Sat, Apr 27th 2024
The Swiss National Council’s committee aligns with the Council of States, recommending tougher measures on rejected Eritrean asylum seekers and violent offenders.
Like the Council of States, the responsible National Council committee would also like to return rejected Eritreans to a third country and take a tougher stance on violent asylum seekers. It has recommended that its Council adopt the corresponding motions.
Rejected Eritrean asylum seekers cannot currently be deported as the authorities in Eritrea categorically refuse to forcibly return their citizens. The National Council’s Political Institutions Committee (SPK-N) considers this situation to be unacceptable, as reported by the parliamentary services on Friday.
The SPK-N recommended the motion by FDP member of the Council of States Petra Gössi (SZ) be adopted by 14 votes to 11. According to the motion, rejected Eritrean asylum seekers should have to leave Switzerland for a third country. The National Council had rejected a similar motion in December.
Gössi’s motion calls on the Federal Council to conclude a transit agreement with a suitable third country. The model should be an agreement that was signed by the then Minister of Justice Ruth Metzler in Senegal in 2003, but never came into force afterwards.
The Federal Council rejects the motion. A transit agreement like the one with Senegal at the beginning of the noughties would not solve the problem, said Justice Minister Beat Jans in the Council of States in March. It would only allow transit for a maximum of 72 hours. Many of those affected would then return to Switzerland.
Like the Council of States, the responsible National Council committee also wants to take tougher action against Eritreans who violently support the regime from which they have allegedly fled. A corresponding motion by FDP Councillor of States Andrea Caroni (AR) was adopted in the SPK-N by 12 votes to 10.
There has been an increase in violent demonstrations that glorify the Eritrean dictator and pose a threat to the public safety and order of the population, the petitioner argues. The Federal Council, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the legal means to take action against such individuals already exist.
The SPK-N is also proposing the adoption of two other motions on Eritrea that were approved by the Council of States. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) should send a representative for migration issues to this region in order to make political progress. The Federal Council should also conclude new migration partnerships.
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