Bundesrat does not want to deport asylum seekers to Africa

The Federal Council makes no secret of its skepticism. “He is not working out a scenario in which asylum procedures are outsourced to foreign countries,” confirms Samuel Wyss of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). Rather, the government continues to rely on “swift and fair asylum procedures with consistent expulsion of those not in need of protection”.

SVP chairman Marco Chiesa (48) had demanded that asylum seekers who had entered the country illegally be deported to an African country. He referred to the example of Great Britain. Shortly before Christmas, a court ruled that the British government’s plans to deport migrants who had entered the country illegally to Rwanda in East Africa were lawful. The project does not violate the Geneva Refugee Convention.

London wants to outsource asylum procedures

Britain, led by former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson (58), had signed a controversial deal with Rwanda to fly asylum seekers to the East African country. Their asylum applications should in future be processed in Rwanda and not in Britain. Similar plans have been discussed in Denmark for some time.

A similar project must now also be investigated in Switzerland, Chiesa demands. This could significantly relieve the local asylum system. Because the Schengen-Dublin system is not working. This is evidenced by the unilateral breach of contract by the new Italian government.

Outsourcing is “not feasible” for the federal government

Because new migrants are constantly arriving via the Mediterranean, Italy will not take back any Dublin refugees for the time being. Switzerland is currently unable to repatriate 184 people, although Italy would be responsible as the country of entry under the Dublin Agreement. For the cantons, the decision comes at a time when they are already reaching their limits when it comes to the reception of the many asylum seekers.

The Bundesrat does not want to deviate from its previous asylum policy. He considers outsourcing the asylum procedure “still not feasible”. This would not only raise complex legal questions. Agreements are also needed with third countries willing to set up suitable processing centers in their country.

“In addition, guarantees should be obtained from these states that adequate procedural standards are observed and human rights are respected,” the government stressed in its response to similar demands. And she makes no secret of the fact that she does not want to believe in it: “The Federal Council does not consider such agreements realistic at the moment.”

Baume-Schneider will barely tighten the screw

On the contrary, the Federal Council seems to share the concerns of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, “according to which asylum seekers transferred to Rwanda do not have access to a fair and efficient procedure for determining refugee status”.

The cabinet around former FDP Minister of Justice Karin Keller-Sutter (59) prefers to refer to the Swiss asylum reform of 2019, which has led to a significant decrease in apparently unfounded asylum applications. Only about two percent of all asylum applications in Europe are currently lodged in Switzerland. The Bundesrat intends to continue on this path. It is hard to imagine that SP federal council member Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) will turn the screw on this as the new Minister of Justice.

Italy has not complied with the earlier announcement

In addition, the Swiss authorities assume that Italy will soon take back Dublin refugees. It was reported that this would be the case again from Christmas. “Christmas is now over,” admits SEM spokesman Wyss, “but it is important to stress that in recent years Italy has not accepted any Dublin transfers during the holiday season up to and including Epiphany on January 6.”

“The SEM expects the suspension to be lifted after the holiday season,” Wyss clarified. “This expectation is shared by other affected Dublin states.”