Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Switzerland defends racism record at UN rights council

un human rights council
The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

The Swiss Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council has said that an expert report criticising structural racism in the country included “misunderstandings”.

Jürg Lauber said on Monday that while the fight against racism was urgent, a more detailed investigation of the structural racism flagged by a UN working group in January was needed.

Lauber said the findings of the group included “assumptions” and “misunderstandings” which are “not representative of the situation [in Switzerland]”. “Numerous general conclusions seem to be based on only one or several individual cases,” Lauber said. He regretted the fact that discussions with Swiss authorities, which fed into the report, did not last longer.

More

Echoing the conclusions of January’s report, working group president Catherine Namakula told the HRC that the members of her group were “extremely worried” about attitudes towards policing and justice in Switzerland.

The original 59-point documentExternal link drafted by the group outlined various problems faced by people of African descent in Switzerland, including what it called “shocking reports of police brutality and the expectation of impunity for police misconduct, extending over decades”.

It also criticised an “insufficient recognition” of Swiss ties to colonialism and the African slave trade, which it says is directly connected to the country’s modern wealth, notably through the profits made by banks and industries linked to slavery in the past.

Lauber said that the Swiss Service for Combatting RacismExternal link will publish its report on the situation in the coming weeks.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

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