Switzerland delays final decision on UN migration pact
Posted Nov 21, 2018 08:43:07 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
GENEVA — The Swiss government says the country won’t attend a conference next month at which a U.N.-backed agreement on migration is to be approved because it wants to wait for parliamentary debates at home before giving its final blessing.
Switzerland’s governing Federal Council said in October it planned to adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, but would put it to parliament for consultation as required by law.
The non-binding pact has drawn opposition from nationalists in several countries. The U.S., Hungary, Austria, Israel and Poland have said they won’t back it.
An intergovernmental conference in Marrakech, Morocco on Dec. 10-11 is due to approve the accord.
The Federal Council said Wednesday that Switzerland won’t attend, but reiterated that it believes the pact is “consistent with Switzerland’s interests.”
The Associated Press
