Switzerland hosted United Nations Security Council members at a meeting in Geneva on Monday to recommit to international humanitarian law, describing an "alarming" global context characterized by over 120 armed conflicts, with Russia the only member absent.
Switzerland, which is one of the 15 members, organized the informal meeting to commemorate the Geneva Conventions, signed 75 years ago after WWII in the Swiss city to limit the barbarity of war.
"I call for us to raise respect of the Geneva Conventions to the level of a top political priority," Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told the meeting attended by envoys from a range of countries, including 14 of the 15 UN Security Council members.
Asked about Russia's absence, he said that all members were invited to think about international humanitarian law collectively but said attendance was not compulsory.