Two petitions signed by around 45,000 people are calling on the Federal Council and parliament to secure funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The non-governmental organisation Amnesty International Switzerland submitted the petitions in Bern on Monday with a campaign entitled “Humanitarian Switzerland, where are you?”.
The petitions call on Switzerland to “reflect on its humanitarian tradition and clearly stand on the side of international law”, as stated in the press release on Monday.
Switzerland continues to withhold its financial contribution of CHF20 million ($21.9 million) per year to UNRWA. This is due to allegations of terrorism against several of its employees in connection with the attacks by the radical Islamic group Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, the civilian population in the Gaza Strip is threatened by war and hunger, Amnesty Switzerland announced. This is despite the fact that the Israeli government has not yet provided any evidence for the serious allegations against UNRWA employees. Following Israel’s accusations, several states suspended funding for UNRWA. “This draconian decision has a catastrophic impact on the lives and survival of millions of people,” said Amnesty Switzerland.
More
More
Inside Geneva: what’s the future of UNRWA?
This content was published on
Israel has accused the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) of being involved in the October 7 attacks. We spoke to the UNRWA head to find out more.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives is expected to decide on the funding of the aid organisation at the beginning of the week. As part of its review of the 2024 budget, the Federal Assembly decided to suspend Swiss aid. The government announced last week that it would make a decision “at a later date”.
Amnesty continues to call on Switzerland to do everything possible to ensure that the recently adopted United Nations Security Council resolution – which calls for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and humanitarian aid for Gaza – is implemented.
External Content
Adapted from German by DeepL/dkk/mga
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Switzerland to introduce flight passenger database
This content was published on
Switzerland plans to introduce a flight passenger database to collect and process personal data in a bid to combat terrorism and serious crime.
Government plans to invest over CHF16bn in Swiss rail network
This content was published on
The federal government intends to invest CHF16.4 billion ($18.1 billion) in railway infrastructure between 2025 and 2028, CHF2 billion more than for the current period.
Swiss to vote on pension reform and biodiversity in September
This content was published on
Swiss citizens will vote on occupational pension schemes and a biodiversity initiative on September 22, the Federal Council announced on Wednesday.
Ukraine peace talks: 50 countries have confirmed participation
This content was published on
To date, 50 countries out 160 invited delegations have confirmed they will attend the Ukraine peace conference, held in central Switzerland in mid-June, according to Swiss public radio, RTS.
Federer-backed On boosts forecast after sneaker demand rises
This content was published on
Swiss footwear company On Holding AG posted strong first-quarter revenue, boosted by demand for its running shoes and new line of training apparel.
Michael Schumacher’s watches fetch CHF4 million at Swiss auction
This content was published on
Watches belonging to Formula 1 great Michael Schumacher sold for around CHF4 million ($4.41 million) at auction house Christie's in Geneva on Tuesday.
Macron will attend Swiss summit on Ukraine, says Zelensky
This content was published on
French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the peace conference on Ukraine at the Swiss Bürgenstock resort next month, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
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.