Over 50,000 people have urged the Swiss government to accept more refugees currently stranded in Greek island camps. They also demand a reform of the European asylum system.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA/dos
Three separate petitions were handed to the authorities in Bern on Tuesday by the NGOs Amnesty International, Evacuate Now and Migrationscharta.
The groups say things continue to worsen in refugee camps on Greek islands, where large influxes of refugees have added to cramped living spaces, dirty conditions, the insufficient availability of healthcare, and sometimes violence.
The petitions follow a similar call in April for Switzerland to take in more refugees, and an announcement in May that 23 unaccompanied minors – from Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – had been accepted by the country.
And in February this year, Switzerland signed an agreement with Greece to help the country with its refugee situation, for example by sending experts to help identify and register asylum seekers, implement new asylum procedures, or for border surveillance and management.
Alexandra Karle, the head of the Swiss chapter of Amnesty International, said however on Tuesday that this was “too weak a response to the need to protect thousands of people [in the Greek camps]. Switzerland is just applying the Dublin Regulation – it’s not enough”.
The so-called Dublin Regulation includes the European Union’s 27 members, as well as Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. It determines which member state is responsible for processing an asylum claim so that an application is examined just once within the Dublin area. A key goal is to ensure that an application is actually examined, and that asylum-seekers cannot be shifted from one country to another without receiving a proper asylum procedure. Another aim is to prevent asylum-seekers from migrating on to other member states and lodging an asylum claim multiple times.
Indeed, Switzerland applies more strictly than most countries the Dublin regulation by sending back asylum seekers to the country in which they first made their request.
As such, the NGOs have also called on the government to lead efforts to reform the system; what’s needed is a Europe-wide programme of refugee allocation in which all countries would act in solidarity, they say.
In Switzerland meanwhile, 14,269 asylum applications were made in 2019External link, a 6.5% decrease relative to the previous year, according to official figures. Migration authorities expect to process about 15,000 new asylum applications in 2020.
Should raw milk sales be banned or should consumers decide?
Swiss food regulations do not allow raw milk to be sold for direct consumption. However, a loophole allows 400 raw milk vending machines to do just that.
Is reforming the Swiss pension system still possible, and if so, how?
Solutions still need to be found to meet the challenge of an ageing population and to improve the pensions of low-paid workers, the majority of whom are women.
This content was published on
Czech President Petr Pavel and his wife, Eva Pavlova, arrived in Switzerland on Tuesday at the start of a two-day state visit.
Study shows proliferation of non-native plants is driver of insect invasions
This content was published on
A global study has revealed that insect invasions are being driven by the proliferation of non-native plants. This can can massively disrupt ecological processes, often leading to serious economic impacts.
Swiss set record for world’s longest hyperloop test
This content was published on
Swiss scientists have established a record for the longest-ever hyperloop journey at a facility in Lausanne, Switzerland.
This content was published on
The Swiss army wants to purchase new German armoured howitzers to replace its existing artillery system which has been in operation for over 50 years.
Poll suggests Donald Trump has many fans in Switzerland
This content was published on
Around a quarter of Swiss citizens would vote for Donald Trump if they had the chance, according to a recent poll. This percentage is higher than in many other European countries.
Swiss court rejects special assistance for student with disabilities
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Court has rejected an application for special assistance from a student with disabilities at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich.
Police arrest 15 drug dealers in Verbier in southern Switzerland
This content was published on
Swiss and French police have arrested 15 suspected drug dealers operating in the mountain resort of Verbier in southern Switzerland.
New European space tech centre in Switzerland launches its first project
This content was published on
The European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI), launched in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), is to be located in the immediate vicinity of the PSI in northern Switzerland.
Swiss Federal Railways launches campaign for safety on public transport
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Railways is launching a campaign for greater respect and safety on public transport, with posters to go up in stations and on trains starting next week.
Swiss take in young refugees from Greek island camps
This content was published on
A group of underage refugees stranded in Greece have arrived in Switzerland following calls by civil society to prevent a humanitarian disaster.
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.