News
André Dunant, who sat on the Board of the Swiss Foundation of the ISS until the end of 2010, passed away on March 6th 2012.
Geneva, February 8 - In Guinea-Bissau, many children still lack the protection of all their human rights. This is the sad conclusion drawn by Laudolino Carlos Medina, Director of the organisation AMIC and coordinator of the West Africa Network (WAN) in Guinea-Bissau. The latter drew up this table on February 8 in Geneva, on behalf of the "Coalition of the protection of the child’s rights organisations in Guinea-Bissau", at the invitation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
From January 25th to 28th, a delegation of ISS Switzerland travelled to The Hague (The Netherlands) to take part, along with other members of the ISS network, in the “January 2012 special commission on the practical implementation of the 1980 Convention on international child abduction and the 1996 Convention on international child protection.”
The Swiss Foundation of the ISS took part in Vevey on Wednesday January 25th in a meeting of the “Réseau Suisse d’Experts en Clinique Transculturelle” entitled “Unaccompanied Minor Asylum Seekers: legal, socio-environmental and psychological-medical aspects”. Several specialists, including two ISS staff members, contributed their thoughts on the accompaniment of these young people in Geneva. Another panel also tackled the question of unaccompanied minors in Lausanne.
This year, nearly 1300 children and families in difficult situations were supported by our staff in Geneva and Zurich. Beside this, 400 youngsters have been reintegrated during 2011 in their country and family thanks to our “West Africa Network for the protection of children”, while 150 Ukrainian young people coming out from institutions are building their future with our support.
All this was realised with our common efforts! We thank you sincerely for your confidence during this year. It comforts us in our daily commitment. We will enjoy pursuing our work for 2012, with enthusiasm and efficiency.
We wish for you and your family a peaceful Christmas and all the best for the New Year.