Geneva ? The Swiss kicked off ceremonies Monday to end decades of isolation and follow the rest of the world into the United Nations, with festivities slated to feature its signature exports: chocolate and watches.

But in a final gesture of independence, they made it clear they would not change their flag.

The U.N. General Assembly is expected to formally admit Switzerland as its 190th member today during a ceremony in New York. To the accompaniment of the Swiss Army Band, the country’s flag a white cross on red background will then be hoisted to flutter as a lone square among the sea of rectangles.

After more than 50 years on the sidelines, Switzerland joined the United Nations after voters approved the move in March by a 55 percent majority.

In the last vote 16 years earlier, 75 percent opposed U.N. membership on the grounds it would endanger the Alpine nation’s revered neutrality in an era of acute East-West tensions.

This time around, the electorate heeded a government campaign that a rejection would be disastrous for the country’s international standing and that traditional neutrality was irrelevant given the end of the Cold War.

Switzerland’s membership leaves Vatican City as the only state with U.N. observer status.

To the relief of the Swiss, there will be no flag flap. U.N. rules stipulate that all flags must be rectangular, but the Swiss flag is unashamedly square. Legal experts studied U.N. protocol and found a clause stating that national laws prevail over the international norm in case of disagreement a similar loophole is used for Nepal’s flag, which consists of two stacked triangles.