Swiss Abroad

Swiss in human rights hot seat

This content was published on May 8, 2008 Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and a 20-strong Swiss delegation were grilled by some 40 states on Thursday about issues ranging from racism, migrant and women’s rights, naturalisations to the lack of a national human rights institution. Switzerland is part of the second group of 16 countries, including Pakistan, France and Japan, to be scrutinized over…

Swiss Politics

Situation “desperate” following Myanmar cyclone

This content was published on May 8, 2008 Peter Achten tells swissinfo that as victims wait for essential supplies to arrive from abroad, dissatisfaction is growing over the military authorities’ response. Foreign aid is trickling in, but aid workers are stuck on the Thai border waiting for permission to enter Myanmar. Achten, who reports for Swiss public radio, happened to be in the…

Swiss Politics

Swiss congratulate state of Israel

This content was published on May 7, 2008 In a letter published on Wednesday President Pascal Couchepin assured Israel of Switzerland’s support in efforts for a lasting peace in the Middle East. Couchepin also pointed out the long-standing friendly relations between the two countries and recalled that Switzerland hosted the first Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897. However, Israel did not invite a…

Swiss Politics

“More effective” policy to aid fewer countries

This content was published on May 6, 2008 Switzerland’s foreign aid arm is planning to drop five states – Ecuador, Peru, Bhutan, Pakistan and India – from the list for 2009-2012. The decision follows a government review of the country’s foreign development strategy, which it on Tuesday said must be made “more effective”. The pared-town list of target countries, released by the SDC,…

Swiss Politics

Swiss send aid for “monumental catastrophe”

This content was published on May 6, 2008 The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has contributed SFr500,000 and the Swiss Red Cross SFr200,000. The Swiss aid, which will focus on providing care, drinking water and shelter, is part of international efforts to bring relief to victims of Cyclone Nargis, which tore through the country’s rice bowl and biggest city of Yangon…

Swiss Politics

Rich face plans for higher taxes

This content was published on May 6, 2008 The necessary signatures required for a nationwide ballot were handed in to the federal authorities in Bern on Tuesday. The Party’s president, Christian Levrat, said that in future families with children should reap the benefit of the tax system and not the rich. “We want an end to tax gifts and privileges for the very…

Swiss Politics

Swiss prepare aid for Myanmar

This content was published on May 6, 2008 The foreign ministry said it would make an initial donation of SFr500,000 ($476,170). The Swiss Red Cross has pledged SFr200,000. A public fundraising campaign has also been launched to help the victims in southeast Asia. Four aid officials will travel to the disaster area as soon as the military authorities grant entrance visas, said Toni…

Swiss Politics

Calmy-Rey regrets Israeli “non-invitation”

This content was published on May 4, 2008 Switzerland will be represented at the festivities through its ambassador in Tel Aviv, she told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper, published on Sunday. “Personally, I am disappointed that our country was not invited at government level,” she said. Officials at the Israeli Embassy in the Swiss capital, Bern, and at the United Nations in Geneva could not…

Swiss Politics

Fighting for freedom of speech

This content was published on May 3, 2008 The president of the Swiss section of Reporters Without Borders tells swissinfo about Tunisia, where two men are on hunger strike to fight for their rights. “Tunisia is among around 30 countries that we qualify as predatory, where either the citizens or journalists are followed, threatened or imprisoned,” explained Gérald Sapey. These countries do not…

Swiss Politics

Kinshasa calls on Swiss to back peace efforts

This content was published on May 2, 2008 Switzerland contributes SFr10 million ($9.5 million) annually to United Nations peacekeeping forces in the region and has dispatched three military officers to the capital, Kinshasa. The Congolese defence minister, Chikez Diemu, called on Switzerland to support a reform of the armed forces and programmes for the re-integration of soldiers into society, according to Swiss officials.…

Swiss Abroad

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