Swiss minister defends government’s Afghan refugee strategy
US marines help with the evacuation of citizens at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan on August 20, 2021.
Keystone / Lance Cpl. Nicholas Guevara
Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter has defended Switzerland’s refugee policy on Afghanistan. The Alpine country cannot unilaterally help people leave the country, she declared in an interview on Saturday.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/sb
Русский
ru
«Швейцария не в состоянии одна помочь людям покинуть Афганистан»
“Switzerland has absolutely no way of getting these people out of the country,” she told the CH media group on Saturday. “We cannot arbitrarily select 10,000 people and evacuate them from the crisis zone.”
She added that there were currently no mass population displacements from Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, government ministers outlined their policy on Afghanistan, saying they were concentrating on evacuating Swiss nationals and around 230 locals who worked on Swiss projects in Afghanistan, together with their relatives.
The justice minister has not ruled out accepting more refugees in the future but says there are no immediate plans to loosen normal asylum procedures for Afghan refugees.
“Because Switzerland is not a NATO member state and because it does not have its own armed forces on the ground, the foreign ministry is dependent on the cooperation of other states,” the minister explained.
Keller-Sutter added that Switzerland was better placed to concentrate on humanitarian efforts in the region. She pointed out that around three million Afghan refugees live in Iran, 2.5 million in Pakistan and an estimated 200,000 to 600,000 in Turkey. In Afghanistan, which has an estimated population of over 39 million, there are over half a million internally displaced people.
More
More
Pressure grows on Switzerland to accept Afghan refugees
This content was published on
Several Swiss cities have added their voice to growing demands for Switzerland to open its doors to refugees from Afghanistan.
Pressure has been growing on Switzerland to accept Afghan refugees. Switzerland’s current stance has already been criticised by refugee groups and left-leaning political parties. The cities of Geneva, Zurich and Bern have also called on the government to re-think its stance and open its doors to refugees from Afghanistan.
On Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry announced that Switzerland planned to support the air bridge of individuals evacuated from Afghanistan and had organised a charter flight to Uzbekistan.
A SWISS plane was due to fly to Tashkent on Saturday to pick up people previously evacuated from Kabul. The plane was set to bring Swiss citizens and people from different countries to Europe. However, the ministry said on Saturday that the flight had been postponed due to the difficult security situation around Kabul Airport.
More
More
Swiss offer mediation in Afghan crisis, join airlift efforts
This content was published on
Switzerland is sending a plane to Uzbekistan to repatriate people evacuated from Kabul, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
Two decades after tsunami, Swiss tourists flock to Southeast Asia
This content was published on
Twenty years after a catastrophic tsunami in Southeast Asia, the region is again a top destination for Swiss, including at Christmas.
Swiss forests better equipped for storms 25 years after Lothar
This content was published on
Twenty-five years after Hurricane Lothar wreaked havoc in Switzerland, the country’s forests are now better prepared, experts say.
Media: Swiss medical services done abroad are billed at Swiss rates
This content was published on
In Switzerland, some medical services carried out abroad are still billed at Swiss rates, despite costing less, RTS reports.
This content was published on
Sophie Hediger, a member of the Swiss national snowboard cross team, has died in an avalanche in Arosa. She was 26 years old.
This content was published on
Several Swiss films exceeded the 100,000 admissions mark worldwide in 2024 and received widespread praise at international film festivals.
Swiss Alpine resorts covered in white gold for Christmas
This content was published on
Many areas at low altitudes in Switzerland are enjoying a blanket of snow. In the mountains, intense precipitation has delighted skiers.
SWISS makes emergency landing in Austria after smoke in cockpit
This content was published on
Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) made an emergency landing of an Airbus in Graz, Austria on Monday evening after engine problems.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss offer mediation in Afghan crisis, join airlift efforts
This content was published on
Switzerland is sending a plane to Uzbekistan to repatriate people evacuated from Kabul, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
Swiss diplomat describes ‘intense’ evacuation from Kabul
This content was published on
The head of the Swiss cooperation office in Kabul has described the evacuation from Afghanistan as “intense and emotional”.
This content was published on
The most recent events in Afghanistan have grabbed the attention of the world. Many of those scenes bring with them a sense of heartbreak.
Swiss hesitate to offer shelter to large numbers of Afghan refugees
This content was published on
The government has agreed to take in about 230 people from war-torn Afghanistan but has no plans for now to accept larger groups of refugees.
This content was published on
Switzerland has suspended repatriations to Afghanistan “until further notice owing to the changed situation in the country”.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.