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Self Report 2017

The self-report on WHS Commitments below is organized according to the 24 transformations of the Agenda for Humanity. It is based on commitments pledged at the time of report submission. Click on the 'Expand' symbol to expand each section and read the reporting inputs by transformation.

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1B
Act early

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland actively supports the reform of the Security Council to enhance the accountability, transparency and coherence and supports substantive exchanges in the relevant Groups of Friends on the Protection of Civilians and Mediation, as well as in the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • Switzerland is committed to strengthen and support efforts to mainstream human rights issues throughout the entire UN system, in particular as an early warning instrument within those institutions whose work focuses on the UN peace and security pillar, inter alia by supporting the Human Rights Up Front Initiative and by encouraging regular and more systematic exchanges between the human rights bodies based in Geneva (Human Rights Council and the OHCHR and the Security Council).


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Switzerland is committed to support the multilateral initiative "Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes" (GAAMAC), which focuses on putting in place the necessary national measures for the prevention of (mass) atrocities through working with national governments and stakeholders and sharing good practices and lessons learnt.


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • Switzerland is committed to the continued co-chairmanship of the Group of Friends on the Protection of Civilians.


  • Partnership
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to act early upon potential conflict situations based on early warning findings and shared conflict analysis, in accordance with international law.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts
  • Commit to make successful conflict prevention visible by capturing, consolidating and sharing good practices and lessons learnt.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland continues to be chair of the Group of Friends on the Protection of Civilians. Switzerland contributes with relevant topics (e.g. protection of medical mission, CT and humanitarian action, etc.) in this informal forum.
    - On June 13th 2016, Switzerland and almost 70 states called to strengthen the links between the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council (HRC) in order to ensure a better prevention of the conflicts.
    - The fourth edition of the Glion Human Rights Dialogue, organized by Switzerland, Norway and the Universal Rights Group and taking place in May 2017, aims to identify ways to better operationalize the Council’s mandate to prevent human rights violations as well as the Council’s interaction with the other appropriate bodies of the UN.
    - Switzerland continues to chair the Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC) initiative, participates in the Steering Group and supports the development of a manual on national atrocity prevention mechanisms by an African Working Group.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    Switzerland measures progress through its active participation in steering groups, or being chair of certain processes or fora such as the Group of Friends on the Protection of Civilians.

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑2A - Respect and protect civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of hostilities

1C
Remain engaged and invest in stability

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • As Co-Chair of the International Network on Conflict and Fragility (INCAF), Switzerland commits to adhere to and promote the 2016 €œStockholm Declaration on Addressing Fragility and Building Peace in a Changing World€.


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland is committed to address the root causes of violence, conflict, and fragility and to strengthen and expand partnerships for effective peacebuilding, statebuilding and conflict prevention.


  • Partnership
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • Switzerland is committed to further strengthen its and others'™ capacities in regard to peacebuilding such as facilitation, confidence building and mediation on policy as well as on the operational level.


  • Operational
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • Switzerland is committed to increase the effectiveness of peacebuilding endeavors by offering specific training courses for mediators and their teams, as well as for conflict parties engaged in dialogue and peace negotiations.


  • Training
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • Switzerland is committed to strengthen the UN peacebuilding architecture based on a recent review. Switzerland also supports the recommendations to strengthen conflict prevention made by the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (A/70/95-“S/2015/446) and the subsequent implementation report by the UN Secretary General (A/70/357-€“S/2015/682).


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland is committed to support the UN'€™s efforts in sustaining peace and preventing countries from lapsing or relapsing into conflict by extending and increasing its financial support to the Joint Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention of the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).


  • Financial
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland is committed to use the New Deal principles and the Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Goals (PSGs) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, especially in protracted humanitarian crises.


  • Operational
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to improve prevention and peaceful resolution capacities at the national, regional and international level improving the ability to work on multiple crises simultaneously.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts
  • Commit to sustain political leadership and engagement through all stages of a crisis to prevent the emergence or relapse into conflict.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts
  • Commit to address root causes of conflict and work to reduce fragility by investing in the development of inclusive, peaceful societies.
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • Achievements at a glance

    - As International Network on Conflict and Fragility (INCAF) Co-Chair, Switzerland contributed to INCAF focusing on delivering the SDGs in states affected by fragility and conflict, using the lens of the New Deal for engagement in fragile states and the Stockholm Declaration.
    - Switzerland’s Country Strategies overall goal in fragile/conflict affected states aim to contribute to “out of fragility”. Switzerland supports the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding to involve CSOs and advocated for increased resources for countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence for the World Bank IDA 18 replenishment.
    - Switzerland is involved in a number of negotiation and mediation processes through its expert support and created an Master of Advanced Studies in Mediation in Peace Processes.
    - Switzerland supports decisions that strengthen the implementation of the recommendations from the Peace Operations Review (SG and HIPPO report).
    - Switzerland supports the Peacebuilding Fund with CHF 1 million. Switzerland has increased its financial support to the Joint UNDP - DPA programme.

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    SDG 16 is an overarching guiding principle of INCAF’s workplan for 2017.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    - Regular trainings via the Master of Advanced Studies in Mediation in Peace Processes will be undertaken and thus train the next generation of peace mediators worldwide.
    - Switzerland will also continue supporting the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) with CHF 1 million in 2017.
    - Switzerland's increased financial support to the Joint UNDP - DPA programme on building national capacities for conflict prevention amounts to CHF 900,000/year and to the UN Task Force on Conflict Prevention to CHF 200,000/year.

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑1B - Act early ☑ 5C - Invest in stability

1D
Develop solutions with and for people

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland is committed to the continued support of the Burundi configuration of the UN Peacebuilding Commission as a platform for long-term peace-building efforts in Burundi.


  • Operational
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • Participation of women in the political, social and economic sphere is a priority of Switzerland's foreign policy. Switzerland specifically commits to promoting greater and meaningful participation of women at all levels and stages of peace processes, humanitarian action and post-conflict reconstruction, and will advocate for and strengthen women'€™s leadership in disaster risk management, in particular in cooperation with multilateral partner organizations.


  • Advocacy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Leave No One Behind Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland is committed to promote inclusive conflict transformation processes, in particular through dialogue with political actors with religious reference.


  • Operational
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts

  • Switzerland is committed to strengthen the participation of women in peace processes and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.


  • Operational
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland is committed to the universal implementation of Agenda 2030, including its Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies.


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland co-financed a multilateral donor retreat on the socio-economic situation in Burundi in October 2016.
    - Women participation in humanitarian action is an integral part of project cycle management and of staff trainings.
    - Women’s empowerment in DRR is strengthened through GFDRR support and as co-chair of DAC-Gendernet, Switzerland seeks to strengthen donor-support to local women’s rights organization.
    - Switzerland has organized dialogue events with Sunni and Shia actors from the Middle East to foster understanding, decrease stereotypes and strengthen cooperation. In Thailand, Switzerland has supported a dialogue process involving Buddhist monks to address their grievances.
    - Switzerland has continued to promote (gender) inclusiveness of peace processes, for example through its work with the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission in the Philippines.
    - Switzerland continues to support the implementation of SDG 16 via bilateral development cooperation on countries "left furthest behind" and co-hosted with Brazil events aiming at a roadmap for accelerated delivery

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Disaster Risk Reduction ☑ Gender ☑ Religious engagement

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑1C - Remain engaged and invest in stability ☑ 3D - Empower and protect women and girls ☑ 5C - Invest in stability

2A
Respect and protect civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of hostilities

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland commits to support dialogue with all parties to armed conflict to enhance their knowledge and respect for IHL.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to support mine action as an enabler for peace and security, humanitarian action and development, on the basis of its national mine action strategy.


  • Financial
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Switzerland is committed to the continued co-chairmanship of the Group of Friends on the Protection of Civilians.


  • Partnership
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to promote and enhance the protection of civilians and civilian objects, especially in the conduct of hostilities, for instance by working to prevent civilian harm resulting from the use of wide-area explosive weapons in populated areas, and by sparing civilian infrastructure from military use in the conduct of military operations.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland discusses issues of concern with regard to IHL especially with parties to armed conflict and conducts demarches, where appropriate. Switzerland supports organizations such as the ICRC or Geneva Call.
    - Switzerland supports mine action with roughly CHF 16 to 18 million per year (2016: CHF 18.9 million) and belongs to the top ten donors of mine action. The support includes support to projects in affected States and regions as part of its peace and development work, deployment of mine action experts to UN mine action programmes as well as to the relevant headquarters of UN agencies, political work in the relevant multilateral fora and under the relevant Conventions (APLC, CCM, CCW), as well as a substantial core contribution to the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining.
    - Switzerland continues to be chair of the Group of Friends on the Protection of Civilians and contributes with relevant topics (protection of medical mission, CT and humanitarian action etc.)

2B
Ensure full access to and protection of the humanitarian and medical missions

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland commits to clearly distinguish humanitarian action from the political agenda, including by preventing the use of Swiss humanitarian aid for political purposes. Furthermore, it commits to consistently respect and promote respect for humanitarian principles, and in line with its obligation under international humanitarian law, to ensure conducive environments for humanitarian actors and facilitate humanitarian action that is based exclusively on needs and conducted without discrimination. Switzerland further commits to providing more core funding and reducing earmarking thereby enabling humanitarian actors to develop the financial independence necessary for principled humanitarian action. It commits to developing public education programs to disseminate humanitarian principles, informed by social and cultural traditions.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to engage in endeavours to ensure safety and security for humanitarian actors and the protection of the medical mission, including by fostering a principled approach, by enhancing the dialogue with all parties to armed conflict and by developing relevant standards and policies.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to ensure all populations in need receive rapid and unimpeded humanitarian assistance.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
  • Commit to promote and enhance efforts to respect and protect medical personnel, transports and facilities, as well as humanitarian relief personnel and assets against attacks, threats or other violent acts.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland supports organizations such as the ICRC or Geneva Call and raises issues pertaining to the security of humanitarian actors and the protection of the medical mission in bi- and multilateral fora. Switzerland supports actively the implementation of Security Council resolution 2286.
    - Switzerland promotes and financially supports the Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation in Geneva, which came into operation in October 2016. The Centre's objective is to facilitate and promote the exchange and analysis of experiences and practices in humanitarian negotiations to enable humanitarian aid and protection to reach people in need rapidly and without hindrance. The ICRC will host the Centre with the joint support of the five strategic partners, UNHCR, WFP and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑1C - Remain engaged and invest in stability ☑ 5C - Invest in stability

2C
Speak out on violations

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland commits to raise awareness of the potential of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission and of its services, including good offices and confidence-building, and to encourage the resort to the Commission as well as the recognition of its competence in accordance with article 90 of the first Additional Protocol of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.


  • Policy
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Switzerland is committed to strengthen and support efforts to mainstream human rights issues throughout the entire UN system, in particular as an early warning instrument within those institutions whose work focuses on the UN peace and security pillar, inter alia by supporting the Human Rights Up Front Initiative and by encouraging regular and more systematic exchanges between the human rights bodies based in Geneva (Human Rights Council and the OHCHR and the Security Council).


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to speak out and systematically condemn serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of international human rights law and to take concrete steps to ensure accountability of perpetrators when these acts amount to crimes under international law.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland provides the Secretariat of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC). In that capacity, Switzerland organized a diplomatic conference on 8 December 2016 to elect the 15 members of the IHFFC. Switzerland also supported several visits of the members of the IHFFC in various countries and mentioned the IHFFC in a statement made during the 71st Session of the General Assembly of the UN, encouraging States to recognize the competence of the Commission.
    - On June 13th 2016, Switzerland and almost 70 states called to strengthen the links between the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council (HRC) in order to ensure better prevention of the conflicts.
    - The fourth edition of the Glion Human Rights Dialogue, organized by Switzerland, Norway and the Universal Rights Group and taking place in May 2017, aims to identify ways to better operationalize the Council’s mandate to prevent human rights violations as well as the Council’s interaction with the other appropriate bodies of the UN.

