City of Zurich – Contribution to humanitarian aid in Gaza

According to a press release¹ dated 14 November 2024, the city of Zurich wants to support the Swiss aid organisations Médecins du Monde and Terre des Hommes, as well as the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) through contributions to the suffering civilian population in the Gaza Strip. In verbatim:
  “The City Council is concerned and dismayed by the development of the humanitarian situation. Within the humanitarian aid provided by the city of Zurich the City Council is making a contribution of 580,000 Swiss francs to support the civilian population in the Gaza strip.”
  The two aid organisations Médecins du Monde and Terre des Hommes will each receive 100,000 Swiss francs to fund projects on the sexual health of women and girls² as well as for the psychological and and social support of children respectively.  The city will give an additional contribution of 380,000 Swiss francs the city makes in favour of the UNRWA. As the backbone of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, this UN aid organisation is indispensable. The structures it has built up over many years and its logistics are used by various local and international aid organisations, and the organisation enjoys the trust of the population. With the decision of 13 November 2024, the City Council (executive) fulfilled an urgent proposal (postulate), which was approved on 10 July 2024 by the parliament (municipal council) by 58 votes to 47 votes in favour (with 5 abstentions) to the City Council. The postulate was submitted on 5 June 2024 by three parties from the political left left-wing spectrum of the parliament – SP, Greens and the Alternative List. It emphasised the fact that Gaza is facing a devastating famine, with probably thousands of civilian victims, and that an external evaluation had confirmed UNRWA’s neutrality.
  With this step, the city of Zurich joins the executive of the canton of Geneva. The latter has set a special credit of four million Swiss francs for the years 2024 and 2025 in view of the devastating humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need for immediate aid to humanitarian organisations. These will be given to organisations providing emergency aid in Lebanon and neighbouring countries. The highest amount of one million Swiss Francs goes to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). UNRWA, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Médecins sans frontières (MSF) and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) each receive funding of 500,000 Swiss francs from the canton of Geneva.³

Humanitarian disaster
relief is the order of the day

The decisions of the governments of the city of Zurich and the Canton of Geneva will help at least a little to alleviate the terrible situation of the people in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Lebanon – because the human catastrophe is far from over. A peace agreement is a long way off. These decisions are an expression of human responsibility and outrage when you look at the injustice that the people in these areas have suffered for years and are still suffering The prevailing silence, the misinformation, and the propaganda strategies that have been used to trivialise the killings and murders that have been going on for months are unbearable. The figures are well-known, and anyone who wants to can also find out how many children, women, old and young people lost their lives since 7 October 2023.
  Isn’t the protection of the civilian population by the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law binding for all states who are involved in a war? In the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and in Lebanon, they are being disregarded by the attacking Israeli troops -knowingly and arrogantly – with thousands of innocent people killed by armed violence and starvation, as well as because of destroyed medical suppl. But apparently, they are not supposed to help, because of a denunciation campaign that has been going on for month. The UNWRA, the UN aid organisation that has been caring for the people of Gaza for decades, is to be silenced. How else can it be explained that its financial support has been stopped since the beginning of this year? That, after Israel, without ever having provided evidence, claimed the involvement of twelve UNWRA employees in the attacks of October 7 on Israeli civilians and had demanded an investigation by the UN. The most important donor countries – including Switzerland – “forgot” their humanitarian obligations and decided in January 2024 to immediately suspend their financial contributions to the aid organisation. And that’s not all. Even after the requested report had been published and had discharged UNWRA in all key points, the USA, the UK, and Switzerland (as depositary state of international humanitarian law and headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC!) stuck to their refusal. Our country’s promise (made last May 2024) to pay at least half of the promised amount to the UNWRA (10 million Swiss francs) demonstrates an incomprehensible indifference to human suffering and a lack of statesmanlike responsibility too. Or what else can you call it? The fact that the Canton of Geneva and the City of Zurich have with their financial contributions set a counterpoint to this incomprehensible behaviour is encouraging and gives hope that other cities, municipalities and cantons will follow suit, even if – as the minutes of the Zurich municipal council debates show – you have to be prepared for the worst due to the hostile arguments and condescending distancing of the opponents⁴. •

¹ Media release from Zurich City Council
² The term “sexual health” is a specialised term in sexology and, according to the WHO definition, includes both “a positive, respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships [...] and the opportunity for [...] safe sexual experiences, free from oppression, discrimination and violence”.
³ “Geneva donates money to UNRWA and other organisations in Lebanon”. Keystone SDA of 6 November 2024; https://www.nau.ch/politik/regional/genf-spendet-geld-an-unrwa-und-weitere-organisationen-im-libanon-66857915
⁴ Urgent postulates; https://www.gemeinderat-zuerich.ch/dokumente/add8750e031243a9b872ecb650b2dd75-332?filename=2024_0266Postulat

Further sources:

Extract from the minutes of the municipal council meetings 102 and 103 of 10 July 2024
https://www.eda.admin.ch/deza/en/home/partnerships-mandates/partnerships-multilateral-organisations/un-agencies/unrwa.html
https://www.gemeinderat-zuerich.ch/dokumente/1868e6cdfef24fb6991cb0de67cd4120-332?filename=2024_0266ProtokollauszugsubstanziellSitzung102