The UN Security Council today unanimously extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights – a mountain range on the border between Syria and Israel – for six months. The Security Council first mandated the UNDOF in May 1974, making it one of the longest running UN missions. UNDOF’s deployment dates back to the "Yom Kippur War" between Israel and Syria, which broke out in October 1973 and was fought in part on the Golan Heights. In May of the following year, the two parties to the conflict agreed to a cease-fire and the establishment of a demilitarized zone in Geneva. Since then, UNDOF monitors the demilitarized zone and compliance with the ceasefire between Israel and Syria.
Switzerland supported the resolution in the Security Council because the UNDOF makes an important contribution to peace and stability in the Middle East. Against the background of the escalation of violence in the Middle East following the terrorist attacks by Hamas on 7 October and the major regional tensions, this mission is all the more important in order to avoid a regionalization of the current conflict.
