Switzerland

Seventy-third session
Item 73 (b) of the provisional agenda*
Promotion and protection of all human rights; human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms

Saving lives is not a crime

Note by the Secretary-General

Bern, 03.09.2018 - The Lake Chad region, located in the borders Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, has been seriously impacted by the armed conflict with the Boko Haram group. The local population is suffering from the violence, a disastrous humanitarian situation and inadequate infrastructure. Switzerland has committed CHF 20 million as part of a comprehensive approach involving humanitarian aid, development and peacebuilding.

La région du lac Tchad, frontalière avec le Nigéria, le Niger, le Tchad et le Cameroun, est le théâtre de violents affrontements avec le groupe Boko Haram. La population civile souffre des violences, de la situation humanitaire catastrophique et du manque d’infrastructures. En 2018, la Suisse s’engage à hauteur de 20 millions de francs dans les domaines de l’aide humanitaire, du développement et de la promotion de la paix, en privilégiant une approche globale.

UN CHEMIN: NON PAS LE PLUS COURT, MAIS LE PLUS DURABLE

Récemment, le directeur d’une organisation caritative suisse m’a envoyé un livre au titre résolument provocateur: Früher war alles schlechter («Autrefois, tout était pire»). Quelques semaines plus tôt, lors d’un trajet en train dans le nord de l’Inde, nous avions médité sur l’état du monde. Pour l’humanité dans son ensemble, notre «bilan intermédiaire» était positif. Par cet ouvrage, mon compagnon de voyage voulait certainement me dire que nous n’étions pas seuls devant ce constat.

Key figures:

192,513 Libyans currently internally displaced (IDPs)

372,741 returned IDPs (returns registered in 2016 - April 2018)

54,937 registered refugees and asylumseekers in the State of Libya

19,303 persons arrived in Italy by sea in 2018

871 monitoring visits to detention centres so far in 2018

1,527 asylum-seekers and refugees released from detention so far in 2018

1,858 vulnerable refugees and asylumseekers evacuated since November 2017

Funding:
USD 85 M required for 2018

Editorial

L’eau est un bien qui nous réunit sur cette planète dite «bleue». Notre totale dépendance à sa disponibilité limitée et à sa qualité relative nous porte à lui conférer une valeur centrale. Celle-ci nous conduirat-elle vers des conflits sans fin comme le dépeignent certains? Ou au contraire vers davantage de dialogue et de coopération, prémices de sociétés plus paisibles?

Communiqué de presse, 15.08.2018

In line with Switzerland's humanitarian tradition and its values of shared responsibility, equal opportunities and sustainable development, at its meeting on 15 August 2018 the Federal Council reached decisions on Switzerland’s contributions to the following four United Nations specialised agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the agency for gender equality and the empowerment of women, UN Women.

Ankara – Istanbul has increasingly become a destination city for migrants and refugees from countries such as Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. According to the latest available figures from the Turkish Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), these nationalities make up a majority of the over 500,000 registered foreign nationals in Istanbul and the 3,9 million registered nationwide. Many migrants and refugees from these countries are vulnerable and in need of assistance.

See at a glance how the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot supported its partners' response to global humanitarian crises in this overview of major shipments and events from January through June 2018.

Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 16 July 2018 – A delegation from Tajik governmental institutions involved in flood management went on a study tour to Switzerland and Bosnia and Herzegovina to learn to better deal with floods and strengthen the capacity in Tajikistan. The tour, which took place from 30 June to 7 July, was organized by the UNDP with the financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development.

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (16 July 2018) — The Embassy of Switzerland in Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement today to support the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF), recently established by the Government of Pakistan to finance investments in disaster risk reduction and preparedness that have high economic impact.

At an official ceremony in Harare this Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s political parties committed to respect a Code of Conduct for the first elections following the departure of former President Mugabe. Switzerland congratulates all political leaders on this key contribution to the prevention of violence and fraud, and calls on them to fully meet their commitments.

GA/12033-PAL/2223

General Assembly
Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary Contributions to UNRWA, 1st Meeting (PM)

A total of 20 donors today announced contributions, or their intention to contribute, to the 2018 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as officials called for stable financing for the Agency amid devastating conflicts and violence in the Middle East.

Human Rights Council
Thirty-eighth session
18 June–6 July 2018
Agenda item 4 Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

Summary

Bern, 06.06.2018 - Switzerland's eighth aid consignment has arrived in eastern Ukraine. It consists of six convoys, three of which are being sent across the line of contact to the region outside of Kyiv's control. The aid deliveries are mainly comprised of water treatment chemicals and medical supplies and equipment. This includes treatments for tuberculosis (TB) in the Luhansk area, which currently has the highest incidence of the disease in Europe.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) 285.000 Afghans have returned from Iran over the last five month constituting a 150.000 increase from the same period last year.

Overview

During the first three months of 2018, almost 9,700 refugees were submitted by UNHCR for resettlement1 to 13 countries in Europe.2 This is similar to the first quarter of 2017 and already almost twothirds of the average rate of 15,400 submissions per year during the previous 10 years.

The relocation scheme established by Council Decisions 2015/1523 and 2015/1601 (“Relocation Decisions”) to assist Italy and Greece over a two-year period from September 2015 has sparked heated debates at the EU level. Even though the Relocation Decisions formally expired on 26 September 2017, their effects continue to live on in the ongoing processing of pending relocation cases. At the same time, the relocation of asylum seekers has been at the heart of animated discussions on the reform of the Dublin system and sharing of protection responsibility between EU Member States.