Swiss foreign policymakers want to pay part of the money to UNRWA
Now: The Federal Council is being asked to make the first payment to the Palestinian Relief Organization – but with conditions.
Commission President Laurent Verley and Vice-President Sibel Arslan comment to the media on decisions related to funding the United Nations relief agency UNRWA.
Photography: Alessandro Della Valle (Keystone)
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The responsible National Council committee wants to maintain partial support for the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA, but sets conditions. The committee did not decide the amount. The Federal Council will discuss the file soon.
The Foreign Policy Committee of the National Assembly (APK-N) has met several times on this topic in the past few weeks. Commission President Laurent Verley (FDP/VD) told the media in Bern on Tuesday that in light of the catastrophic humanitarian situation currently prevailing in Gaza, Switzerland's support for UNRWA must be partially maintained.
Specifically, APK-N calls on the Federal Council to provide the first payment to UNRWA. This was decided by a vote of 13 to 11. However, the aid organization must be able to guarantee that Swiss funds will only be used for emergency aid and humanitarian aid. You have to go through channels that are still working locally, Werley added.
The committee did not specify the size of the partial contribution to UNRWA. The Federal Council will have to decide this matter. Switzerland was originally supposed to pay 20 million francs for 2024. The motion that wanted the full amount released immediately was rejected by 16 votes to 8 in the APK-N.
No more direct money transfers
However, in the medium term, Switzerland should not fund UNRWA directly, according to the committee. It put forward a corresponding motion by 12 votes to 9. Accordingly, aid to Gaza should be adjusted so that the Swiss contribution is redirected to emergency aid for the Palestinian civilian population.
According to the text of the proposal, this is intended to provide direct financial or material support to a wide range of relief efforts – such as food and medicine deliveries – regardless of who is carrying out the logistics implementation on site.
This should ensure that aid supplies reach the Gaza Strip through safe corridors and can be made available to the population free of charge. “No direct financial transfers should be made to UNRWA.”
Switzerland is one of the largest donors to the United Nations agency. However, it suspended the payment after Israel accused UNRWA employees of being linked to the October 7 massacre. The International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations have recently made clear that they cannot replace the work of UNRWA.
The head of UNRWA is partly relieved
Pressure to release funds domestically is also increasing. In a press announcement published at the beginning of the week, dozens of Swiss figures demanded the release of frozen UNRWA funds. These include former SP federal advisers Micheline Calmy-Rey and Ruth Dreyfus.
They wrote that there was no evidence that the UN agency “played a harmful role in this conflict.” Based on its experience with the site and existing structures, UNRWA is currently in a position to provide significant humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population.
At an event held in Geneva, UNRWA Secretary-General Philippe Lazzarini expressed his delight at APK-N’s recommendation to continue providing partial support to the agency. He believes it is important for Switzerland to continue its humanitarian traditions in the region.
When asked about the proposal that UNRWA should no longer be funded directly in the medium term, Lazzarini said he hoped that would not happen “until Switzerland and the other Member States work to create a Palestinian state, that is, before Switzerland and the other Member States work to create a Palestinian state.” “. The agency could withdraw from the region.
Ball in the Federal Council
Amnesty International Switzerland “expects the Federal Council to act quickly and release the funds UNRWA urgently needs,” it said in a statement. Switzerland, as the depository of the Geneva Conventions, should not side with the warring party in this conflict, but only with international law.
As part of studying the 2024 budget, the Swiss Parliament decided to suspend Swiss aid. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis announced on Tuesday, on the sidelines of an event in Solothurn, that the Federal Council would deal with the file “immediately.”
SDA/prime
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