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑1B - Act early

2D
Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is to become a new priority topic for the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Department from 2017 onwards. In relation to this new priority theme and the Call to Action roadmap, the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Department commits to develop and implement an internal operational concept for SGBV prevention and response, which outlines the following priorities, actions and resources: 1) capacity of personnel of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Department on SGBV prevention and response is strengthened; 2) sufficient resources for the implementation of the commitments are made available and internal tracking of GBV funding is enhanced; 3) implementation of Call to Action commitments by key partners (UN etc.) is systematically monitored and GBV in emergencies is a regular topic in policy dialogue with these partners and; 4) international policy and advocacy opportunities for the promotion of the Call to Action are being used.


  • Policy
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to advocate for the respect of international humanitarian law, human rights law and refugee law as well as the rule of law when countering terrorism. International humanitarian law carves out important protections for principled humanitarian actors, including offering services to all parties to armed conflict. Counter-terrorism measures may recast such activities as unlawful support for terrorism or designated terrorist groups. Therefore, Switzerland commits to engagements to ensure that principled humanitarian action is not affected by counter terrorism measures and that potential dilemmas between norms are addressed including by way of the necessary exemptions for humanitarian action.


  • Advocacy
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to promote the Code of Conduct regarding Security Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.


  • Policy
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to promote the universalization of the Rome Statute, to cooperate with and support the International Criminal Court and other mechanisms to ensure accountability and justice for victims at the national, regional and international levels, including by non-judicial measures.


  • Policy
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to promoting compliance by States and non-State actors with international law, including international humanitarian law, human rights law as well as international refugee law in relation to gender-specific violations and gender equality norms.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland further commits to tackling SGBV from a short- to long-term perspective through its humanitarian and development programmes.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to promote and enhance respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and refugee law, where applicable.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
  • Commit to speak out and systematically condemn serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of international human rights law and to take concrete steps to ensure accountability of perpetrators when these acts amount to crimes under international law.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
  • Implement a coordinated global approach to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in crisis contexts, including through the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Emergencies.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
  • Fully comply with humanitarian policies, frameworks and legally binding documents related to gender equality, women's empowerment, and women's rights.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland recalls the importance of respecting human rights/IHL/refugee law in the fight against terrorism, highlights the importance of a balanced implementation of the Global CT Strategy and supports independent research on legal and practical challenges and possible solutions for dilemmas.
    - Switzerland is the coordinator of the ACT Group who developed the Code of Conduct and drafted a letter to raise attention on situations of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.
    - Besides political support to the Rome Statute, Switzerland assisted the International Criminal Court with a process aimed at enhancing the efficiency/effectiveness of judicial proceedings and supports the mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of crimes under international law in Syria.
    - Switzerland supports Geneva Call, which engages non-state armed groups through voluntary engagements to enforce the prohibition of sexual violence in armed conflict.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    - SGBV modules have been integrated in trainings for Swiss Humanitarian Aid staff and additional SGBV experts have been recruited to the Swiss surge roster.
    - The Call to Action commitments by priority partners are being monitored and the issue of SGBV is being raised in multilateral processes.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Gender

2E
Uphold the rules: a global campaign to affirm the norms that safeguard humanity

Joint Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland commits to facilitate, jointly with the ICRC, an intergovernmental process as set out in resolution 2 of the 32nd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2015, "€œto find agreement on features and functions of a potential forum of States and ways to enhance the implementation of IHL using the potential of the International Conference [of the Red Cross and Red Crescent] and IHL regional forums".


  • Partnership
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
Partners: ICRC

  • Switzerland commits to strengthen cooperation among National Committees for the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law, notably by supporting the ICRC in the organization of a Universal Meeting of National Committees for International Humanitarian Law in Geneva in November/December 2016.


  • Partnership
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
Partners: ICRC

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland commits to support endeavours that aim at rendering the UN humanitarian system fit for purpose, including by strengthening engagements for the protection of civilians. Switzerland also commits to support endeavours that strengthen other humanitarian actors such as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, as well as regional and local actors.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to support the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, in particular those relevant to forced displacement and migration (i.e. Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, and Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons and other), with a view to strengthen a human rights based approach to forced displacement and migration.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind

  • With regard to WHS core commitment 2 under the Uphold the Norm roundtable, it is the understanding of Switzerland that the references to "working to prevent civilian harm resulting from the use of wide-area explosive weapons in populated areas" and "€œsparing civilian infrastructure from military use"€ do not restate or modify existing obligations and do not create new ones beyond those enshrined in existing and applicable norms of international humanitarian law.


  • Policy
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to promote and enhance respect for international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and refugee law, where applicable.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland supports the Special Rapporteur (SR) on the human rights of migrants, the SR on trafficking and the SR on IDPs - politically and financially.
    - Switzerland jointly with ICRC, organized 2 preliminary discussions in June and October 2016 and the First Formal Meeting in the intergovernmental process on strengthening respect for IHL in November 2016. The meeting established the organizational aspects of the process and a provisional work plan. Also, Switzerland supported the ICRC in the organization of the Universal Meeting of National Committees and Similar Bodies on IHL (financial support to cover parts of the meeting costs and participation of 6 delegations).
    - Switzerland engages in building up the capacities of National Societies and has supported the IFRC and ICRC in the creation of the RC/RC National Society Investment Mechanism (NSIM). It supports National Societies in addressing the complexity of organizational issues to enable them to respond to crisis in a quicker/better way.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Beside the financial contribution to its field operations, ICRC receives a yearly core contribution of CHF 80 million and the IFRC Headquarter is supported by CHF 2.0 million each year.

