FDFA contributes CHF 4 million to the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF)

Bern, 09.09.2015 - The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) is contributing CHF 4 million to the newly founded Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, head of the FDFA, and GCERF Executive Director Khalid Koser signed an agreement to this effect for the 2015-2019 four-year period on 9 September 2015 in Geneva.

The new fund, which was set up in Geneva in autumn 2014, is designed to support local initiatives which aim to prevent vulnerable members of society from being radicalised and recruited by terrorist groups and networks in countries in which violent extremism is rife. The GCERF focuses on measures which can be introduced in civil society and in the private sector. It thus forms an important nexus between development cooperation, conflict prevention and peace promotion. It concentrates on areas such as youth work, education, vocational training and women's empowerment. Along with the US, Qatar and the EU, Switzerland is one of the four largest contributors to the GCERF.

The GCERF's mandate is compatible with Switzerland's foreign policy priorities in the field of preventing terrorism and tackling its causes. As a member of international organisations such as the UN, the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), the Council of Europe and the OSCE, Switzerland supports a global and integrative approach to preventing and combating terrorism. It is convinced that the GCERF, as a centralised financial instrument to tackle the root causes of terrorism, can play an effective role in implementing this strategy.

The GCERF is a public-private foundation set up under Swiss law. Under the Headquarters Agreement of 26 May 2015, it enjoys the same status as an international organisation. Headquartered in Geneva, it is hoped that the foundation will form numerous synergies with local centres, the UN and other international players based in the city.


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FDFA Communication
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Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
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Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html

https://www.admin.ch/content/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-58642.html