The Covid-19 pandemic is having a major impact on the state of the poorest countries. Their healthcare 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 organizations, 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 the 2030 Agenda, more financial resources for development cooperation and debt relief 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 from Switzerland to tackle the pandemic and its consequences
Civil society organizations, united on the initiative of the Swiss-UNO Association and the Forum Suisse de Politique Internationale, are calling on Switzerland, and in particular the Swiss Confederation, to commit internationally to the short and medium-term fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and its socio-economic and environmental consequences, especially in the poorest countries. To this end, Switzerland must respond quickly to the initiatives and appeals for donations from the United Nations and the international community, such as those of the United Nations Secretary-General 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 of 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 means.
In these extraordinary times, we are submitting four complementary claims:
- In view of the current global health emergency, Switzerland must provide additional financial resources for humanitarian aid to the poorest countries and the most vulnerable population groups, including migrants and refugees,
- In line with the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Plan adopted by the United Nations in 2015, we call on the Confederation to spend 0.7% of its GNI on 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 on global solidarity in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, which Switzerland co-initiated, 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 the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The fight against the pandemic and its effects is an additional challenge and should not replace the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2030 Agenda aims to develop societies that are more resilient to the effects of climate change, biodiversity loss and health threats.
- Furthermore, we call on Switzerland to work towards ensuring that the poorest countries benefit from a moratorium or even debt relief, as demanded by UNCTAD/UNO.
The undersigned, 04.05.2020:
Swiss-UNO Association | Association Suisse-ONU | Associazione Svizzera – ONU
Forum Suisse de Politique Internationale
Swiss Association for Foreign Policy | Association suisse de politique étrangère | Associazione svizzera di politica estera
Platform Agenda 2030 | Plateforme Agenda 2030
Fastenopfer | 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 | PeaceWomen Across the Globe
Swiss Platform for Peacebuilding KOFF | Plateforme Suisse de Promotion de la Paix KOFF
fair travel – working group tourism & development
Fédération vaudoise de coopération (fedevaco)
humanrights.ch
Terre des hommes Foundation
Terre des Hommes Suisse
