Switzerland pledges CHF68 million in aid for Syria in 2019
The UN had estimated that it would need €4.4 billion in 2019 to assist some 5.6 million displaced Syrians.
Keystone / Murtaja Lateef
The Swiss contribution for this year was announced on Thursday at the third EU-UN conference on Syria held in Brussels.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/ac
Of the total, CHF61 million (€53.7 million) will be used to assist people in need in Syria and the region, while CHF7 million will go towards “peace promotion and international law”. The announcement was made during State Secretary Pascale Baeriswyl’s speech at the event.
“One area that deserves immediate attention is the fate of the tens of thousands of detainees and missing persons, as well as their families,” she said.
In total, the European Union has pledged to release €2 billion. In addition, Germany has committed €1.4 billion, the UK €464 million and Austria €9 million. In total $7 billion was pledged at the conference. The UN had estimated that around $9 billion would be needed in 2019.
Contributions had fallen short of expectations at the 2018 conference. “We had asked for $9 billion; the promises totalled $6 billion,” explained the UN representative.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
In Zurich, Syrians mobilise in bid to boost mental health
This content was published on
The men and women gathered in a spartan room are a moving reminder of the vitality and diversity of Syrian society when the country was blooming.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.