Swiss foreign ministry memo on UNRWA funding raises alarm

After a temporary suspension, Switzerland has resumed its payments to UNRWA. However, the 2024 envelope has been halved, from CHF20 million ($23 million) to CHF10 million. Keystone-SDA

According to an internal memo from the Swiss foreign ministry, cutting off UNRWA supplies to Gaza could place Switzerland in a position where it could be accused of violating the Genocide Convention.

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Switzerland could be prosecuted for complicity, even though proceedings have already been opened against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), according to the memo.

This assessment by the foreign ministry, which Swiss public television RTSExternal link was able to consult, has not been put forward for discussion. It is a key element in the debate on the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) funding that is currently underway in Swiss Parliament.

The document, which RTS’s investigation department reviewed, was drafted in February 2024 by the Swiss foreign ministry’s Directorate of Public International Law. It came a few days after the International Court of Justice adopted precautionary measures against Israel following a complaint by South Africa for violation of the Genocide Convention in the Gaza Strip.

In this note, foreign ministry lawyers assess the potential consequences of this procedure for Switzerland should it decide to cut UNRWA’s funding. “One of the crimes of genocide is the fact of subjecting a targeted population to conditions of existence intended to bring about its total or partial physical destruction,” Philippe Currat, a lawyer specialising in international criminal law, told RTS. “As soon as Switzerland stops funding UNRWA, it has a direct impact on the living conditions to which the civilian population is subjected. And from that point on, it can become an accomplice to an act of genocide.”

Swiss obligations

“Urgent measures to improve the humanitarian situation are necessary to prevent the risk of genocide,” say the foreign ministry’s legal experts in the document. “According to Article 1 of the Genocide Convention, all contracting parties, including Switzerland, are obliged to do everything in their power to prevent genocide. In this case, this applies not only to the supply of arms, but above all to the provision of humanitarian aid,” they continue.

Cutting off this body’s funding could have serious consequences, warn the authors: “It cannot be ruled out that Switzerland’s decision could be considered a potential violation of its obligations in terms of prevention and therefore a violation of the Genocide Convention”.

In an interview with RTS, the head of the Directorate of Public International Law, Franz Perrez, said he has all the arguments to respond to a possible complaint.

Which ones? The ambassador didn’t specify but highlighted that it was a “provisional assessment.” He noted, “Of course, we’ve deepened our analysis. But what’s important is that the analysis and its conclusions haven’t changed. At present, we maintain the same positions as those in this document.” He assured today that the conclusion “was very clear: if Switzerland stopped its support for UNRWA, it wouldn’t be a violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”

Parliament in the dark

Nicolas Walder, deputy head of the Green party and a member of the foreign policy parliamentary committee, is surprised that he has not been informed of this document. On April 17, he tabled a motion calling on the government to assess the risks for Switzerland if contributions to UNRWA were to cease.

“This document was never mentioned by the federal government, never mentioned before our committee. And at no time were these risks, confirmed by this note, of finally being accused of not having taken all the measures to avoid genocide, mentioned, despite my requests on the subject,” the parliamentarian told RTS.

Budget cut

On September 9, the Swiss House of Representatives acted on a motion from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, demanding that contributions to UNRWA be suspended for collusion with Hamas. Parliamentarian Pierre-André Page from the People’s Party believes that the foreign ministry’s note does not change the situation.

“We do not have proof that UNRWA is not financing Hamas, and until we have it, we are financing other humanitarian associations to continue to help this population, which is a victim of this war”.

After a temporary suspension, Switzerland has resumed its payments to UNRWA. However, the 2024 envelope has been halved, from CHF20 million ($23 million) to CHF10 million. The 2025 contribution is subject to approval by parliament. The ball is in the court of the Senate. The government is recommending that parliamentarians do not cut UNRWA’s funding. RTS contacted the foreign ministry to find out why the note from its legal experts was not included in the government’s arguments to parliament. This question remained unanswered.

Translated from French by DeepL/jdp

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This article was updated on November 13 to reflect changes made to the original article by RTS.