GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss government says the country won't attend a conference next month at which a U.N.-backed agreement on migration is to be approved because it wants to wait for parliamentary debates at home before giving its final blessing.
Switzerland's governing Federal Council said in October it planned to adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, but would put it to parliament for consultation as required by law.
The non-binding pact has drawn opposition from nationalists in several countries. The U.S., Hungary, Austria, Israel and Poland have said they won't back it.
An intergovernmental conference in Marrakech, Morocco on Dec. 10-11 is due to approve the accord.
The Federal Council said Wednesday that Switzerland won't attend, but reiterated that it believes the pact is "consistent with Switzerland's interests."
Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.
