Switzerland defends racism record at UN rights council
The Swiss Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council has said that an expert report criticising structural racism in the country included “misunderstandings”.
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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.
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Expert group criticises systemic racism in Switzerland
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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.
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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
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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 scientists to use AI for improved weather and climate forecasts
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MeteoSwiss and the Swiss Data Science Center have signed a four-year agreement to make greater use of AI in meteorology and climatology going forward.
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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.
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The honey harvest is projected to be lower than usual this year, as Swiss beekeepers report harvesting an average of just 16kg of honey per bee colony.
More young refugees in Switzerland following vocational training
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More than half of young refugees and temporarily admitted persons between the ages of 16 and 25 are now in training. This is significantly more than five years ago.
One in five Swiss children suffers psychological abuse at home
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In Switzerland, one in five children suffers psychological violence, and one in three has witnessed psychological violence between parents, says the association Kinderschutz Schweiz.
Swiss government minister breaks silence over Trump remarks controversy
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Transport Minister Albert Rösti explained himself in a television interview on Sunday evening, after being called out for expressing support for Donald Trump.
Swiss Covid expert calls for caution on vaccination recommendations
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The head of the vaccination commission would be “even more cautious today” when it comes to Covid-19 vaccination recommendations.
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Annual racism report flags 630 cases of discrimination
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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
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Switzerland has a new platform for reporting racist hate speech on the Internet, the Federal Commission against Racism (FCR) has announced.
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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.