Switzerland is to provide SFr1.4 million ($1.23 million) in emergency aid for the victims of the civil war in the north of Sri Lanka.
This content was published on
1 minute
The foreign ministry has also renewed its appeal to the Sri Lankan government and the separatist Tamil Tiger rebel group to respect international humanitarian law.
An extra SFr1 million will be added to the SFr6.5 million already budgeted this year for civilian aid. The funds are to be split between the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations Refugee Agency and the World Food Programme.
The Sri Lankan health ministry will also receive SFr200,000 worth of pharmaceuticals, while non-governmental organisation World Concern has been allocated the same sum for its medical work with victims.
The foreign ministry said on Thursday it was particularly concerned by the plight of the tens of thousands of internally displaced people.
Switzerland appealed to Colombo to allow humanitarian specialists access to the population affected by the war.
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.
Read more
More
Swiss refocus humanitarian aid
This content was published on
But speaking before the annual conference of the humanitarian aid unit of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Calmy-Rey employed imagery from a long-standing conflict. “We were all shocked to see these images,” the foreign minister said in Bern against a backdrop of images from January’s conflict in the Gaza Strip. Apart from…
This content was published on
Reinhard Fichtl from Swiss children’s charity Terre des Hommes told swissinfo that the most important thing for aid agencies was to get unlimited access to those in need, but he also stressed the importance of a political, as opposed to military, solution. Earlier on Tuesday the Sri Lankan military accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil…
This content was published on
The Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross is a neutral and independent organization whose mission is to protect victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance. It also directs and coordinates international relief activities in situations of conflict.
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.