Mr Markus Mäder, State Secretary for Security Policy of Switzerland,
H.E. Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli, Ambassador of Switzerland to the Republic of Korea,
Mr Seung Joo Baek, President of the Korean War-memorial Organization,
Dr Chul Soo Kim, President of the Republic of Korea National Red Cross (KNRC),
Ms Jungmee Sohn, Vice President of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA),
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, the Embassy of Switzerland to the Republic of Korea, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, the Republic of Korea National Red Cross, and the Korean War Memorial Organization for making today’s ceremony possible.
We mark in 2024 the 75th anniversary of the four Geneva Conventions. They are foundational treaties of international humanitarian law that exist to prevent some of armed conflicts’ worst consequences and to preserve humanity.
International humanitarian law aims to protect persons who are not, or are no longer, taking part in hostilities, and to limit the means and methods of warfare, thereby saving lives and reducing suffering.
Today, we must reaffirm our unwavering commitment to continue working for the respect of the Geneva Conventions, especially given what we see in armed conflicts around the world:
The fact is