Switzerland implements anti-torture recommendations inadequately
Published: Monday, Jul 29th 2024, 11:30
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Switzerland's implementation of the recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture is inadequate. This is criticized by the Platform for Human Rights Switzerland, to which over 100 non-governmental organizations belong. There are particularly serious problems in the asylum system and with the police.
In the asylum system, the platform finds the deportation of asylum seekers to Croatia and Greece under the Dublin system offensive, as it announced on Monday. In Croatia, they have no access to the asylum system or medical care. In Greece, they are exposed to violence and poverty.
The constant political initiatives for the deportation of Eritrean refugees to their home country would contradict the principle of non-refoulement.
The non-governmental organizations also noted obstructions of legal representatives in the asylum sector. Government agencies would cover them with Slapp lawsuits (strategic lawsuits against public participation), refuse to pay for legal services or threaten them with sanctions. In addition, the legal services were suffering from overload.
The platform sees no improvement in racial profiling and police violence. It supports this with recent judgments. The public prosecutor's office in Vaud declared a police shot at a Swiss man of South African origin to be self-defense and did not prosecute four police officers who did not provide the man with first aid.
Victims of racial profiling, i.e. police checks based solely on skin color, have systematic difficulties in gaining access to justice. Structural racism still prevails in the police force, the platform criticizes.
And contrary to the UN committee's recommendation, there are no statistics that would provide a basis for remedying abuses. In general, federalism is hindering the implementation of the recommendations, the report continued.
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