Switzerland can boast being the nation in which the first NGO ever was founded: 1863, with the foundation of the Red Cross Movement. It is composed of three groups: the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the League of the Red Cross Society (later on know as the Federation of the Red Cross Society) and the National Red Cross Society.
The ICRC can be considered to be the first neutral non-governmental organization.
Today, Geneva’s humanitarian role and action are more neccessary than ever and is widely recognised as the city of Peace and of major international negotiations.
The canton of Geneva
The Swiss capital is home to the headquarters of many international organizations.
– 130 main NGOs present in Geneva
– 82 other federations of NGOs on the international scene
– 61 main federations and networks based in Geneva
Geneva plays host to some 200 international organizations – the UN European headquarters, the UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Although most of the personnel employed in these organizations are tax exempt, they contribute to developing the local economy through their high purchasing power. Total expenditures of international organizations reached SFr5.2 billion in 2001 (22% of the cantonal income)
Fields of the international organizations based in Geneva:
– Human Rights, Humanitarian and Refugees (17)
– Economy, Development and World of Work (19)
– Climate and Environment (18)
– Population, Health and Food (15)
– Children, Education and Culture (7)
– Research, Science and Technology (4)
– Intellectual Property and Standardization (4)
– Posts, Transports and Communications (10)
– Political and Legal Questions (5)
To find out more more about the main federations and networks based in Geneva visit : www.genevainternational.org
Development cooperation AID
In 2006, the world aid given was of 104 billion dollars of which 1.65 billion dollars was given by Switzerland, that’s to say the 0.39% of its own national gdp. Nonetheless Switzerland was one of the 12 European countries that gave to AID less than 0.7% of their gdp, in comparison with those 5 European countries that gave to AID more than the 0.7%. Switzerland is far away from that 0.7% established by ONU and its trend from 2006 to 2007 showed that Swiss gdp gave to aid has diminished of 3%, from 0.39% in 2006 ( 1.646 billion dollars) to 0.36% in 2007 ( 1.596.620 billion dollars). The European average is 0.45%.
