Switzerland
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.
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.
Brussels, 16 May 2018
The Commission is today reporting on progress made under the European Agenda on Migration and the Commission's roadmap from December 2017, and is setting out further key actions to be taken.
Le trimestre écoulé a été marqué par une poursuite et une intensification des violences armées dans les préfectures de la Nana-Gribizi, la Ouaka, l’Ouham, l’Ouham Pende et de la Haute Kotto. Cette situation a provoqué des déplacements de population, comme à Bria qui a accueilli 20 000 nouveaux déplacés, et des exactions tant contre les civils que les acteurs humanitaires. Dans certaines zones comme à Kaga Bandoro, cette insécurité a aussi causé le pillage des bases et l’arrêt temporaire des activités des partenaires humanitaires.
09 de mayo de 2018, Ciudad de Guatemala, República de Guatemala. La Secretaría Ejecutiva del Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de los Desastres en América Central y República Dominicana -CEPREDENAC- presentó los resultados e impacto del Proyecto Regional “Fortalecimiento del Proceso de Alianzas Público-Privadas para el Desarrollo y Mecanismos Regionales para la Reducción de Riesgo de Desastres en Centroamérica”, el cual fue implementado durante el período de noviembre 2016 a abril 2018, con el apoyo de la Cooperación Suiza en América Central.
JERUSALEM – The Government of Switzerland, through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, has provided the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) with a generous contribution of CHF1.5 million (approximately US$1.5 million) to provide much-needed food assistance to Palestinians facing hardship.
WFP will use the funds to meet the food needs and support the livelihoods of 65,000 people for one and a half months. The majority of those receiving support are women and children who struggle to make ends meet in the wake of an acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
DEVELOPMENTS
COUNTRIES OF FIRST ARRIVAL
In Numbers
3,134 mt of food assistance distributed
US$488,779 m cash based transfers made
US$25.5 m six months (April-September 2018) net funding requirements, representing 8.2% of total needs
Operational Updates
Some 33,000 children arrived in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and Spain in 2017. Although this is an almost 70% decrease compared to 2016, in 2017 the proportion of children arriving unaccompanied or separated (UASC) has increased by 31%
Some 20,000 unaccompanied and separated children arrived in Europe in 2017. 4 in every 5 UASC arrived in Italy. On average 86% of children arriving in Italy and Spain are UASC.
This desk review report is part of the outputs of the first phase of IOM’s project implementation on data collection to enable a better understanding of migration flows from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan and Somalia towards Europe. This study, rolled out by DTM with support from various IOM country offices, aims to collect data to foster a better understanding of migration movements from Somalia to Europe.
KYIV/DONETSK, 21 April 2018 - A UNICEF convoy carrying essential humanitarian supplies has reached the non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, with the support of the Government of Switzerland.
On the occasion of the second Syria conference, held by the EU and UN in Brussels on 24-25 April, Switzerland is increasing its commitment to the Syrian crisis. In 2018 it will allocate CHF 61 million to support the population in need in Syria and neighbouring countries and a further CHF 7 million to promote peace in the region. Switzerland was represented at the conference by the FDFA's Deputy State Secretary Krystyna Marty.
By Robert Gloy in Zürich
The Zurich-based organization Social Fabric provides tailoring and dressmaking classes for refugees keen to acquire new skills.
Among the colourful fabrics and sewing machines in a Zürich clothing workshop, Jamila leans across her workbench and carefully smooths the fabric of a black-and-yellow dress she is making, adjusting the hem and inserting pins here and there.
In a few days’ time she will put the finishing touches to the dress and take it home.
La République démocratique du Congo (RDC) est frappée par l’une des plus graves crises humanitaires au monde. Le pays est aussi confronté à une épidémie de choléra. Des millions de personnes dépendent d’une assistance humanitaire. Les représentants de plusieurs Etats et des organisations humanitaires se sont réunis aujourd’hui à Genève pour soutenir la réponse internationale à cette crise. Il s’agissait de la première conférence humanitaire de haut-niveau consacrée à la RDC. La Suisse soutiendra les opérations d’urgence à hauteur de 12,5 millions de francs pour cette année.
Bern, 13.04.2018 - The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is gripped by one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The country now also faces a cholera epidemic, while millions of its people are dependent on humanitarian assistance. Representatives of several states and humanitarian organisations met today in Geneva to support the international response to this crisis. This was the first high-level humanitarian conference devoted to the DRC. Switzerland will provide CHF 12.5 million this year to support emergency operations in the country.
Push for transfers at any cost – the Dublin system in 2017
The 2017 Dublin Update, published by the Asylum Information Database, releases figures for 18 European countries revealing an increase in transfers in the aftermath of European Union and domestic political commitments for a stricter enforcement of the Dublin system.
