Parliament endorses Swiss commitment to mine clearance efforts in Ukraine
Ukraine is the country most contaminated with mines in the world. According to estimates by the Ukrainian government, around 40% of the country's territory is contaminated with landmines or ammunition remnants.
KEYSTONE
Parliament wants to strengthen Switzerland's commitment to mine clearance in Ukraine. After the House of Representatives, the Senate has also adopted a corresponding motion from the Social Democratic Party on Monday.
The Senate approved the motion without a countermotion. As however it had amended the motion in one point, the House of Representatives is now required to deal with it again.
Specifically, the motion put forth by the Social Democratic Party calls for the defence ministry to develop an international programme for mine clearance in cooperation with organisations active in war zones. The motion calls for Switzerland to also provide “significant financial and personnel support” for the programme.
More
More
Swiss government requests billions for army
This content was published on
Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd has asked for CHF4.9 billion ($5.5 billion) to equip the armed forces.
The Federal Council agreed to the request. In its response, it pointed out that Switzerland was already active in demining efforts. The army and the Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GIHCD), Switzerland has the necessary capabilities and resources.
The defence ministry and GIHCD have jointly organised mine clearance courses in Switzerland and Ukraine. The foreign ministry also provides financial support to the globally active Swiss Foundation for Demining (FSD), which is based in Geneva.
The Senate’s Security Policy Committee voted in favour of the motion by ten votes to one, with one abstention. However, it added a clause to the text of the motion stating that the federal government should favour Swiss companies active in the field of mine clearance wherever possible. The House of Representatives will now have to decide on the motion.
Ukraine is the country most contaminated with mines in the world, said commission spokesperson Charles Juillard. According to estimates by the Ukrainian government, around 40% of the country’s territory is contaminated with landmines or ammunition remnants.
More
More
How two years of war in Ukraine have marked Switzerland
This content was published on
Switzerland, a country which has long managed to side-step conflicts, has not been left unruffled by two years of war in Europe.
Defence Minister Viola Amherd described the Senate committee’s addition as unnecessary. Her department and the foreign ministry were already undertaking demining efforts, for example through cooperation with the Digger Foundation in canton Bern, which develops and builds mine clearance equipment. “It doesn’t change anything about our work,” Amherd said.
Adapted from German by DeepL/mg/amva
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, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Workplace Switzerland
Meet the foreigners who make up a quarter of the Swiss population
What can be done to protect biodiversity in your country?
Swiss voters are set to decide on a people’s initiative calling for better protection of ecosystems in the country. Have your say on the September 22 vote.
SWISS and Lufthansa among Europe’s worst for punctuality
This content was published on
Swiss International Air Lines and its German parent company Lufthansa failed to shine this summer for punctuality and reliability.
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
How two years of war in Ukraine have marked Switzerland
This content was published on
Switzerland, a country which has long managed to side-step conflicts, has not been left unruffled by two years of war in Europe.
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.