The Swiss Candidacy for the UN Security Council
For the first time, Switzerland applies to take a seat as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, for the period from 2023 to 2024. Switzerland has good chances of being elected. However, the candidacy has proven controversial domestically. Being a member of the Security Council would undeniably entail many opportunities, but also some risks, as Fabien Merz argues in this CSS Analysis.
Many of the most pressing challenges today – among them pandemics, migration, and terrorism – are of a global nature. Accordingly, they must be tackled at the international level. The UN, founded in 1945, is the multilateral forum where the international community jointly addresses such transnational issues. The UN Security Council is the authoritative body regarding the promotion of peace and international security; its decisions are binding by international law. Switzerland has been a full member of the UN since 2002. In 2011, after a long and broad-based consultative process, it decided to apply for a seat as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the period from 2023 to 2024.