Swiss voting in historic U.N. poll

A Swiss woman casts her vote in a suburb of Geneva

ZURICH, Switzerland (CNN) -- Activists in Switzerland's referendum on whether to join the United Nations have been working right up to Sunday's close of polling seeking to sway the undecided.

Yes campaigners like the Swiss Business Federation have been warning their nation that isolation is a danger and that joining up is a patriotic duty. Switzerland's neutrality, they insist, is not at stake.

Rudolf Ramsauer, of Economiesuisse, said: "We want to point out -- no, this neutrality is no obstacle to entry to the U.N.. On the contrary we could probably bring our experience in neutrality, also in mediation and in conflict resolving into the U.N.."

The man who launched the movement for change insists that Swiss neutrality is anyway a myth.

Swiss Member of Parliament Remo Gysin said: "For instance all economic embargoes -- we did exactly what the United Nations did , so this kind of neutrality is already lost in the Nineties."

VIDEO The Swiss vote in a nationwide referendum on whether they should join the United Nations. CNN's Robin Oakley reports (March 1) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    QUICKVOTE If Switzerland joins the United Nations, will its neutrality be compromised? Yes No View Results

But opponents of Switzerland becoming the U.N.'s 190th member are equally vehement.

Swiss Member of Parliament Hans Fehr said: "Of course, No. Because Switzerland is a free country and we have a democracy. The people take the final decisions. We don't want to change and take orders from the larger countries."

In Geneva, host to the U.N.'s European headquarters, you might expect to find some enthusiasm for Switzerland going multilateralist.

Here in Berne opinion about joining the U.N. is more divided.

Most agree though that the cost of joining isn't an issue -- Switzerland is a big contributor to the U.N. from outside.

In Zurich yes campaigners, some of whom want to see Switzerland join the European Union too, say it is time for their country to stop going it alone.

Member of parliament Andreas Gross said: "This will open the people, this will make our parliament discuss more foreign policy issues and because we discuss this more the perception of the world and the relation between Switzerland and the world will change for the better."

The Swiss, who came down against U.N. membership the last time they were asked in 1986, do not go in for fast-food democracy.

Organising a campaign, getting up a petition and debating the issue in parliament has taken nearly five years.

But that is not surprising perhaps with a vote which could change not just the U.N. membership roll but a fiercely independent country's whole scale of involvement with the outside world.