Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

The Whooping Cranes captured in our photo of the day (see below) passed over Switzerland today – a Switzerland that finds itself concerned on multiple fronts.

The focus today is on the Middle East, as Israel’s latest decision to ban the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, raises numerous questions.

Meanwhile, at home, worries are growing about Switzerland’s air quality: while improvements have been made, the country is still short of its self-imposed targets.

In addition, our briefing covers social welfare rates and takes a look at why Switzerland’s foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis, has maintained a lower media profile this year.

Enjoy the read!

Epa/Abir Sultan

Switzerland voices concern over Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA activities

Switzerland has expressed unease over Israel’s recent move to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which serves Palestinian refugees in the Near East. According to a statement shared overnight on the social media platform X, the Swiss foreign ministry in Bern is concerned about the humanitarian, political and legal implications of this decision, aligning its stance with other European nations, including Italy.

Under new laws passed by the Israeli parliament, the UN agency has been stripped of its legal immunities, reducing its capacity to provide support to Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This measure was implemented despite the United States urging Israel to reject it, as Israel accuses UNRWA of having links to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

In Switzerland, UNRWA’s alleged ties to Hamas were also debated in parliament last month. A motion by Daniel Züberbühler of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, which called for an end to Swiss funding of the UN agency, was approved by the House of Representatives despite opposition from the committee and the government. The Senate still needs to vote on this motion.

• Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)External link article (in German)

Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

Switzerland’s air quality shows progress, but targets remain unmet

Switzerland’s air quality has improved, yet further work is required to meet the country’s environmental goals. According to a report published today by the Federal Office for the Environment and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA), there have been notable successes in reducing pollutants like sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and zinc.

However, the 2023 limits for ozone levels were exceeded at all 16 air quality monitoring stations, in some cases by a significant margin. In canton Ticino, concentrations of fine dust also surpassed safe thresholds. Nitrogen levels in ecosystems also remain too high, indicating that the country’s objective of achieving clean air has yet to be realised, with further emissions reductions needed.

• News from BlickExternal link (in French) and Swiss public radio, RSIExternal link (in Italian)

Keystone / Christian Beutler

Social assistance rates drop, but mental health cases rise

Social assistance rates in Swiss cities are currently at historic lows. However, there has been a significant increase in individuals seeking support due to mental health issues. Social assistance rates, which measure the percentage of residents receiving assistance, have declined across 12 of the 14 cities surveyed by the cities initiative for social policy. In 11 of these cities, the rates are lower than they were a decade ago. The surveyed cities include Basel, Bern, Biel, Chur, Lausanne, Lucerne, St Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schlieren, Uster, Wädenswil, Winterthur, Zug and Zurich. The cities credit the trend mainly to a strong job market, as nearly all sectors are currently seeking workers.

However, the report highlights a rising number of social assistance cases linked to mental health issues, with 13 out of the 14 cities seeing an increase over the past five years. The report’s authors note a shortage of resources for rapid assessment and treatment, particularly for young people, girls and children.

• Details from Swiss public television, SRFExternal link (in German) and Swiss public radio, RSIExternal link (in Italian)

Keystone / Peter Schneider

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis under scrutiny for his silence

The French-speaking daily Le Temps has dubbed Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis the “minister of silence” and criticised the head of the Swiss foreign ministry for his lack of media engagement. The newspaper points out that Cassis has declined all in-depth interview requests over the past year. In the current geopolitical climate, Le Temps considers this a surprising approach, particularly given his prominent position.

A spokesperson for the Swiss foreign ministry, Nicolas Bideau, explained that Cassis has responded to nearly all media questions while travelling in Switzerland and abroad, and frequently speaks at press conferences following government decisions, especially those concerning the Middle East and Ukraine. The spokesperson added that none of this year’s voting topics were directly related to Cassis’s brief, while those that were “require institutional communication based on executive decisions”.

Despite these explanations, Le Temps notes that certain high-ranking members of the centre-right Radical Liberal Party (to which Cassis belongs) remain unconvinced. While they acknowledge that the foreign minister may have had “bad experiences” with the media and that sensitive issues, particularly those involving Europe, require “caution,” they also argue that “tweets cannot replace a well-rounded article” and that a leader must sometimes engage directly with the public.

• Le TempsExternal link article (in French)

Burkhardt Marcel, Ornifoto.ch

Picture of the day

With a little luck you might be able to spot a flock of Whooping Cranes in the Swiss skies, as they fly over on their way to Spain and North Africa.

The migration period is still in its early days, but looks very promising, the Swiss Ornithological Institute in Sempach reported on Tuesday.

The birds’ flight path does not normally take them over Switzerland. But the Swiss Ornithological Institute says that the number of cranes observed has increased since 2011, although this number fluctuates.

Instead of flying over Hungary and Italy, they pass through the Camargue in France. This change was probably due to the strong easterly winds, writes the institute.

Translated from Italian using DeepL/amva/sb