui of the US State Department.  

Ukraine at heart of talks in Davos

On 17 and 18 April, representatives from more than 50 countries and organisations gathered at an international workshop in Kyiv to discuss measures for identifying and clearing mines and unexploded ordnance in Ukraine. Good coordination of national activities and international support are crucial to ensure that this work can progress swiftly and effectively. The workshop was co-organised by the GICHD.  Switzerland, whose delegation at the conference was led by Ambassador Simon Geissbühler, has a long history of supporting humanitarian demining through the GICHD and other organisations. Clearing the country of mines is a key prerequisite for Ukraine's recovery.

During the workshop, Ukraine unveiled its strategy for humanitarian demining to be implemented over the next decade:  how Ukraine's national humanitarian demining programme will be implemented over the next few years; how suspected contaminated areas can be inspected; how mines and explosive remnants of war can be surveyed, identified, documented and cleared; which innovative approaches, such as the use of drones, can assist in this process; which financing mechanisms can be used for humanitarian demining; and how international support must be coordinated to achieve the best possible impact.

On 12 June 2024, Ambassador Patricia Danzi, director-general of the SDC, explained Switzerland's expertise in this area and the challenges in Ukraine at a URC2024 panel discussion on humanitarian mine action in Berlin.