Swiss Senate committee wants to stop UNRWA funding

The Swiss Senate is expected to decide on the UNRWA funding issue during the spring parliamentary session from February 26 to March 15. Keystone-SDA

Switzerland should stop payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) immediately, according to a Senate committee, which supports a related motion backed by the House of Representatives.

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The Senate is expected to decide on this issue during the spring parliamentary session from February 26 to March 15.

On Tuesday the Senate Foreign Policy Committee narrowly accepted a motion calling for a suspension, proposed by the Swiss People’s Party parliamentarian David Zuberbühler.

This calls for an immediate halt to current and future Swiss financial support to UNRWA. The committee approved the motion by 6 votes to 6, with Marco Chiesa of the People’s Party casting the deciding vote. The House of Representatives gave its approval to the idea last September.

The Senate committee believes that Switzerland should not provide financial support to an organisation with potential links to terrorism, it said on Tuesday. However, it believes that other organisations could carry out UNRWA’s activities.

Opponents argued that UNRWA’s activities are essential in the region and that the immediate suspension of funding would be tragic for the civilian population.

Consult the committees

In the meantime, the committee accepted another motion from the House of Representatives by 9 votes to 4, but modified the text. The foreign policy committees must be consulted before any contributions are made to UNRWA. In addition, these contributions must be used exclusively for the benefit of the civilian population in need in the Middle East.

In its initial version, the motion urges the Federal Council to engage with the international community in favour of a solution to replace UNRWA. Alternatives should be examined, for example the possibility of integrating aid to Palestinians into the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

+ Read more about the allegations against UNRWA in Gaza

The committee also rejected a series of other texts. It unanimously rejected a motion calling for Switzerland’s contribution to UNRWA for 2024 to be reallocated directly to the Palestinian population to ensure that no money is transferred to UNRWA. The text has become obsolete, according to the committee.

The committee also rejected by 7 votes to 2, with 2 abstentions, an initiative by canton Geneva “for Switzerland to pay its contribution to UNRWA without further delay”. It also rejected, without opposition, three petitions from Amnesty International, the Centre for Non-Violent Action (CENAC) and the Campax association, which called for support for UNRWA and a commitment to an immediate ceasefire.

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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