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DSC emergency aid, but remains closed for reconstruction


Switzerland has decided to end its program of emergency aid in Lebanon, launched a year ago after the outbreak of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. With CHF 20 million allocated by the Federal Council for victims of the war the federal government was not among the major donors, but the money was well used and where it was necessary, said the ATS Friedrich Steinemann, project manager of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The DSC now remains in the land of the cedars to the reconstruction phase.

Swiss aid claimed by some multilateral activities of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), other bilateral projects managed by the SDC in cooperation with local organizations. The Swiss contribution was tested by two independent bodies, including PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

The emergency aid was intended to take seven villages were destroyed in the south, to the many Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and more than 60 schools. It is estimated that more than 12,000 people have directly benefited from the projects.

However, the situation was not quite normal. For this reason, several partners have asked the DSC to remain in place, Steinemann said, adding that sooner or later, emergency assistance must be replaced by economic and political reconstruction. According to François Barras, Swiss Ambassador to Lebanon, there is a project with a view to promote good government administration in the south, but in any case, the SDC will remain on the territory with two local staff.

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The Global Compact in the crosshairs of NGOs


the eve of the summit the Global Compact to be held in Geneva, several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have strongly criticized the UN initiative. Federal Councillor Calmy-Rey also holds that the initiative, launched in 1999 by former UN Secretary General Annan to promote human rights in the economy, it's a good idea.

Olivier Classen said that the birth of the Global Compact in Davos in 1999, his organization has always described as "a tiger of paper mache, more like the classic fig-leaf, that a serious commitment." "The ideas cleared by the Global Compact - said the representative of the DB - harm the image of the United Nations, as well as the development of effective forms in the field of corporate social responsibility ".

The Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey on Wednesday evening inaugurated the summit of the" Global Compact "in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, has therefore stressed the merits of this alliance. "The idea is that companies have a vital role in achieving the major goals of the UN. On the one hand, the Global Compact - said Calmy-Rey - has helped the business world to accept their corporate citizenship, on the other hand, the UN and its members were inspired by the practices honed by the private sector. "

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