Middle East Council of States committee postpones decision on payments to UNRWA

SDA

25.10.2024 - 14:33

The responsible Council of States committee is currently leaving open the question of whether or not Switzerland should support the controversial UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in future. (archive picture)
The responsible Council of States committee is currently leaving open the question of whether or not Switzerland should support the controversial UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in future. (archive picture)
Keystone

The financing of the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) continues to be a topic of discussion in the Federal Parliament. The responsible Council of States committee has postponed its decision on whether Switzerland should stop funding the controversial aid organization.

By 10 votes to 3, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of States (FAC-S) decided to wait until after next week's UN meetings on the subject, which will be chaired by Switzerland, to decide on the aforementioned motions, as the parliamentary services announced on Friday. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis had submitted the corresponding request.

According to the majority of the committee, the reason for the suspension is that the international debates in the coming weeks could bring new political and legal aspects to light. On November 21, the committee will decide on the aforementioned matters on the basis of the additional information, among other things.

In September, the National Council decided that Switzerland should stop funding the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency.

SDA