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    • Poverty reduction
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Swiss development policy goals

Swiss development policy gives the priority to the fight against poverty, in harmony with the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. As an important component of Swiss foreign policy, development policy aligns itself with the foreign policy goals of Switzerland.

Swiss development policy rests on the Federal Constitution and foreign policy goals. The Constitution says expressly that Switzerland should contribute to the relief of poverty and suffering in the world, respect for human rights and the promotion of democracy, peaceful co-existence between peoples and the protection of the natural basis for life (BV Art. 54 Abs. 2).

In its Foreign Policy Report 2009 the Federal Council confirmed this position with the following priorities for Swiss development policy:

A. To reach the Millennium Development Goals and reduce poverty B. To promote human security and reduce the risks to security C. To contribute to a pro-development globalization

Debates about what is right and what is wrong in development cooperation have taken place on the national level in partner and donor countries and on the international level in the United Nations and at the World Bank. Poverty cannot be defeated and sustainable development cannot be achieved alone. It needs international cooperation.

In September 2000 at the Millennium Summit in New York the international community pledged to work decisively towards a world without poverty, fear and ecological destruction. Out of this came the so-called Millennium Declaration and later the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The first of these goals aims to reduce poverty in the world by half by 2015.

Switzerland has declared its support for the MDGs and has committed itself to work towards the achievement of the goals. In particular, this commitment requires development policy to honour international obligations in the Swiss political arena.