The Covid 19 pandemic has a major impact on the condition of the poorest countries. Their health systems are collapsing, millions of people are unemployed and the pandemic has not yet reached its peak. This is why terre des hommes schweiz, together with other Alliance Sud organisations, is calling on the Federal Council and the Federal Assembly to provide more support for international cooperation. What is needed now is a clear commitment to Agenda 2030, more financial resources for development cooperation and a debt cut for the poorest countries.
Open letter to the Federal Council and the members of the Federal Assembly
Covid-19: Call for a strong international commitment by Switzerland to tackle the pandemic and its consequences
Civil society organisations, which have come together on the initiative of the Swiss-UN society and the Forum Suisse de Politique Internationale, are calling on Switzerland, and in particular the Confederation, to commit themselves internationally to combating the Covid 19 pandemic and its socio-economic and environmental consequences in the short and medium term, particularly in the poorest countries. In this sense, Switzerland must respond rapidly to the initiatives and appeals for donations by the United Nations and the international community, such as those of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for a global humanitarian intervention plan Covid-19, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement or the WHO.
Claims:
Switzerland's prosperity and the coherence of its humanitarian and democratic values are at stake! More than ever, Switzerland needs a healthier world, socially, ecologically and economically. And the world also needs Switzerland more than ever. As a member of the United Nations, as host to the most important international organizations, including the WHO, and as one of the richest countries in the world, Switzerland must show a renewed solidarity commensurate with its resources.
In this exceptional period, we are filing four complementary claims:
- In view of the current global health emergency, Switzerland needs additional financial resources for humanitarian aid to the poorest countries and the most vulnerable population groups, including migrants and refugees,
- In accordance with Agenda 2030 and the Addis Ababa Plan of Action adopted by the United Nations in 2015, we call on the federal government to allocate 0.7% of its GNI to official development assistance. The Federal Council and Parliament must take all necessary measures to achieve this fundamental goal. Without the necessary and sufficient financial resources, the current crisis will only increase the already existing vulnerability of the most fragile countries and exacerbate the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic for the world, but also for Switzerland.
- In the spirit of UN General Assembly Resolution 74/270, co-initiated by Switzerland, on global solidarity in the fight against the Covid 19 pandemic and the joint ministerial declaration of the Alliance for Multilateralism of April 2020, which was endorsed by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, we call for this international commitment to be consistent with the implementation of Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. The fight against the pandemic and its effects is an additional challenge and should not replace the goals of sustainable development. Agenda 2030 aims to develop societies that are more resilient to the effects of climate change, biodiversity loss and health threats.
- In addition, we call on Switzerland to work to ensure that the poorest countries benefit from a moratorium or even debt cancellation, as requested by UNCTAD/UNO.
The undersigned, 04.05.2020:
Switzerland - UN Society | Association Suisse-ONU | Associazione Svizzera - ONU
Forum Suisse de Politique Internationale
Swiss Society for Foreign Policy | Association suisse de politique étrangère | Associazione svizzera di politica estera
Platform Agenda 2030 | Plateforme Agenda 2030
Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund | Action de Carême
Swiss Peace Council, Zurich | Conseil Suisse de la paix, Zurich PBI Switzerland
Society for Threatened Peoples, Switzerland | Société pour les peuples menacés, Suisse
Alliance Sud
SWISSAID
Caritas Switzerland | Caritas Suisse | Caritas Svizzera
FOSIT - Federazione delle ONG della Svizzera italiana
Bread for all | Pain pour le prochain
Women for Peace Switzerland
Protestant Women Switzerland EFS | Femmes protestantes en Suisse FPS
terre des hommes schweiz
Swiss Helsinki Association
PeaceWomen Across the Globe
Swiss Platform for Peacebuilding KOFF | Plateforme Suisse de Promotion de la Paix KOFF
fair on the road - working group tourism & development
Fédération vaudoise de coopération (fedevaco)
humanrights.ch
Fondation Terre des hommes
Terre des Hommes Suisse
