“I call on the Swiss authorities to stop detaining migrant children arriving at Swiss international airports. Children, with or without their families, do not belong in detention” said today Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, after a three-day visit (22-24 May) to Switzerland, which included a visit to the closed reception facility in the international transit zone of Zurich airport.
The Commissioner welcomes the improvements foreseen by the new asylum law, which will allow for free legal aid from the beginning of the procedure and should lead to faster and higher quality status determination procedures. However, the new law is only due to enter into force in January 2019 and in the meantime progress is needed in a number of migration-related areas. Pointing to one such area that is particularly pressing, the Commissioner notes that too many persons, including Syrians, still receive the ‘F permit’, a provisional admission regime which does not include many of the rights associated with refugee status. “This leaves them in a precarious situation and impedes their integration, whereas it is a known fact that most will ultimately stay.” Noting that the Swiss authorities are currently reviewing this regime, he calls on them to introduce a subsidiary protection status with rights equivalent to those of refugees.
