Swiss parliament agrees not to deport Eritreans to third country

The number of Eritreans seeking asylum in Switzerland has dropped, going from 9,950 applications in 2015 to just 1,830 in 2022. © Keystone / Anthony Anex

Switzerland will not deport Eritreans with rejected asylum applications to a third country such as Rwanda. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives rejected a motion calling for a pilot project for such deportations.

The motion was originally put forward by Damian Müller, a member of the centre-right Radical-Liberal party, and approved by the Senate in June.

Müller had justified the motion with the statement that it was about people who had undergone an asylum procedure in Switzerland, had received a negative decision and did not need international protection. They were occupying places that were needed by refugees who required protection.

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Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider countered these statements in the House on Tuesday, arguing that Switzerland lacked the legal basis for such a project. The House voted against the motion by 96 votes to 91 with 6 abstentions.

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