Switzerland pledges CHF61 million for Syrians

In March children play inside the old central prison in Idlib, northwestern Syria, now transformed into a camp for people displaced by fighting Keystone

Switzerland intends to provide CHF61 million ($64.4 million) this year for measures to assist the Syrian population and civilians needing help in neighbouring countries.

Over the past decade, the war in Syria has resulted in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. It said continued fighting and violations of international humanitarian law were impeding the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid.

“As a geopolitical and humanitarian hotspot on Europe’s doorstep, the ongoing Syrian conflict also directly affects Switzerland’s foreign policy and security policy interests. Switzerland not only provides financial support for the needy population in Syria, it also works to advocate peacebuilding, in particular efforts to find a political solution to the conflict,” it said.

At the fourth meeting of the EU-UN conference Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region – which took place on Tuesday in a virtual format due to the Covid-19 crisis – the international community pledged $7.7 billion (CHF7.3 billion). Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis pledged CHF61 million for the second year running.

The foreign ministry noted that the civil war in Syria was an important issue for the UN Security Council in the area of peace and security, and as such is also crucial to Switzerland’s candidacy for a seat on the UN Security Council in 2023-24.