The Swiss Senate is expected to decide on the UNRWA funding issue during the spring parliamentary session from February 26 to March 15.
Keystone-SDA
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Switzerland should stop payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) immediately, according to a Senate committee, which supports a related motion backed by the House of Representatives.
The Senate is expected to decide on this issue during the spring parliamentary session from February 26 to March 15.
On Tuesday the Senate Foreign Policy Committee narrowly accepted a motion calling for a suspension, proposed by the Swiss People’s Party parliamentarian David Zuberbühler.
This calls for an immediate halt to current and future Swiss financial support to UNRWA. The committee approved the motion by 6 votes to 6, with Marco Chiesa of the People’s Party casting the deciding vote. The House of Representatives gave its approval to the idea last September.
More
More
Swiss parliamentarians want to stop UNRWA funding
This content was published on
On Monday, one of the two chambers of parliament in Bern voted to immediately stop payments to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
The Senate committee believes that Switzerland should not provide financial support to an organisation with potential links to terrorism, it said on Tuesday. However, it believes that other organisations could carry out UNRWA’s activities.
Opponents argued that UNRWA’s activities are essential in the region and that the immediate suspension of funding would be tragic for the civilian population.
More
More
Switzerland and UNRWA: timeline of a rocky relationship
This content was published on
Switzerland is considering ending its funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees – the latest chapter in the country’s turbulent history with the agency.
In the meantime, the committee accepted another motion from the House of Representatives by 9 votes to 4, but modified the text. The foreign policy committees must be consulted before any contributions are made to UNRWA. In addition, these contributions must be used exclusively for the benefit of the civilian population in need in the Middle East.
In its initial version, the motion urges the Federal Council to engage with the international community in favour of a solution to replace UNRWA. Alternatives should be examined, for example the possibility of integrating aid to Palestinians into the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).
The committee also rejected a series of other texts. It unanimously rejected a motion calling for Switzerland’s contribution to UNRWA for 2024 to be reallocated directly to the Palestinian population to ensure that no money is transferred to UNRWA. The text has become obsolete, according to the committee.
The committee also rejected by 7 votes to 2, with 2 abstentions, an initiative by canton Geneva “for Switzerland to pay its contribution to UNRWA without further delay”. It also rejected, without opposition, three petitions from Amnesty International, the Centre for Non-Violent Action (CENAC) and the Campax association, which called for support for UNRWA and a commitment to an immediate ceasefire.
More
More
Swiss foreign ministry memo on UNRWA funding raises alarm
This content was published on
According to a Swiss foreign ministry internal memo, cutting off UNRWA supplies to Gaza could be a violation of the Genocide Convention.
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, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
More
Record year for wind power in Switzerland in 2024
This content was published on
Wind generated 160 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity across Switzerland last year, according to the Swiss Wind Energy Association (Suisse-Eole). It was a “good year but less exceptional than 2023”, it said.
Swiss authorities draw up new rules to manage PFAS
This content was published on
The Swiss federal authorities are working on drawing up regulations for toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”. A government report is expected by the end of the year.
Eugen Kägi, who helped build the family-run firm behind the popular chocolate-covered Kägi-fret wafers, died on February 13, aged 96, it was announced on Tuesday.
UBS among leading non-US investors in nuclear weapons producers, says study
This content was published on
The number of financial institutions funding major nuclear weapons manufacturers continues to fall, a new report shows. The Swiss bank UBS bank is one of the top 30 investors.
Around 68,000 Ukrainian refugees live in Switzerland
This content was published on
Three years after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, almost 68,000 Ukrainians are currently living in Switzerland as refugees with protection status S.
English and other foreign languages on rise in Switzerland
This content was published on
The proportion of people in Switzerland whose main language is not one of the four national languages – German, French, Italian or Romansh – has risen significantly in recent years.
Police bust drug trafficking ring in southern Switzerland
This content was published on
Valais cantonal police have broken up a major drug trafficking ring in the Sierre region in southern Switzerland. Thirty people, including minors, have been arrested.
Poll: Karin Keller-Sutter named most popular Swiss minister
This content was published on
Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter is the most popular member of Switzerland’s seven-person Federal Council (executive body), according to a new online survey carried out in the first week of February.