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑3B - Address the vulnerabilities of migrants and provide more regular and lawful opportunities for migration ☑ 5A - Invest in local capacities

3A
Reduce and address displacement

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland acknowledges the crucial role played by local and national authorities as well as host communities, and commits to support them whenever possible and feasible with targeted measures.


  • Advocacy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland commits to address the protection needs of people displaced across borders in the context of disasters and climate change, in particular through the promotion and implementation of the Protection Agenda of the Nansen Initiative at the different levels, and its active engagement within the new Platform on Disaster Displacement.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland commits to promote international human rights law and international humanitarian law as well as other internationally recognized protection standards, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, which seek to ensure protection and assistance of those forcibly displaced internally. Switzerland further commits to promote regional protection frameworks such as the Kampala Convention and encourages and supports the elaboration of such frameworks in other regions of the world.


  • Advocacy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland commits to promote the universal ratification, as well as the full and effective implementation of the 1951 Refugee Convention and its Protocol of 1967, and in particular the right to seek asylum as well as the principles of non-refoulement and responsibility-sharing, at the bilateral and multilateral level within the relevant fora.


  • Policy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland commits to support sustainable solutions, in particular for protracted displacement situations catering to refugees, IDPs, returnees as well as host communities through: 1) joint analysis and programming frameworks, 2) an earlier engagement of development actors, 3) the integration of target populations in long-term development plans, in order to increase the protection, resilience and self-reliance of forcibly displaced persons.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to support the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, in particular those relevant to forced displacement and migration (i.e. Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, and Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons and other), with a view to strengthen a human rights based approach to forced displacement and migration.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland is committed to work towards more equitably sharing of responsibilities for refugees and to create, particularly for vulnerable people, additional legal pathways for admission. Switzerland is further committed to support first hosting countries in their capacities to provide refugee protection.


  • Policy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland supports the call by the Secretary-General to adopt a Global Compact on responsibility-sharing which should build on the principles of protecting displaced persons, ensuring their self-reliance and assistance to host communities, as well as preventing situations of forced displacement in the first place.


  • Advocacy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland supports the need to address forced displacement based on an integrated, multi-stakeholder approach, by engaging more systematically and coherently with all relevant actors, including the civil society, academia and the private sector. In a similar vein, Switzerland also commits to promote enhanced coordination and cooperation across the UN system, through system-wide objectives, followed up with system-wide funding. It will for instance promote the alignment of UNDAFs and the humanitarian strategic response plans at country level in order to improve coherence and efficiency.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland will also engage in addressing the root causes of forced displacement, including through the framework of the 2030 Agenda, as well as for instance through long-term engagement of development actors, particularly in fragile contexts, contributing therewith to state-building and peace building efforts.


  • Policy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland promotes the implementation of the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda and engages in the Platform on Disaster Displacement.
    - Switzerland has recalled the importance of the universal ratification and implementation of the 1951 Refugee Convention and of legal and policy frameworks (UN Guiding Principles on IDPs, Kampala Convention) and their implementation.
    - In December 2016, Switzerland committed to welcome 2000 additional Syrian refugees, 600 should arrive in 2017.
    - Switzerland and Mexico have co-facilitated the modalities of the resolution of the Global Compact on Migration to be presented in 2018.
    - Switzerland follows the implementation of the CRRF, especially with regards to Uganda, where it supports UNHCR financially and through a WASH expert.
    - Switzerland co-financed the World Bank study “The Forcibly Displaced — Towards a development approach supporting refugees, the internally displaced, and their hosts” published September 2016.
    - Switzerland advocated for the introduction of a USD 2 billion funding window in IDA 18 for refugees and their hosts.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑IDPs ☑ Refugees

  • Specific initiatives

    ☑Platform on Disaster Displacement

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑3B - Address the vulnerabilities of migrants and provide more regular and lawful opportunities for migration ☑ 4C - Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides

3D
Empower and protect women and girls

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Participation of women in the political, social and economic sphere is a priority of Switzerland's foreign policy. Switzerland specifically commits to promoting greater and meaningful participation of women at all levels and stages of peace processes, humanitarian action and post-conflict reconstruction, and will advocate for and strengthen women'€™s leadership in disaster risk management, in particular in cooperation with multilateral partner organizations.


  • Advocacy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Leave No One Behind Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights are a priority of Switzerland's foreign policy. Switzerland promotes sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights for all, including full reproductive choices for women, men and adolescents. Switzerland commits to promoting sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights through its bilateral and multilateral engagement (Commission on the Status of Women, Human Rights Council, including the Universal Periodic Review) as well as its development and humanitarian interventions, including by supporting key partners with core contributions (UNFPA, UNAIDS, IPPF, WHO Human Reproduction Programme).


  • Advocacy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland commits to advocate for and strengthening women'€™s leadership in disaster risk management either through direct actions and funding or in cooperation with multilateral partner organisations.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to promoting compliance by States and non-State actors with international law, including international humanitarian law, human rights law as well as international refugee law in relation to gender-specific violations and gender equality norms.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland commits to supporting the roll-out of the new IASC age and gender marker, continues to track the gender-responsiveness of its own humanitarian action and increases its efforts in presenting gender-results including sex disaggregated data in all its humanitarian work.


  • Policy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland commits to upholding its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol and to support the implementation of General Recommendation 30 of the CEDAW Committee on Women in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations.


  • Policy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland is committed to strengthen the participation of women in peace processes and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.


  • Operational
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland, based on the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, commits to promoting gender equality as a strategic objective in its new strategy for international cooperation 2017-2020. This will apply to all operations and engagement in humanitarian aid, both for operational and policy work, and throughout all stages of an emergency.


  • Advocacy
  • Leave No One Behind

  • Switzerland commits to ensure that 50% of leadership positions in the Swiss Cooperation Offices in humanitarian contexts are held by women by 2020. 


