Swiss minister defends government’s Afghan refugee strategy
Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter has defended Switzerland’s refugee policy on Afghanistan. The Alpine country cannot unilaterally help people leave the country, she declared in an interview on Saturday.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/sb
Русский
ru
«Швейцария не в состоянии одна помочь людям покинуть Афганистан»
“Switzerland has absolutely no way of getting these people out of the country,” she told the CH media group on Saturday. “We cannot arbitrarily select 10,000 people and evacuate them from the crisis zone.”
She added that there were currently no mass population displacements from Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, government ministers outlined their policy on Afghanistan, saying they were concentrating on evacuating Swiss nationals and around 230 locals who worked on Swiss projects in Afghanistan, together with their relatives.
The justice minister has not ruled out accepting more refugees in the future but says there are no immediate plans to loosen normal asylum procedures for Afghan refugees.
“Because Switzerland is not a NATO member state and because it does not have its own armed forces on the ground, the foreign ministry is dependent on the cooperation of other states,” the minister explained.
Keller-Sutter added that Switzerland was better placed to concentrate on humanitarian efforts in the region. She pointed out that around three million Afghan refugees live in Iran, 2.5 million in Pakistan and an estimated 200,000 to 600,000 in Turkey. In Afghanistan, which has an estimated population of over 39 million, there are over half a million internally displaced people.
More
More
Pressure grows on Switzerland to accept Afghan refugees
This content was published on
Several Swiss cities have added their voice to growing demands for Switzerland to open its doors to refugees from Afghanistan.
Pressure has been growing on Switzerland to accept Afghan refugees. Switzerland’s current stance has already been criticised by refugee groups and left-leaning political parties. The cities of Geneva, Zurich and Bern have also called on the government to re-think its stance and open its doors to refugees from Afghanistan.
On Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry announced that Switzerland planned to support the air bridge of individuals evacuated from Afghanistan and had organised a charter flight to Uzbekistan.
A SWISS plane was due to fly to Tashkent on Saturday to pick up people previously evacuated from Kabul. The plane was set to bring Swiss citizens and people from different countries to Europe. However, the ministry said on Saturday that the flight had been postponed due to the difficult security situation around Kabul Airport.
More
More
Swiss offer mediation in Afghan crisis, join airlift efforts
This content was published on
Switzerland is sending a plane to Uzbekistan to repatriate people evacuated from Kabul, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
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.
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 scientists to use AI for improved weather and climate forecasts
This content was published on
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.
This content was published on
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.
This content was published on
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
This content was published on
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
This content was published on
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
This content was published on
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
This content was published on
The head of the vaccination commission would be “even more cautious today” when it comes to Covid-19 vaccination recommendations.
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 offer mediation in Afghan crisis, join airlift efforts
This content was published on
Switzerland is sending a plane to Uzbekistan to repatriate people evacuated from Kabul, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
Swiss diplomat describes ‘intense’ evacuation from Kabul
This content was published on
The head of the Swiss cooperation office in Kabul has described the evacuation from Afghanistan as “intense and emotional”.
This content was published on
The most recent events in Afghanistan have grabbed the attention of the world. Many of those scenes bring with them a sense of heartbreak.
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
Switzerland has suspended repatriations to Afghanistan “until further notice owing to the changed situation in the country”.
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.