Migration

Switzerland remains fully committed to the search for a political solution to the Syrian conflict. The decade-long war has left Syria and the region facing a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions. On 30 March, the Fifth EU–UN Conference on Syria took place in Brussels. At the meeting, Deputy State Secretary Johannes Matyassy announced that Switzerland will provide the Syrian people in Syria and the region with CHF 60 million in aid.

On 1 March 2020, the United Nations held a virtual high-level pledging event for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, co-hosted by the governments of Sweden and Switzerland. The Swiss government was represented for the first time by Ignazio Cassis, Vice President and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Switzerland has pledged CHF 14 million to support the humanitarian response in Yemen.

The Federal Council has adopted its dispatch on the United Nations Global Compact for Migration, laying the foundations for Parliament to focus more closely on the UN member states' framework for action on international cooperation in the area of migration. The Federal Council concludes that the objectives defined in 2018 are consistent with Switzerland's migration policy priorities.

The Federal Council defined the objectives of Switzerland's foreign policy back in February 2020. In the MENA strategy it has now set out how it intends to implement these objectives in the important region spanning from Morocco to Iran. Switzerland's focus in the region over the next few years will be supporting sustainable economic development, better job prospects for young people, as well as peace and human rights.

Manuel Bessler, Deputy Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Delegate for Humanitarian Aid and Head of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit, visited the Lesbos camp on Tuesday 29 September. He was keen to see the situation on the ground 20 days on from the fire that destroyed the transit camp for refugees and migrants on the Greek island. He also met other international actors to discuss the future of Swiss aid. In an interview he explains how Switzerland will end its emergency relief operation but will continue to provide medium- and long-term assistance.

Switzerland's international cooperation work is a foreign policy instrument. Rooted in the Federal Constitution, its purpose is to alleviate need and poverty in the world, to foster respect for human rights, to promote democracy and to conserve the environment. The Federal Council adopted the International Cooperation Strategy on 19 February 2020, and is applying to Parliament for CHF 11.25 billion for its implementation.