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Empower Women and Girls as change agents and leaders, including by increasing support for local women's groups to participate meaningfully in humanitarian action.
  • Leave No One Behind
  • Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the Outcome documents of their review conferences for all women and adolescent girls in crisis settings.
  • Leave No One Behind
  • Ensure that humanitarian programming is gender responsive.
  • Leave No One Behind
  • Fully comply with humanitarian policies, frameworks and legally binding documents related to gender equality, women's empowerment, and women's rights.
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind

  • Achievements at a glance

    - An operational concept for the new priority topic SGBV was launched by the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Department. Switzerland has become co-chair of the Call to Action States & Donors WG.
    - The OECD DAC gender marker and new binding reference indicators for gender, SGBV and sex-disaggregated data have been introduced.
    - Women’s empowerment in DRR is strengthened through GFDRR support; as co-chair of the DAC-Gendernet, Switzerland promotes donor-support to local women’s organizations.
    - Switzerland promotes (gender) inclusive peace and transitional justice processes (i.e. in Philippines) and combats impunity through support to the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, domestic mechanisms and the ICC (i.e. Uganda/DRC).
    - Switzerland continues its financial support to key partners working on sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.
    - Switzerland supports research on how donors can strengthen the effectiveness of support to gender equality in fragile settings (DRC, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Nepal; publication mid-2017).

  • How is your organization assessing progress

    - The gender-responsiveness of humanitarian programming is monitored and supported through technical advice, with a focus on strategic documents of country operations.
    - The implementation of the operational concept on SGBV is monitored by a Steering Group. Switzerland reports on progress in relation to Call to Action commitments on an annual basis.
    - The OECD DAC gender marker is being applied and monitored (financial tracking). New binding reference indicators for programming have been developed, including in relation to gender, SGBV and sex-disaggregated data.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Switzerland continues to disseminate, implement and monitor its operational concept on SGBV and its Call to Action commitments and actively contributes to the implementation of the annual work plan of the states and donors working group of the Call to Action. Specific efforts are undertaken to recruit new SGBV experts into the Swiss humanitarian roster. A particular focus is put on ensuring gender responsive humanitarian aid in new country/regional cooperation strategies.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Disaster Risk Reduction ☑ Gender

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑1D - Develop solutions with and for people ☑ 2D - Take concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability

4A
Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland commits - at all stages of humanitarian and development interventions - to seeking and heeding the voices of affected communities and grass-roots organizations.


  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to build community resilience in countries where protracted humanitarian crisis are linked to drought and environmental degradation.


  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to increase the use of cash as a powerful programming modality to be considered systematically alongside other tools, e.g. vouchers, in-kind, accordingly with affected population's needs and preference.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to invest in capacity-building of local government, as well as other local actors, including civil society.


  • Capacity
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to scaling up cash programming in humanitarian crises, and designing these programs so that they can eventually become national social protection systems.


  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to support coordination models/solutions for the delivery of cash-based transfers within the existing humanitarian architecture and to promote greater national leadership wherever possible, based on context specificities, best practices and lessons learned from the country and regional levels.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to supporting its main partners to use cash in emergency, alongside national capacity, existing systems and social protection programs in place.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to a new way of working that meets people's immediate humanitarian needs, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years through the achievement of collective outcomes. To achieve this, commit to the following: a) Anticipate, Do Not Wait: to invest in risk analysis and to incentivize early action in order to minimize the impact and frequency of known risks and hazards on people. b) Reinforce, Do Not Replace: to support and invest in local, national and regional leadership, capacity strengthening and response systems, avoiding duplicative international mechanisms wherever possible. c) Preserve and retain emergency capacity: to deliver predictable and flexible urgent and life-saving assistance and protection in accordance with humanitarian principles. d) Transcend Humanitarian-Development Divides: work together, toward collective outcomes that ensure humanitarian needs are met, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years and based on the comparative advantage of a diverse range of actors. The primacy of humanitarian principles will continue to underpin humanitarian action.
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
  • Commit to increase substantially and diversify global support and share of resources for humanitarian assistance aimed to address the differentiated needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises in fragile situations and complex emergencies, including increasing cash-based programming in situations where relevant.
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
  • Commit to empower national and local humanitarian action by increasing the share of financing accessible to local and national humanitarian actors and supporting the enhancement of their national delivery systems, capacities and preparedness planning.
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland supported community resilience though livelihood and natural resource management projects in Liberia, the Sahel, and the Horn of Africa.
    - Switzerland – as a cash pioneer - continues to systematically deliver cash transfers in projects it implements directly. As a donor, Switzerland favours un-earmarked funding to partners to provide flexibility for the use of cash or vouchers when adequate. Through secondments of cash experts, Switzerland supports its partners’ capacity-building in the use of cash-based transfers.
    - Switzerland is increasingly supporting investments in using and strengthening social protection programmes to deliver humanitarian cash transfers. Switzerland defined its position on Social Protection and started to second cash experts to partners dedicated to work on these specific linkages.
    - Switzerland's support to CaLP is an effective vehicle to promote and collect best practices from the field.
    - Switzerland launched a small number of projects in the domain of capacity-investment (e.g. local NGOs in Syria).

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Cash ☑ People-centred approach ☑ Social protection

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑5A - Invest in local capacities

4B
Anticipate, do not wait, for crises

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • In its economic development cooperation, Switzerland commits to support partner countries to reduce the financial vulnerability of the state to natural disasters by improving their financial response capacity in the aftermath of natural disasters, while protecting their long term fiscal balance.


  • Financial
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Participation of women in the political, social and economic sphere is a priority of Switzerland's foreign policy. Switzerland specifically commits to promoting greater and meaningful participation of women at all levels and stages of peace processes, humanitarian action and post-conflict reconstruction, and will advocate for and strengthen women'€™s leadership in disaster risk management, in particular in cooperation with multilateral partner organizations.


  • Advocacy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Leave No One Behind Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to a proper and coherent use and effective coordination of foreign military assets in humanitarian action based on the Oslo Guidelines and common humanitarian civil-military standards for deploying, employing, receiving, integrating and coordinating foreign military assets in natural disasters.


