Confederation closes three temporary asylum shelters at the end of February
Published: Monday, Jan 15th 2024, 13:50
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The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) is closing three temporary asylum shelters at the end of February. This affects the accommodation on the military bases in Thun (BE), Dübendorf (ZH) and Moudon (VD). The army will take over the premises for its own purposes.
In coordination with the army, a reopening will be organized at short notice if necessary, said Anne Césard, spokeswoman for the SEM, on Monday at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. The SEM came to the decision to close the accommodation after analyzing the asylum figures at the beginning of 2024.
In the asylum accommodation in Moudon, the average occupancy rate during 2023 was around 74 people. The peak was reached between October and December 2023 with an average occupancy rate of around 130 people, according to the SEM.
Low capacity utilization in winter
"The asylum accommodation in Moudon is a temporary emergency infrastructure provided by the army. The State Secretariat for Migration has undertaken to make places available to the military again in the course of 2024 if capacity utilization permits," said Césard, confirming a report in the daily newspaper 24 Heures.
This is now the case. Between 30 and 40 people are currently housed in the sports hall of the barracks in Moudon, which has a capacity of 200 beds. They will be transferred to the other locations in western Switzerland.
The SEM points out that the army has made many more places available than was agreed with the cantons. Although the number of asylum seekers is still at a very high level, it usually stabilizes in winter before rising again on nice days when travel conditions are easier.
©Keystone/SDA
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