Swiss Senate opposes cuts to NGOs

Budget: Council of States opposes cuts to NGOs Keystone-SDA

The Swiss Senate has refused to make drastic cuts to 2026 funding earmarked for NGOs in International Geneva.

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It therefore opposed the House of Representative’s planned cut of almost CHF30 million. This would reduce the budget from CHF305.6 million to CHF277.4 million.

+ Swiss budget cuts raise pressure on International Geneva

The Senate opted for a compromise of CHF300 million for multilateral organisations. The parliamentary chamber viewed the proposed 10% cut would lead to restructuring.

The ICRC, the World Food Programme and UNICEF are among the 24 organisations that benefit from these funds.

Senators also defended the funds for the Federal Office for Equality, arguing that enough money should be made available, particularly in anticipation of the hotline for victims of gender-based violence, which is due to go live in May.

Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said it was not “fair” to make savings in this area. Hundreds protested in front of parliament house following a threat to cut CHF1 million from the fund for fighting violence against women.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

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