Switzerland to join U.N.

GENEVA -- Handing out chocolate and special-issue Swatches, the Swiss kicked off ceremonies Monday to end decades of splendid isolation and follow the rest of the world into the United Nations.\nBut in a final gesture of independence, they made it clear they would not change their flag.\nThe U.N. General Assembly is expected to formally admit Switzerland as its 190th member during a ceremony in New York Tuesday. To the accompaniment of the Swiss Army Band, the country's flag -- a white cross on red background -- will then be hoisted to flutter as a lone square among the sea of rectangles.\n"Finally Switzerland will be at home as a member of the U.N. family," declared Bertrand Louis, ambassador to U.N. offices in Geneva.\n"When the Swiss delegation steps down from his observer seat to join the main U.N. body, it will be a big step. It will be a step out of the shadows."\nAfter more than 50 years on the sidelines, Switzerland joined the United Nations after voters approved the move in March by a 55 percent majority.\nIn the last vote 16 years earlier, 75 percent opposed U.N. membership on the grounds it would endanger the Alpine nation's revered neutrality in an era of acute East-West tensions.\nThis time around, the electorate heeded a government campaign that a rejection would be disastrous for the country's international standing and that traditional neutrality was irrelevant given the end of the Cold War.\nSwitzerland will be sandwiched between Sweden and Syria on the U.N.'s alphabetical list. Switzerland's membership leaves the Vatican as the only state with U.N. observer status.\nFalling on the eve of the anniversary of Sept. 11, Switzerland's membership ceremony will be low-key. Undeterred, the Swiss have made elaborate preparations to broadcast the proceedings live on a big screen in downtown Geneva.\nMedia reports say gifts of Swiss chocolate and Swatch watches emblazoned with the national flag will be given to guests at a diplomatic reception in New York.\nTo the relief of the Swiss, there will be no flag flap.\nU.N. rules stipulate that all flags must be rectangular, but the Swiss flag is unashamedly square. Legal experts studied U.N. protocol and found a clause stating that national laws prevail over the international norm in case of disagreement -- a similar loophole used for Nepal's flag, which consists of two stacked triangles.\nHowever, Switzerland agreed to reduce the size of its flag so it will not be larger than emblems like the Stars and Stripes.\n"Our flag is square," Foreign Ministry spokesman Daniel Haener said. "We are sticking to our law. But it's not a big problem and it doesn't change the world."\nSwiss President Kasper Villiger -- who voted against membership in 1986 -- will head the Swiss delegation to New York, bringing along Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss.\nLast year, Deiss watched gloomily from the observer seats, sandwiched between the Vatican and the Palestinian delegation, as other ministers took to the stage to condemn terrorism.\nSwitzerland's membership actually will not change much. The country already is an active member of specialized agencies like the World Health Organization, International Labor Organization and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.