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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Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has extended its suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Beirut, Lebanon, until August 26 due to the current tensions in the Middle East.
Swiss union calls for 4% pay rise to address cost-of-living pressures
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The Swiss trade union federation Travail Suisse has called for a 4% pay rise this year to help workers cope with cost-of-living pressures.
Swiss trial opens of parents accused of supporting Islamic State
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The trial of two parents accused of financially supporting their son who left Switzerland to fight for Islamic State (IS) in Syria in 2015 opened at the Federal Criminal Court on Monday.
Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer retires from national team
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After a decade as Switzerland’s No. 1 goalkeeper, Yann Sommer retired from the national team on Monday to focus on playing for Inter Milan.
Thousands attend bicentennial of Swiss Shooting Sport Federation
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First trains pass through repaired Gotthard Base Tunnel
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77th Locarno Film Festival attracted 152,000 movie fans
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Around 152,000 movie fans flocked to the 77th Locarno Film Festival that ended on Saturday - a 3.5% increase compared to last year.
SWISS passengers stranded in Kazakhstan flown to Zurich
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Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has repatriated 331 passengers who were stranded in Kazakhstan after an incident at Astana airport on Saturday.
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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.