Gruppe für eine Schweiz ohne Armee

Text of the Initiative for abolishing Swiss Army

  

Text of GSsA/GSoA/GSsE Initiative for abolishing Swiss army adopted by the General Assembly on November 24, 1996

"Security, not Defence"

I The Federal Constitution shall be modified as follows:

Art. 17

  1. Switzerland has no army.
  2. The Confederation, the cantons , the communities and private bodies are prohibited by law to establish or maintain a military force. Exception can bee foreseen in the case of legal provisions for the participation by the Confederation in international peace-keeping forces outside the territory of Switzerland. Any law and state contracts concerning armed participation have to be put to an obligatory popular voting.
  3. The civil tasks, as disaster relief, exercised by the army up to now shall be assumed by the con-federal, cantonal, and communal authorities.

Art. 18

The goal of the security policy of the Confederation is to diminish injustice as the cause of conflict. To this purpose it shall be guided by democratic values, human rights and the principle of peaceful means for resolving conflict. In particular, the Confederation shall promote equal opportunity and justice among men and women, social groups and peoples, as well as the environmental and equitable distribution of natural resources.

II Articles 13, 15: 2nd sentence, 19-22, 34th para.1 letter d, 42 letter c , 85 no. 9 and 102 no.11 of the Federal Constitution are hereby annulled.

III The transitory dispositions of the Constitution are modified as follows:

Art. 24 (new)

  1. Following the ratification of the constitutional provisions of Articles 17 and 18 by the people and the cantons, the basic training schools, repetition courses, and other military instruction courses shall be abolished.
  2. The infrastructure and logistics of the army have to be abolished or transferred to civil use within 10 years.
  3. The Confederation supports the restructuring of the affected branches of administration and industry with projects for conversion to useful civil production and services and supports affected people and regions.

 

© Gruppe für eine Schweiz ohne Armee, 10.03.2006, Webdesign dbu