Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation
07/15/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/15/2024 08:38
Head of Directorate of International Law signs agreement on legal status of NATO liaison office in Geneva
NATO is opening a multilateral liaison office in Geneva to engage with the international and non-governmental organisations based there. In Bern today, the director general of the Directorate of International Law at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Franz Perrez, and John Swords, the legal adviser and director of the NATO Office of Legal Affairs, signed an agreement governing the office's legal status.
After New York and Vienna, NATO is now seeking to strengthen its ties with international organisations in Geneva too. To this end, it announced in summer 2023 its intention to open a liaison office in Geneva.
Switzerland is facilitating this office's establishment in its capacity as a host state. In this context, Mr Perrez, head of the FDFA's Directorate of International Law and Mr Swords, legal adviser and director of NATO's Office of Legal Affairs, signed a headquarters agreement in Bern today. The agreement governs matters including the legal status of the liaison office, as well as privileges and immunities. It was concluded on the basis of Switzerland's Host State Act.
Switzerland received the official request from NATO to open a liaison office at the end of 2023. After the Federal Council approved the opening of such an office, the FDFA was instructed to work out the next steps in cooperation with NATO. After consulting the Cantons of Geneva and Vaud, the Federal Council approved the signing of the headquarters agreement on 26 June 2024.
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