News

HEKS/EPER has decided to close its country office in Kirkuk at the end of August 2023 and to end its humanitarian commitment and its own projects in Iraq.

In its ruling rendered on July 4, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Switzerland in three of the four cases in which the State Secretariat for Migration refused to grant family reunification to individuals who partially relied on social assistance. The Service d'Aide Juridique aux Exilé-e-s (SAJE) lodged two appeals, one of which was successful.

On 14 May 2023, the strongest cyclone in a decade hit the shores of Bangladesh and Myanmar, two of the countries where HEKS/EPER is operating. In the days before the cyclone hit, HEKS supplied materials and helped the residents of the refugee camps in Bangladesh to reinforce their huts and prepare themselves accordingly. The coast of Myanmar was hit much harder by the cyclone. The local HEKS team is currently assessing the situation.

HEKS/EPER has successfully completed the first year since the merger with Bread for All, both organizationally and financially. The annual financial statements as of end-2022 recorded income of 114 million francs (up 15,4 per cent) and a good operating result of 5,8 million francs. The appreciable support from institutional donors, the general public and churches for Ukraine and for the people who have fled that country for Switzerland accounts for most of the record result. 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began almost a year ago. The aid agency of the Protestant Church in Switzerland (HEKS/EPER) and its partner organisations – all of which were already operating in the region before the crisis – have used a budget of 10 million Swiss francs in Ukraine, its neighbouring countries and in Switzerland to help the victims of the conflict. 

The violent earthquake on the Turkish-Syrian border has brought destruction and suffering to the local people. HEKS/EPER has been present in the affected areas in northern Syria for years, working with local partner churches. These were able to launch the first urgent emergency aid measures just a few hours after the disaster.

The conciliation hearing in October 2022 concluded without results. Now, four residents of the Indonesian island Pari, the existence of which is under threat, are taking the Swiss cement corporation to court.

The new strategy for the years 2023 to 2027 sets key priorities and lays the groundwork for the systematic implementation of our vision of a just world where the dignity of everyone is respected, peace prevails and the natural environment is preserved.

So far in Switzerland, it has been possible for temporarily admitted refugees to be joined by family members after a three-year waiting period, at the earliest. Following an appeal by a lawyer from the HEKS/EPER Legal Advice Centre (SAJE) in Lausanne, the Federal Administrative Court has now adapted its jurisprudence. Effective immediately, consideration of the right to family on a case-by-case basis must now begin before the end of the three-year period.