UN Humanitarian Appeal 2007
Switzerland will provide the UN with 19 million Swiss francs for humanitarian aid. Toni Frisch, the Federal Council's Delegate for Humanitarian Aid, outlined the main thrust of Switzerland's commitment within the UN framework at a donor conference in Geneva.
As a donor, Switzerland has clear ideas about the direction international humanitarian aid should take. As Toni Frisch told a media briefing in Geneva, Switzerland's main concerns are improved identification of requirements, clearer setting of priorities and better coordination of humanitarian aid players.
Certification of humanitarian organisations is one way to improve mission coordination. "This ensures a professional approach in a crisis situation. Players that act purely for PR kudos can be better curbed," Frisch explained. This process was launched by the intergovernmental network INSARAG, which is presided over by Switzerland. INSARAG deals with search and rescue operations in towns as well as with disaster management issues. Forgotten or neglected crises are also a special area of interest. As Frisch put it: "When the media do not report - or no longer report - on such tragedies, it is the duty of donor countries to remind the public about them."
Farsighted commitment
The procurement of financial resources in crisis situations is a time-consuming process. To allow an immediate response to crises, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) set up a separate fund in 2006 with resources that are immediately available. In 2007, Switzerland will support this "Central Emergency Response Fund" (CERF) with 10 million Swiss francs, while a further 30 million are to go to the Red Cross movementand other international relief agencies, or are to be used for bilateral activities.
The 2007 appeal
This year, 3.9 billion USD are needed to be able to cover worldwide humanitarian needs. The biggest challenges are in Sudan (1.3 billion USD), followed by Congo (687 million USD) and the Palestinian Territories (454 million USD). Switzerland is part of a group of 10 donor countries that have already honoured their pledges, but there is still a shortfall of around three billion USD. "The aim, of course, is to achieve 100% coverage," said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Margareta Wallström, "Nothing else is acceptable." In 2006 the donor countries covered just 63% of the budget.