Minister: ‘UN aid agency is part of the problem in the Middle East’
Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis heading to Jordan on Monday
Keystone
United Nations aid work for Palestinian refugees is a stumbling block to peace in the Middle East, hindering the integration of Palestinians who have lived in Jordan and Lebanon for years, according to Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
This content was published on
2 minutes
SDA-ATS/ts
Deutsch
de
Nahost-Experten sind überrascht von Cassis’ Aussagen zur UNRWA
So long as Palestinians live in refugee camps, they can dream of returning home, he said in an interviewExternal link published in several Swiss newspapers on Thursday.
Five million Palestinian refugees currently live in such camps, with aid and protection provided by the UNRWAExternal link, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
More
More
Life in Jordan’s desert city
This content was published on
Swiss photographer Olivier Vogelsang visited the Zaatari refugee camp in April 2013 and witnessed work by UNHCR and non-governmental organisations Terre des Hommes and Caritas for refugee children and families. The Zaatari refugee camp is about 70 kilometers north of the Jordanian capital Amman, near the town of Mafraq and 30 kilometers from the Syrian…
“It is unrealistic that all of them can fulfil this dream. Yet the UNRWA keeps this dream alive,” Cassis said. “For a long time the UNRWA was the solution to this problem, but today it has become part of the problem. It supplies the ammunition to continue the conflict. By supporting the UNRWA, we keep the conflict alive. It’s a perverse logic.”
He called for the integration of long-term refugees in their countries of residence. Instead of UNRWA schools and hospitals, he said Switzerland could support Jordanian facilities to promote the integration of Palestinian refugees.
Financial crisis
Unlike the United States, Switzerland does not want to significantly reduce or end UNRWA involvement.
“In other cases that’s a good move: if there’s no money, things finally happen,” Cassis said. “But in this case, that’s a big risk: millions of Palestinians could end up on the street. If all nations refused to contribute to the UNRWA, a machinery would collapse that ensures a certain stability. This is a risk that Switzerland can’t afford – perhaps unlike the US.”
The UNRWA was founded in 1949External link following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict and is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. The Swiss foreign affairs ministry says it is set to pay CHF21.2 million ($21.2 million) for 2018.
The US this year cut its contribution from $360 million to $60 million. “This is our largest funding crisis ever,” said the UNRWA’s Swiss head Pierre Krähenbühl on April 24.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
Aussie adoptee gains Swiss citizenship at 54 thanks to old envelope
Should Switzerland take measures to support its struggling industries?
Industrial policies are back in fashion, not only in the United States but also in the EU. Should Switzerland, where various industries are struggling, draw inspiration from such policies?
This content was published on
Economics Minister Guy Parmelin and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis have welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang to Bern
Michelle Hunziker to co-present Eurovision Song Contest
This content was published on
Swiss-Italian television moderator Michelle Hunziker will be one of the presenters of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), scheduled for May 13-17 in Basel.
Business travellers face highest public transport costs in Switzerland
This content was published on
Public transport ticket prices for adults in Switzerland are around the European average, according to a study. Swiss senior citizens and business travellers tend to pay more.
This content was published on
The amount of unproductive land in Switzerland has hardly changed in recent decades. Nationwide, it shrank by around 2% between 1985 and 2018.
Rescue teams had hands full at Lauberhorn ski race
This content was published on
From broken bones to heart attacks, the rescue teams had a busy weekend at the Ski World Cup in Wengen, which attracted a record 80,000 fans.
Swiss solar company Meyer Burger secures additional financing
This content was published on
The bridge financing concluded to stabilise the Swiss company has been extended and increased. The company has also launched a takeover process.
Centre Party president rules out run for Swiss government post
This content was published on
Outgoing Centre Party president Gerhard Pfister will not join the race to replace defence minister Viola Amherd in the Swiss government, the politician announced on Saturday.
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
Switzerland ‘extremely worried’ by US aid cuts to Palestinians
This content was published on
The Swiss foreign ministry says it is preoccupied by the US aid cut to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Swiss NGOs on frontline of South Sudan’s forgotten war
This content was published on
We look at how the four-year civil war is affecting the population and how two Swiss NGOs are helping alleviate the suffering.
This content was published on
For the past few months, Syrians in besieged areas have been dying of hunger, thirst, sickness and more recently of cold and not only because of the daily fighting on both sides. They made bread out of lentils when there was no more flour and when the lentils ran out, they ate cats, dogs and…
This content was published on
The vast makeshift Greek refugee camp Idomeni became a stark symbol of the European refugee crisis. But amid the despair, there was also solidarity.
This content was published on
Alain Berset, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, says Switzerland supports the full implementation of the recommendations made by an advisory commission headed by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on resolving the Rohingya crisis. Berset made this statement on Tuesday while visiting refugee camps in Bangladesh to talk to Rohingya Muslim refugees who…
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.