Swiss taken to task over human-rights abuses

Gil-Robles (left) met Swiss Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin during his visit Keystone

A senior Council of Europe official has expressed “serious concerns” about human-rights abuses in Switzerland.

In an interview with swissinfo, Alvaro Gil-Robles said he was alarmed about prison overcrowding and the plight of rejected asylum seekers.

Gil-Robles is the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner and was speaking on the penultimate day of a five-day visit to Switzerland.

During the course of his trip, Gil-Robles visited a number of Swiss prisons, centres for asylum seekers and airport immigration centres in Zurich, Vaud, Geneva and Ticino.

He also held talks with three cabinet ministers and met representatives from non-governmental organisations working on human rights in Switzerland.

Gil-Robles is due to submit a report on his findings to the Council of Europe in February.

swissinfo: What were the main findings during your visit to Switzerland?

Alvaro Gil-Robles: I feel that Switzerland has to solve the problem of how it deals with illegal immigration… without ignoring the human rights of individuals. The asylum procedure has become so strict and severe that the rights of genuine asylum seekers are being put at risk.

swissinfo: The Swiss government suspended welfare payments for rejected asylum seekers on April 1. Does this concern you?

A.G-R.: This concerns me enormously. The system in place is designed to ensure that as many people as possible do not make it through the asylum process.

If somebody who has fled from persecution at home arrives in Switzerland without the right papers, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are trying to gain asylum illegally. Of course there are abuses of the system, but there are also genuine cases.

And it’s only to be expected that a large number of rejected asylum applicants will disappear underground, because they are afraid.

swissinfo: Justice Minister Christoph Blocher argues that the suspension of welfare payments is already leading to a reduction in the number of asylum seekers in Switzerland. Did you discuss this with him?

A.G-R.: I did, and he told me exactly what you’ve just said. Today across Europe the number of asylum seekers is on the decline for a number of reasons, including the fact that there are not as many conflicts in the countries of origin as there were in years gone by.

But by adopting this new regulation, I wonder whether [Switzerland] is not creating a situation which is very undesirable and not well thought-out. I have come to this conclusion because I assume there is no deliberate intention to distress people.

And there are other problems with this, most notably in the domain of public health. What happens if these rejected asylum seekers fall ill and cannot receive medical treatment? And then there are the security issues. What’s to stop these people from getting involved in drug trafficking or crime? Is that what we mean by security?

swissinfo: How did Mr Blocher respond to your concerns?

A.G-R.: Well, let’s just put it this way: he listened to me very attentively, but [it’s clear that] his opinions are very different to mine.

swissinfo: You also toured Swiss prisons and detention centres during your visit. What did you see?

A.G-R.: I paid a visit to the Champ-Dollon prison in canton Geneva. The problem is not the prison officers there, who all do an extraordinary job.

The problem is that this is a prison built for 200-odd inmates which currently houses more than 470 prisoners. I saw inmates sleeping on the floor, and four to five people crammed into a cell designed for two.

This serves to create all kinds of tension inside the prison. Prisoners as young as 15 years old are being held under these conditions. This needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

swissinfo: Last week the Swiss government proposed that police should be allowed to use electroshock weapons and shackles to restrain foreigners who resist forced deportation. Are you concerned about this?

A.G-R.: I am very concerned about this. It is of course on occasion necessary to use restraints, because there are people who can be very violent. Police officers – who sometimes have a very difficult and unpleasant job to do – have to be protected.

But you also need limits. Someone whose hands and legs have been tied and who is being held by three people… does not also need to be beaten with a truncheon or stunned by an electroshock weapon.

I mean, what if the person has a heart problem? In short, I am extremely alarmed, because this kind of force is simply not needed.

The police behave in a professional manner, but there is perhaps room for improvement. And above all, if we are going to go down this route, there needs to be independent monitoring of what is going on, whether this is done by the Red Cross or another organisation. Doctors should also be allowed to observe what happens.

swissinfo-interview: Ramsey Zarifeh

Key facts

The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 and is made up of 46 countries, including Switzerland.
Gil-Robles has now visited 27 of the Council’s member states in his capacity as Commissioner on Human Rights.
His findings will form the basis of a report into Swiss human-rights policy to be published next year.