Forced displacement is as much a humanitarian and protection issue, as it is a human security and development challenge. Our approach must be comprehensive and coherent. Switzerland has recently defined a common strategic framework to better coordinate its instruments for humanitarian aid, development, human rights and peace promotion and gear them towards collective goals.
Against this background, let me propose three principles that should guide us in addressing forced displacement:
First, protection and humanitarian assistance. Switzerland is committed to upholding and promoting all applicable international laws and policy frameworks. This includes the 1951 Refugee Convention and its Protocol as well as the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Protecting refugees in their region of origin is particularly vital to safeguarding their rights and reducing the number of people setting out on the perilous onward migration journey.
Switzerland will continue to assist displaced persons and support host communities and authorities in dealing with the enormous challenges they face – in the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. For Syria and neighbouring countries, Switzerland is allocating at least 52 million US dollars this year – which makes a total of 260 million since the beginning of the crisis.
Second, resilience and self-reliance: the average period of a displacement situation is estimated to be seventeen years! Providing prospects beyond emergency aid is crucial to restore dignity and hope for a better future. Respective Swiss projects include building schools in Lebanon and Jordan for refugee and local children, supporting start-up companies that employ refugees in those countries, and providing vocational training to young refugees in Kenya. Switzerland is committed to supporting sustainable solutions for displaced persons and host communities through the early involvement of development actors.
Third, it is essential to strengthen prevention. Finding a political solution to armed conflicts is key to preventing even more displacement. Prevention is also about addressing the root causes of fragility and violent conflict. And it is about advancing sustainable development and reducing vulnerabilities. Switzerland is committed to addressing the root causes of forced displacement, including through the 2030 Agenda. Half of our bilateral development cooperation budget is earmarked for working with states in fragile situations.
Protection, resilience, prevention: These three principles are guiding Switzerland not only in our bilateral engagement to address the migration crisis. We will also promote them in our common effort of elaborating a Global Compact on Responsibility Sharing at the upcoming UN summit.