  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to accelerate the reduction of disaster and climate-related risks by dedicating human and financial resources to support implementing the Sendai Framework for DRR and other international efforts to reduce disaster and climate risks. 


  • Financial
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to accelerate the reduction of disaster and climate-related risks by planning to allocate over the next four years 1/6 of its international humanitarian aid budget to disaster risk reduction and resilience building.


  • Financial
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to advocate for and strengthening women'€™s leadership in disaster risk management either through direct actions and funding or in cooperation with multilateral partner organisations.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to build community resilience in countries where protracted humanitarian crisis are linked to drought and environmental degradation.


  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to strengthen disaster preparedness and response through partnership and cooperation amongst practitioners, and to use the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) as a platform for collaboration to develop solutions to the recurring challenges faced by responders.


  • Partnership
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to support and invest in the institutional capacities of Red Cross / Red Crescent National Societies, including preparedness, response and coordination capacities, especially in fragile context and where communities are vulnerable to conflicts, disasters, recurrent outbreaks and the effects of climate change.


  • Financial
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to support national and local partners in developing effective disaster risk reduction management abilities and capacities, especially in the field of urban search and rescue.


  • Capacity
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland promotes - as 2016-2017 Co-Chair of the World Bank's Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) - initiatives and programmes, which aim at increasing people's access to early warning mechanisms and weather data such as the Climate Risk Early Warning System (CREWS), the GFDRR-WB/WMO Hydromet Programme and the Small Islands States Resilience Initiative (SISRI).


  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland supports the development of new analytical and financial mechanisms that help the international community to act preventively before a disaster or a pandemic outbreak strikes.


  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland supports the generation of climate change-relevant knowledge and data, to enhance capacity development of partners and institutions and to support the sharing and application of sound climate change knowledge and data decision-making and as a contribution to relevant climate services.


  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to a new way of working that meets people's immediate humanitarian needs, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years through the achievement of collective outcomes. To achieve this, commit to the following: a) Anticipate, Do Not Wait: to invest in risk analysis and to incentivize early action in order to minimize the impact and frequency of known risks and hazards on people. b) Reinforce, Do Not Replace: to support and invest in local, national and regional leadership, capacity strengthening and response systems, avoiding duplicative international mechanisms wherever possible. c) Preserve and retain emergency capacity: to deliver predictable and flexible urgent and life-saving assistance and protection in accordance with humanitarian principles. d) Transcend Humanitarian-Development Divides: work together, toward collective outcomes that ensure humanitarian needs are met, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years and based on the comparative advantage of a diverse range of actors. The primacy of humanitarian principles will continue to underpin humanitarian action.
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland developed and operationalized standard operating procedures for supporting humanitarian aid with military assets in natural disasters and other emergencies abroad. A deployment of military assets is only possible under the conditions set out in the Oslo guidelines, common humanitarian civil-military standards and the Swiss constitution.
    - Switzerland supported ASEAN, and the Central American Center for Disaster Preparedness and strategically and financially supported the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW).
    - Switzerland supported emergency preparedness projects at the local/national levels (Nicaragua/Haiti/Myanmar/Bolivia). The USAR project in India has been continued in 2016, a new one to be set up in Mongolia.
    - Switzerland is the Co-Chair of the World Bank’s GFDRR Consultative Group in 2016/2017.
    - After the Ebola crisis in West Africa, Switzerland helped creating the model for a new Pandemic Emergency Fund.
    - Switzerland supported national governments to introduce reporting mechanisms on climate and loss-related expenditures and in collecting high-quality climate data for the provision of climate services for informed decision making.
    Please see the attached report for more detailed information.

  • Next step to advance implementation in 2017

    Switzerland geared its co-chairmanship towards strengthening GFDRR’s engagement in resilience to climate change as well as in the field of urban resilience, which will be the topic of the spring 2017 CG Meeting to be held in Zurich from 5-7 April.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Disaster Risk Reduction ☑ Innovation ☑ Urban

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑5A - Invest in local capacities ☑ 5B - Invest according to risk

4C
Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • As Co-Chair of the International Network on Conflict and Fragility (INCAF), Switzerland commits to adhere to and promote the 2016 €œStockholm Declaration on Addressing Fragility and Building Peace in a Changing World€.


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to further coherence between humanitarian, development, and civilian peacebuilding actors, notably through joint context analysis, joint strategic planning, as well as close operational cooperation.


  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to further shift its development cooperation to fragile and conflict-affected contexts in order to strengthen governance and peacebuilding, hence decreasing vulnerability and increasing resilience.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to operationalise, to adhere to and to advocate for the Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets to Support United Nations Humanitarian Activities in Complex Emergencies (MCDA Guidelines) as well as related policies and co-ordination mechanisms. This includes in particular the endorsement of common standards, which should govern the use of foreign military assets in humanitarian action.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to provide smarter, more effective and more targeted development support in fragile and conflict affected contexts, including in humanitarian crisis.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to rigorously applying and strengthening "Conflict-Sensitive Programme Management" in its bilateral and multilateral cooperation.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to strengthen its "€œWhole of Government"€ approach between different parts of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs responsible for humanitarian aid, development cooperation, and civilian peacebuilding, as well as to increase the number of Joint Swiss Cooperation Strategies.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to support a reform of the UN development system, which would include the introduction of some system-wide objectives, followed by system-wide funding, in order to help orient the incentive structure towards results.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to support sustainable solutions, in particular for protracted displacement situations catering to refugees, IDPs, returnees as well as host communities through: 1) joint analysis and programming frameworks, 2) an earlier engagement of development actors, 3) the integration of target populations in long-term development plans, in order to increase the protection, resilience and self-reliance of forcibly displaced persons.


  • Operational
  • Leave No One Behind Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland commits to work more closely with humanitarian and development actors and to promote increased incorporation of conflict-sensitive and longer-term development approaches into humanitarian operations in protracted crisis situations.


  • Operational
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Switzerland is committed to the universal implementation of Agenda 2030, including its Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies.


