According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on September 28, Swiss official results showed that Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected several proposals advocating for Switzerland to adhere more strictly to its tradition of diplomatic neutrality.
According to statistics, more than 70% of Swiss voters voted against these proposals. Under these proposals, Switzerland would not be allowed to impose sanctions on other countries without the approval of the United Nations. These proposals would also prevent Switzerland from establishing closer relations with NATO military alliances.
The Russo-Ukraine war has reignited debates surrounding Switzerland’s non-aligned stance that has persisted for centuries.
According to Lucas Göld, joint director of the research organization Gfs.bern, Swiss voters “do not reject neutrality,” but this vote indicates that Switzerland supports sanctions against Russia.
Gold claims: “People know what the goals of Switzerland’s neutrality should be.”
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Casisi said in a recent television debate that "neutrality has always been applied with some flexibility."
Despite Switzerland's intention not to lift the ban on selling weapons to conflict-stricken countries, he stressed "neutrality does not mean indifference".
Kassis added that when those international rules that allow us to live in peace are violated, Switzerland "will not remain indifferent".
In 1815, during the period of European wars and turmoil, the Congress of Vienna awarded Switzerland the status of "permanent neutrality," thereby gaining international recognition.
Subsequently, this neutral status was legally defined in the Hague Convention of 1907, which prohibited Switzerland from supplying weapons to warring nations. Switzerland had previously rejected Germany’s requests to supply ammunition for tanks sent to Kyiv.
The BBC states that Switzerland maintained neutrality during World War II. Its banks received gold that was stolen by the Nazis; moreover, in order to prevent Nazi Germany from invading, Switzerland refused access to thousands of Jewish refugees.
