“Swissaid”, “Action de Careme, “Pain pour le prochain”, Caritas and “Helvetas” are recommending Swiss citizens to vote yes in the referendum scheduled for 3 March 2002 on whether the Swiss Confederation should join the United Nations Organization. In a press conference held in Bern on 4 December, the representatives of the five charities affirmed that Swiss membership of the UN would help to promote Switzerland’s promotion of aid to development. Jürg Krummenacher, director of Swiss Caritas, Esther Oettli, head of the foreign desk at “Helvetas” and Franz Schüle, central secretary of the Swiss Protestant Fund, all emphasized reports the Swiss Apic press agency that, “in spite of its bureaucratic overweight and the tensions between member countries, the UN plays an important role in the protection of the victims of conflict and in international humanitarian relief”. It is “through integration in the system they added that a more just global balance between richer and poorer countries can best be promoted”.