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to a new way of working that meets people's immediate humanitarian needs, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years through the achievement of collective outcomes. To achieve this, commit to the following: a) Anticipate, Do Not Wait: to invest in risk analysis and to incentivize early action in order to minimize the impact and frequency of known risks and hazards on people. b) Reinforce, Do Not Replace: to support and invest in local, national and regional leadership, capacity strengthening and response systems, avoiding duplicative international mechanisms wherever possible. c) Preserve and retain emergency capacity: to deliver predictable and flexible urgent and life-saving assistance and protection in accordance with humanitarian principles. d) Transcend Humanitarian-Development Divides: work together, toward collective outcomes that ensure humanitarian needs are met, while at the same time reducing risk and vulnerability over multiple years and based on the comparative advantage of a diverse range of actors. The primacy of humanitarian principles will continue to underpin humanitarian action.
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland supported the update of the UN – World Bank Fragility and Conflict Partnership Trust Fund.
    - Switzerland was involved and supported the MCDA Drafting committee and the advisory committee for the new standards and continues supporting the CMCoord activities of CMCS (3 CMCoord courses per year).
    - Switzerland strengthens its whole of government approach working with a long term view while at the same time allowing also for flexibility.
    - Switzerland uses Conflict Sensitive Programme Management in fragile contexts and supports partners through training and coaching to strengthen conflict sensitive implementation.
    - Switzerland facilitated the GA’s “Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review” resolution in 2016 calling for a system-wide UN strategy for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and enhanced coordination between humanitarian/development/peacebuilding efforts.
    - Switzerland financed an OCHA-study on the long-term impacts of protracted internal displacement.
    - Switzerland became the first major donor of UNDP Funding Window “Emergency Development Response to Crisis and Recovery".

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑IDPs

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑3A - Reduce and address displacement ☑ 5C - Invest in stability ☑ 5D - Finance outcomes, not fragmentation: shift from funding to financing

5A
Invest in local capacities

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland commits to increase the proportion of humanitarian financial support which is programmed by local and national responders.


  • Financial
  • Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to increase the proportion of total support to funding tools, including pooled or umbrella funding, which helps to increase and improve assistance delivered by local and national responders. These include, as appropriate, UN country-based pooled funds (CBPFs), the IFRC Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF), as well as NGO-led pooled funds, with the goal of strengthening local and national responders.


  • Financial
  • Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to invest in capacity-building of local government, as well as other local actors, including civil society.


  • Capacity
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to support and invest in the institutional capacities of Red Cross / Red Crescent National Societies, including preparedness, response and coordination capacities, especially in fragile context and where communities are vulnerable to conflicts, disasters, recurrent outbreaks and the effects of climate change.


  • Financial
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to support endeavours that aim at rendering the UN humanitarian system fit for purpose, including by strengthening engagements for the protection of civilians. Switzerland also commits to support endeavours that strengthen other humanitarian actors such as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, as well as regional and local actors.


  • Operational
  • Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland works towards ensuring that contributions to UN led country-based pooled funds will result in at least 25% of funding for local and national actors by 2020.


  • Financial
  • Invest in Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to empower national and local humanitarian action by increasing the share of financing accessible to local and national humanitarian actors and supporting the enhancement of their national delivery systems, capacities and preparedness planning.
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Achievements at a glance

    Switzerland and IFRC co-convene work stream 2 on localization. This included the organization of a workshop in Geneva in August 2016 resulting in the need to work simultaneously on capacity investment, funding, coordination and measurement, but also to make progress on the definition of what is considered “local” or “national”.
    - Switzerland is in the process of increasing its contribution to country-based pooled funds (in 2016, contributed to 11 out of 18) and was part of the advisory boards of 8 of these. INGOs received 45% of funds; UN agencies 36%; NNGOs 18.5%, Red Cross/Red Crescent 0.5%.
    - 2016, Switzerland launched a smaller number of projects in the domain of capacity-investment, e.g. the support to the NGO CONCERN in Syria for investment in the capacities of ten local NGOs.
    - In addition to its advisory board functions and bilateral relations with OCHA, Switzerland will advocate for an increased share towards NNGOs and national RC/RC societies.

    Please see the attached report for more detailed information.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Country-based pooled funds

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑4A - Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems

5B
Invest according to risk

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • In its economic development cooperation, Switzerland commits to support partner countries to reduce the financial vulnerability of the state to natural disasters by improving their financial response capacity in the aftermath of natural disasters, while protecting their long term fiscal balance.


  • Financial
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to accelerate the reduction of disaster and climate-related risks by dedicating human and financial resources to support implementing the Sendai Framework for DRR and other international efforts to reduce disaster and climate risks. 


  • Financial
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to accelerate the reduction of disaster and climate-related risks by planning to allocate over the next four years 1/6 of its international humanitarian aid budget to disaster risk reduction and resilience building.


  • Financial
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to allocate 1/6 of its international humanitarian aid budget to disaster prevention and preparedness interventions and initiatives between 2017-2020.


  • Financial
  • Invest in Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to invest in risk management, preparedness and crisis prevention capacity to build the resilience of vulnerable and affected people.
  • Invest in Humanity

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Switzerland supported various risk transfer mechanisms for national governments such as the African Risk Capacity.
    - The Sovereign Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Program has continued to assist middle income countries in improving their financial resilience to natural disasters and their financial response capacity post disaster through policy, budgetary and market-based solutions.
    - 11 full time equivalent DRR experts were deployed in 2016.
    - Switzerland implements programmes and projects in the field of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation as well as climate change mitigation in vulnerable partner countries.
    - The spending for DRR activities is still somewhat lower than initially intended (1/6th of the humanitarian aid budget).

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Disaster Risk Reduction

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑4B - Anticipate, do not wait, for crises

5C
Invest in stability

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland commits to further shift its development cooperation to fragile and conflict-affected contexts in order to strengthen governance and peacebuilding, hence decreasing vulnerability and increasing resilience.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland is committed to strengthen the UN peacebuilding architecture based on a recent review. Switzerland also supports the recommendations to strengthen conflict prevention made by the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (A/70/95-“S/2015/446) and the subsequent implementation report by the UN Secretary General (A/70/357-€“S/2015/682).


