Switzerland defends racism record at UN 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”.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/dos
Español
es
Suiza se defiende del informe de racismo en el Consejo de Derechos de la ONU
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
More
Expert group criticises systemic racism in Switzerland
This content was published on
Black people in Switzerland face everyday discrimination as well serious racial profiling by the police, a UN working group has found.
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.
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
Swiss army chiefs defend botched procurement projects
This content was published on
Swiss defense Minister and military heads defend against parliamentary and media criticisms of problematic procurement projects.
Swiss cheese exports recorded second-best year in 2024
This content was published on
A total 79,268 tons of Swiss cheese worth CHF748.5 million was exported abroad in 2024 - a 7.9% increase in annual sales from the previous year.
This content was published on
Insects benefit from storm devastation, says a 20-year study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research.
This content was published on
The parents of the young jihadist who left for Syria to join the Islamic State have been given suspended sentences by the Federal Criminal Court.
This content was published on
Felix Lehner, Pamela Rosenkranz and Miroslav Sik have been awarded the Swiss Grand Award for Art/Prix Meret Oppenheim 2025.
Nearly 2% of new Swiss disability insurance claims involve Long Covid
This content was published on
Just under 2% of new claims submitted to the disability insurance between 2021 and 2023 concern people suffering from Long Covid.
This content was published on
The watch industry had to contend with a weakening of its exports last year, which reached a volume of CHF25.9 billion ($28.5 billion).
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
Annual racism report flags 630 cases of discrimination
This content was published on
A record number of cases of racial discrimination were recorded in Switzerland in 2021, with the education sector seeing a notable increase.
Swiss launch platform to report racist speech online
This content was published on
Switzerland has a new platform for reporting racist hate speech on the Internet, the Federal Commission against Racism (FCR) has announced.
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.