Cantons against direct admission of refugees from crisis regions

SP federal council member Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) has been in office for less than two months. Yet the new justice minister is already in a difficult position because of the tense asylum situation in the country.

Baume-Schneider met a top delegation from the cantons last Friday. She is said to have announced that she wants to take back refugees from the crisis areas in the Middle East in Switzerland.

The asylum numbers are too high for the cantons

But: in the case of the cantons, it bites on granite. The numbers of asylum seekers are too high and the prospects in the Ukraine war too uncertain, says Alain Ribaux (60) to Radio SRF. The Council of Government of Neuchâtel is vice-chairman of the conference of all directors of the cantonal judiciary and police. “It is not so easy for the cantons, so it is not the right time to say: we are restarting this program.”

The recording program is a so-called resettlement. This means that particularly vulnerable refugees, for example from Afghanistan or Syria, come to Switzerland without an asylum procedure and are allowed to stay here. The refugees are mediated by the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Most are women, families or people with serious health problems.

reassessment in early summer

Baume-Schneider’s predecessor, FDP federal councilor Karin Keller-Sutter (59), put the admission program on hold at the end of 2022 – then already because of the high number of asylum seekers. And now the cantons are resisting a restart. “Because of these capacities, the cantons intervened,” says Marianne Lienhard (54), government councilor Glarner and vice president of the conference of social directors of all cantons.

Lienhard assumes that the cantons are currently in a strong position due to the already high rate of asylum utilisation. Glarner’s government councilor said the case could be reviewed in early summer, but not before. At the request of Radio SRF, the department of Federal Councilor Baume-Schneider did not want to comment on the cantons’ no.

UN refugee agency disappointed

In contrast to the UN refugee agency UNHCR: the head of the Swiss bureau, Anja Smartis disappointed with the attitude of the cantons: “We would very much like to see the program resumed. We still have a very high demand.”

In addition, there is the current special situation in Turkey Smart. Many refugees were affected by the earthquake there. The UNHCR is therefore looking for more places. For the time being, however, Switzerland no longer accepts refugees directly from the crisis areas. (dba)

Source:Blick