  • Policy
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland is committed to support the UN'€™s efforts in sustaining peace and preventing countries from lapsing or relapsing into conflict by extending and increasing its financial support to the Joint Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention of the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).


  • Financial
  • Political Leadership to Prevent and End Conflicts Invest in Humanity

  • Achievements at a glance

    - During the negotiations for the replenishment of the IDA, Switzerland has – together with others – successfully advocated for a substantial increase in resources dedicated for contexts affected by fragility, conflict and violence. Many of these contexts will receive significantly more funds from the World Bank starting from July 2017.
    - In the framework of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, Switzerland continues to support decisions that strengthen the implementation of the recommendations, including those related to conflict prevention from the Peace Operations Review (both from the Secretary-General and from HIPPO).
    - In the context of peacebuilding, Switzerland supports the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) with CHF 1 million in 2016 as well as in 2017.
    - Switzerland has increased its financial support to the Joint UNDP - DPA programme on building national capacities for conflict prevention to CHF 900,000/year and to UN Task Force on Conflict Prevention to CHF 200,000/year.

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑1C - Remain engaged and invest in stability

5D
Finance outcomes, not fragmentation: shift from funding to financing

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland commits to achieve at least 30% of funding to humanitarian organizations that is unearmarked or softly earmarked by 2020.


  • Financial
  • Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to prioritize multi-annual plans in protracted crises through the use of flexible multi-year financing instruments.


  • Operational
  • Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to strengthen its "€œWhole of Government"€ approach between different parts of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs responsible for humanitarian aid, development cooperation, and civilian peacebuilding, as well as to increase the number of Joint Swiss Cooperation Strategies.


  • Policy
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to support the testing of new and bold models to go to scale, and identify best practice and risks in each context, from sudden-onsets to protracted crisis.


  • Operational
  • Invest in Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to enable coherent financing that avoids fragmentation by supporting collective outcomes over multiple years, supporting those with demonstrated comparative advantage to deliver in context.
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
  • Commit to promote and increase predictable, multi-year, unearmarked, collaborative and flexible humanitarian funding toward greater efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of humanitarian action for affected people.
  • Invest in Humanity
  • Commit to broaden and adapt the global instruments and approaches to meet urgent needs, reduce risk and vulnerability and increase resilience, without adverse impact on humanitarian principles and overall action (as also proposed in Round Table on "Changing Lives").
  • Invest in Humanity

  • Achievements at a glance

    - For 2016, the total amount of core humanitarian funding paid early in the year was CHF 152.3 million. Almost all of this funding was provided in the first quarter, so as to ensure maximum flexibility. With the addition of funding to country-based pooled funds (12.8 million) and to ICRC operations (CHF 2.3 million, the first-time Switzerland uses a non-contextually binded contribution for operations, i.e. a level D of earmarking), the proportion of unearmarked and softly earmarked funding is 35% compared to the Grand Bargain aspiration of 30% for 2020.
    - Funding to UNRWA was transformed to cover 2017-2020 enabling predictability and to concentrate on strategic dialogue. A similar approach is being developed with NGO partners.
    - Switzerland's "Whole of Government" approach has been strengthened through increased coordination and cooperation.
    - Switzerland is increasingly engaged in supporting investments in using and strengthening social protection programmes to deliver humanitarian cash transfers.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Cash ☑ Social protection

  • Specific initiatives

    ☑Grand Bargain

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑4C - Deliver collective outcomes: transcend humanitarian-development divides ☑ 5E - Diversify the resource base and increase cost-efficiency

5E
Diversify the resource base and increase cost-efficiency

Individual Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Commitment Type
  • Core Responsibility

  • Switzerland commits to increase inter-donor collaboration to improve and streamline interactions and lessen the burden on local and national responders.


  • Partnership
  • Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to keep at least the current level of contributions to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), considering the Secretary General's call to expand CERF to $1 billion by 2018.


  • Financial
  • Invest in Humanity

  • Switzerland commits to understand and further explore, together with the private sector, innovative financing mechanisms aiming to generate funds for the most vulnerable and unprotected victims of disasters, wars and conflicts.


  • Financial
  • Invest in Humanity

Core Commitment

  • Commitment
  • Core Responsibility
  • Commit to increase substantially and diversify global support and share of resources for humanitarian assistance aimed to address the differentiated needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises in fragile situations and complex emergencies, including increasing cash-based programming in situations where relevant.
  • Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need Invest in Humanity
  • Commit to promote and increase predictable, multi-year, unearmarked, collaborative and flexible humanitarian funding toward greater efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of humanitarian action for affected people.
  • Invest in Humanity

  • Achievements at a glance

    - Cooperation with the GHD work stream on localization will be enhanced, so as to ensure maximum donor engagement on this topic, as well as practical steps.
    - The Swiss CERF contribution in 2016 was USD 8 million and in 2017 it will be USD 5 million. The level of funding to the CERF will depend on the budget restriction measures planned for 2018-2021.
    - Switzerland will participate in the Humanitarian Impact Bond (HIB) created by the ICRC. The HIB sets concrete goals and aims at attracting private investors and raise the funds to provide physical rehabilitation services to thousands of disabled people in countries that suffer from conflicts and violence. With this the ICRC is raising money to increase the organization’s social impact, which will in turn have a positive economic impact. Switzerland paved the way for involving more partners from the private sector during its Chairmanship of the ICRC Donor Support Group in 2015/2016.

  • Cross cutting issues

    ☑Central Emergency Response Fund ☑ Disability ☑ Innovation ☑ Private sector

  • Other related Agenda for Humanity transformations

    ☑3G - Address other groups or minorities in crisis settings ☑ 4A - Reinforce, do not replace, national and local systems

Attachments