On Wednesday, government ministers said they were concentrating on evacuating Swiss nationals and around 230 locals who worked on Swiss projects in Afghanistan, together with their relatives.
Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter did not rule out accepting more refugees in future but said there are no immediate plans to loosen normal asylum procedures for Afghan refugees.
This policy has already been criticised by refugee groups and left-leaning political parties. Now the cities of Geneva, Zurich and Bern have called on the government to re-think its stance.
“Switzerland cannot stand by. We should take in more refugees directly from Afghanistan,” Geneva city president Frédérique Perler told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
“We all see the pictures, we hear the news from Afghanistan, and we are very worried. We think it is time for the Federal Council to act,” said Alec von Graffenried, mayor of the Swiss capital, Bern.
“This is specifically about maintaining Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition,” added Zurich city councillor Raphael Golta.
Earlier this year, eight Swiss cities joined calls to accept refugees from Greece following a fire that tore through the Moria camp on the island of Lesbos in September. This demand was rejected at the time by the federal migration office.
The unexpected speed of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has left many countries grappling with how to deal with an expected flood of refugees from the war-torn country.
In Europe, the initial response has been mixed. For example, Britain says it will accept up to 20,000 refugees, while Greece fears it may be overwhelmed by large numbers of people migrating through Turkey.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Rhine could warm by up to 4°C by 2100, scientists warn
This content was published on
The water temperature of the Rhine River could rise by up to 4.2° degrees Celsius by the end of the century due to the warming planet, scientists warn.
This content was published on
The Federal Council wants to explore the possibilities of joining the European Union’s €800-billion rearmament programme without compromising Swiss neutrality.
Defence Minister Pfister stresses importance of Swiss mission in Balkans
This content was published on
During a visit to the Balkans region last week, Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister met Swisscoy peacekeeping troops in Kosovo.
Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day
This content was published on
On July 14, the Swiss Air Force will take part in the traditional air parade in Paris to mark the French bank holidays with an F/A-18 fighter jet. This is a first for Switzerland.
Swiss launch competition for memorial to Nazi victims
This content was published on
The victims of Nazi Germany are to be commemorated on the Casinoterrasse in Bern. A competition will be held to determine what the site will look like.
This content was published on
The cantonal police of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland have arrested and convicted five cocaine dealers in Chur within a week.
This content was published on
The Swiss business umbrella organisation Economiesuisse and the employers' association broadly support the package of agreements negotiated with the European Union.
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 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
The three remaining Swiss employees at the cooperation office in Kabul have been evacuated, the foreign minister has confirmed.
This content was published on
There are still 28 registered Swiss nationals in Afghanistan, where the situation remains uncertain after the Taliban seized control of capital Kabul.
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.