Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Swiss to continue to take in vulnerable refugees

Simonetta Sommaruga
Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga speaking on Friday at a federal council press conference © KEYSTONE / PETER SCHNEIDER

Switzerland will take in 800 vulnerable refugees from conflict zones in 2019, mostly from Syria, the government has said.


The country has been accepting groups of recognised refugees as part of a Resettlement ProgrammeExternal link run by United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) since 2013. In all, 3,500 people have come to Switzerland so far.

In a statement, the Federal Council (government) saidExternal link that the number of asylum requests had fallen in Switzerland and Europe, but that the difficult situation in the countries of origin of migrants and refugees remained. For particularly vulnerable people, who cannot stay in their own countries or in their host countries, being moved elsewhere is the only option.

The current quota will be filled by spring, which is why the government has decided to allow a further 800 refugees in, Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said on Friday.

Accepting refugees helps prevent illegal migration and human trafficking. Women, children and older people are not obliged to attempt dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossings, she added.

The government said that it wanted to continue taking in vulnerable refugees after 2019 as well. It has worked out a concept for accepting between 1,500 and 2,000 refugees every two years, with the option of reducing the numbers or stopping the programme if need be. But it will first consult with parliamentary commissions about the concept.

More

Most Read
Swiss Abroad

Most Discussed

News

Property prices continue to rise

More

Swiss property prices continue to rise

This content was published on Prices of owner-occupied homes rose in the third quarter of 2024 by 0.5%, with inflation affecting both apartments and single-family houses, says the Federal Statistical Office.

Read more: Swiss property prices continue to rise

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR