U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey 1997 - Switzerland

During 1996, 18,001 persons filed asylum applications in Switzerland, a 5.7 percent increase over the 17,021 claimants in 1995. The largest number of claimants in 1996 came from the present Yugoslavia (6,228), followed by applicants from Sri Lanka (1,965), Turkey (1,317), and Bosnia and Hercegovina (1,269). The Federal Office for Refugees, the responsible body for adjudicating asylum claims, decided the cases of 20,710 applicants during 1996. Of this figure, it granted asylum to 2,267 individuals, an approval rate of 10.9 percent, down from a ten-year high approval rate in 1995 of 16.4 percent. The highest approval rates during 1996 went to claimants from Vietnam (88.8 percent), followed by Iraq (42.6 percent), Turkey (40.4 percent), Iran (37.4 percent), Bosnia and Hercegovina (25.5 percent), and Rwanda (17.4 percent). The office denied asylum to 14,232 applicants, or 68.8 percent of all persons who received a status determination. The cases of 2,399 persons (11.6 percent of all applicants) were denied on a decision "not to enter into the matter," a fast-track procedure similar to procedures used for cases deemed "manifestly unfounded" in other European countries. The office closed the cases of an additional 1,812 persons (8.7 percent), due either to the disappearance or death of the applicant. The cases of some 16,380 applicants remained pending a first-instance decision at the end of 1996. An additional 7,516 claimants awaited a second-instance decision on their appeals at year's end. Asylum Procedure The Swiss asylum procedure is governed by the Law on Asylum, amended four times since its passage in 1979, and two decrees on asylum, enacted in 1991 and in 1993. On December 1, 1996, a motion calling for the ban of access to the asylum procedure for asylum seekers entering the country illegally was defeated in a referendum by 53.7 percent of the voters who cast ballots. Swiss asylum law stipulates that asylum seekers normally should request asylum at the border upon entering the country. However, the overwhelming majority, some 78 percent of all claimants, file after entering Switzerland. Whether or not their entry was legal, "inland" applicants can apply for asylum, although a decision "not to enter into the matter" may deny them a full status determination procedure (see below). Applicants applying at the border fill out initial applications that the border police forward to the Federal Office for Refugees. The office then decides (usually the same day) whether to permit entry. Permission to enter Switzerland may be denied if an applicant has no visa to enter, and a third country, as stipulated under an international agreement, is responsible for reviewing the asylum request; or did not arrive directly from the country of alleged persecution. Airport arrivals may be refused entry if their return to a third country is considered "possible, permissible, and may be reasonably expected." Asylum seekers denied on safe third country grounds may enter Switzerland and apply for asylum if they can provide credible reasons why the third country would not be safe for them individually. The Federal Office for Refugees also may decide to admit an applicant if an asylum seeker has close relatives residing in Switzerland. The "direct travel" requirement may also be waived if an asylum seeker makes a credible claim to needing asylum and can show that he or she traveled to Switzerland without delay. Asylum seekers whom the office permits to enter the territory and inland applicants are referred to one of four refugee reception centers. There, the office registers applicants and refers them to one of Switzerland's 23 cantons, where they remain during the asylum procedure. The Aliens Police in the individual cantons interview the asylum applicants. Interview records and other evidence are submitted to the office for a decision. Denials of Asylum At any point during or after initial registration at a refugee reception center, the Federal Office may decide "not to enter into the matter" on an applicant's case. Similar to fast-track procedures for "manifestly unfounded" cases in other European countries, a decision not to enter into the matter means that an applicant's case is denied without a full status determination procedure. Among the reasons for such denials are the existence of a third country or a "safe country of origin." Applicants may appeal such denials within 30 days. Filing an appeal will not, as a rule, however, suspend a rejected applicant's deportation, which is usually carried out within 24 hours of the receipt of a negative decision. Unlike applicants whose cases received a decision not to enter into the matter, asylum seekers rejected under the normal procedure who file appeals with the Appeals Commission generally can remain in Switzerland pending a decision on their appeal. Persecution perpetrated by non-state agents does not constitute grounds for asylum in Switzerland unless it can be shown to have been condoned by the state authorities. Recognized refugees are granted renewable one-year residence permits (and permanent residence after five years), work authorization, and access to social security and education. The Swiss government also provides temporary protection to several categories of persons not granted full asylum. Rejected asylum seekers whose return to their country of origin is considered impossible, unsafe, or unreasonable may be granted temporary residence. The Swiss federal government may also grant temporary residence to specified groups for humanitarian reasons on an ad-hoc basis. Detention According to the Federal Law on Security Measures to be Taken in Relation to Foreigners, effective since February 1, 1995, asylum seekers more than 15 years old can be detained if they have filed claims under different names; refuse to reveal their identity; repeatedly and without cause miss asylum interviews; violate any restrictions on movement; are refused permission to enter Switzerland but the government is unable to expel them; claim asylum after an expulsion order; or are being prosecuted for or were convicted of a threat to the public order. A rejected asylum seeker can be detained for up to nine months while awaiting deportation if the above-mentioned criteria apply, if there is a credible threat that the individual will evade deportation, or if the individual was already in detention pending a decision on his or her case. Former Yugoslavs With the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords on December 14, 1995, the stage was set for debate in 1996 regarding the return of some 18,000 Bosnian refugees with temporary protection in Switzerland. Some 5,700 recognized Bosnian refugees and Bosnians with permanent residence permits will not be affected by Swiss repatriation plans. On April 3, the Swiss parliament decided on a phased repatriation plan that required single adults and childless couples, numbering approximately 8,000 persons, to leave the country by August 31, 1996. In a second phase, adults with children and unaccompanied minors were to leave Switzerland by August 31, 1997. Humanitarian organizations, including USCR, criticized the plan as precipitous and called on the Swiss government to reconsider. In a May 20, 1996 letter to the Swiss ambassador to the United States, USCR said that the return of refugees to Bosnia at that time "could destabilize the peace process and hinder reconstruction efforts." On June 26, the Swiss government agreed to revise its plan, postponing the mandatory date of departure for single and childless adults to April 30, 1997. Recognized refugees and Bosnians with residence permits are permitted to remain in Switzerland. The Swiss government has offered financial incentives for Bosnians to repatriate voluntarily within the government-mandated departure dates. On July 5, 1996, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Police announced that rejected Kosovo Albanian asylum seekers, whose right to remain in Switzerland was to expire on July 31, would be permitted to remain until the end of March 1997. Since November 1994, the present Yugoslavia has only permitted Yugoslav nationals in the possession of valid residence permits abroad to re-enter the country, thus confounding Swiss government efforts to repatriate some 11,600 rejected Yugoslav asylum seekers. Some 95 percent are Albanians from Kosovo. Swiss government representatives have sought to conclude a readmission agreement with their counterparts in Belgrade, but had little success in negotiations during 1996. Sri Lankans In early April 1996, the Swiss and Sri Lankan governments extended for another two years a repatriation agreement to return rejected Sri Lankan asylum seekers from Switzerland. The agreement had expired in mid-January. The decision followed a review by the Swiss Federal Office for Refugees that found conditions in Sri Lanka to be conducive to repatriation. On April 17, the Federal Office for Refugees announced that it would resume the forced repatriation of some 1,745 rejected Tamil asylum seekers. The Swiss authorities had suspended the expulsion of rejected Sri Lankan asylum seekers on November 3, 1995 following unrest in Colombo. During 1996, the Swiss authorities issued expulsion orders for 1,154 Sri Lankans. Of this figure, 147 are documented to have left voluntarily, 44 were deported to Sri Lanka, and 18 were removed to third countries. The whereabouts of the remaining 945 persons were unknown.