International Geneva and Switzerland were the focus of three important diplomatic events last week, but the results are not yet easily determined. Far from the press frenzy of the Roman Polanski case, some serious news events were taking place with potentially noteworthy consequences.
First, and in no particular order, Richard Goldstone presented his findings on the recent Israel-Gaza confrontation to the Human Rights Council. The Report placed blame on both sides for their actions, but specifically placed considerable responsibility on Israel for systematically targeting civilians during their attacks. Judge Goldstone called for internal investigations on both sides, and if not forthcoming, eventual action by the UN Security Council and the International Court of Justice. His accusations were denied by Israel and concrete follow-up postponed until this spring for fear of intervening in the current peace negotiations.
Second, Swiss Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini presented her report to the European Union on the causes of the conflict between Georgia and Russia. In a highly detailed examination of all the events, she pointed to Georgia as the factual aggressor while underlining the provocative activities of Russia before the August 7 flare-up. In addition, she underlined the disproportionality of Russia’s response and its illegal recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent entities following the hostilities.
Finally, Iran sat down at the table in Geneva with the United States, other members of the Security Council, Germany, and the European Union to negotiate its nuclear program. All sides agreed that the IAEA would investigate the Qom facility within two weeks with Russia and France offering to upgrade Iranian nuclear material for medical use.
All three events are obvious successes for Swiss diplomacy, badly in need of uplifting after the UBS, Libyan and Polanski negative headlines. But, although each event is important diplomatically and filled with hope, the follow-up consequences are far from clear. What happens if Israel and Hamas are not punished for their actions, which were labeled as serious offenses, if not war crimes and/or crimes against humanity? What happens if Russia and Georgia continue to have skirmishes on the border with Abkhazia and South Ossetia being recognized by only 3 countries? Is this grey zone acceptable, like the Western Sahara and Kosovo being recognized only by certain countries? Finally, what happens if Iran continues to develop nuclear material in other secret facilities or refuses further inspection or the French-Russian offer?
The International Court of Justice made a powerful ruling about Israel’s construction of a wall separating it from its neighbors. The Swiss were the given the responsibility for the follow-up. Ambassador Jeno Staehlin wrote an excellent report which has remained lost in the bottom of diplomatic drawers. Will these three events be forgotten or will there be real breakthroughs?
