Switzerland's commitment
Swiss priorities
Switzerland has supported UN Women since its foundation. Improving gender equality and strengthening the rights of women and girls is part of the international cooperation strategy 2021-2024. The FDFA’s Strategy on Gender Equality and Women’s Rights highlights the importance of gender equality as a human right, as a force for peace and security and as a contribution to sustainable development. UN Women’s mandate contributes to the achievement of these strategic objectives.
Switzerland’s objectives in relation to UN Women are the following:
- To ensure income security, decent work, economic autonomy and a life free from all forms of violence for women;
- To strengthen strategic partnerships between UN Women and international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and other regional development banks;
- To ensure development results are sustainable and visible thanks to a professional evaluation function, greater financial sustainability and gender parity amongst staff;
- To improve the coherence of the UN system and ensure progress in the UN reform through closer cooperation among UN agencies.
As part of the regular monitoring of compliance activities, Switzerland will pay close attention to ensuring UN Women rigorously implements its zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment and abuse.
Switzerland's international cooperation strategy 2021-2024
Strategy on gender equality and women's rights
Switzerland's contributions
Switzerland will make a basic contribution of CHF 48 million for the period 2018–20, which equates to funding of CHF 16 million a year. Switzerland also supports specific UN Women projects at country level. Switzerland is working, for example, together with UN Women on a project in the South Caucasus and is contributing to the achievement of the following three objectives:
- Improving access for women to the job market;
- Amending the necessary legal bases to enable women to participate in the economy on an equal basis;
- Strengthening governments and public services to facilitate implementation of their own programmes in the area of gender equality.
As a member state and a strategic donor, Switzerland plays an active role in the monitoring and evaluation of the operational and financial accountability of UN Women. Moreover, through its involvement in the organisation’s Executive Board, Switzerland maintains regular dialogue with UN Women at various management levels.
Switzerland's engagement in UN Women contributes to creating stable societies and a secure international environment in the long term. As a strongly globalised and economically interconnected country, Switzerland relies on such international stability for its own security and well-being. UN Women is an important multilateral partner for Switzerland in respect of its international responsibilities and its objectives in the area of gender equality. Through its participation in UN Women, Switzerland brings the approaches and objectives of the FDFA Strategy on Gender Equality and Women's Rights to the UN agency and can work to strengthen the legal dimension of gender equality worldwide.