Swiss government proposes CHF10 million UNRWA donation

Schoolchildren pass by an UNRWA logo in Amman, Jordan. Keystone

After months of debate, the government has said it wants to release CHF10 million ($11 million) for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. A decision on a second envelope of CHF10 million will be taken later in the year.

This payment is in response to UNRWA’s appeal for humanitarian aid, ministers said in a press release. It is intended exclusively for Gaza and to cover the organisation’s most urgent needs for the rest of 2024: food, water, shelter, primary healthcare and logistics.

Some 2.3 million people in Gaza, including 1.7 million displaced persons, are dependent on emergency aid, and the UN is warning of the imminent risk of famine. The Swiss government said it “recognises this emergency situation”.

+ Read more: the allegations upending UNRWA’s efforts in Gaza

UNRWA has been in turmoil since Israel accused the agency and some of its employees of directly supporting Hamas during the bloody attacks on Israel on October 7. Various donor countries suspended their contributions to UNRWA in January because of the accusations. Many have since resumed payments.

Initially, Switzerland was to donate CHF20 million for 2024. These funds were suspended since last December, pending a decision by government, which also had to consult the foreign policy committees in parliament.

A government spokesman said on Wednesday that the second tranche of CHF10 million would be the subject of a decision later in the year.

The current decision also takes account of the conclusions of a report by the independent review group headed by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, the government continued.

+ More: can the Colonna report restore UNRWA’s credibility?

The report, whose aim was to examine UNRWA’s neutrality, found that the organisation had a solid monitoring system. However, it also made 50 recommendations to further strengthen neutrality, particularly in the areas of communication, educational material and the use of infrastructure.

Parliament’s foreign policy committees will yet have to decide on the Swiss contribution. One of the two committees recently recommended that the government release part of the planned CHF20 million, while also calling for Switzerland to make no further payments to UNRWA in the medium term.

Adapted from French by DeepL/dos

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