Switzerland: New asylum law approved by referendum
01 May 1999
The review of Swiss asylum law and a Federal Decree on urgent measures on asylum, passed by parliament in June last year, were approved in a referendum held on 13 June by 70% to 30%. For the coalition against the new legislation, led by the Committee Asyl.CH, the result was not a surprise. The Committee says that the collection of the 50,000 signatures required to hold the referendum at least encouraged a public debate around the dismantling of refugee rights. The new legislation is the fifth change in asylum law since its introduction in 1979.
The Decree on urgent measures has been in force since last July, (urgent Decrees coming into force once they are agreed by parliament). Its main provision is a regulation compelling refugees who enter the country without passports, or other papers, to prove their identity. Refugees are now subjected to a fast-track procedure held in a reception centre near the border. At a summary hearing they are asked their reasons for not having papers; in most cases the Federal Office for Refugees decides that their case is not admissible. Appeals to the Asylum Recourse Commission must be made within 24 hours and must be written in an "official" language (German, French or Italian). As the reception centres are often inaccessible to human rights groups or lawyers the chance of a successful appeal is minimal and rejected applications are immediately enforceable.
For opponents of the Decree, this regulation presents a contradiction in Federal Office practice. In many instances the Federal Office has argued that asylum seekers who present passports are unbelievable, because "genuine" refugees have neither the time nor the opportunity to obtain a new passport at a police station in their country of origin. This means that the Decree would have excluded about 80% of the recognised refugees who entered the country without proper passports or other identification papers. The Decree will be included in the revised Asylum law.
Apart from procedural restrictions, the main concern of the Asylum law is the new status of temporary protection for refugees fleeing war or civil war. Those acquiring temporary protection will be automatically excluded from asylum procedure. Thus, for the first five years after their arrival there will be no possibility of claiming political, racial or other persecution, on the grounds that they could obtain recognition as a refugee under the Geneva Convention. Furthermore, it is the Swiss government who will decide when a war is over and when the refugees should return home.
For further information see:
link (in German);
link (in French)