ERITREA

Single entry into Switzerland: the new harshness in asylum policy

by Jonas Schmid - Northwestern Switzerland

6.4.2018

Switzerland is tightening its gait towards Eritreans - pictured is a translator talking to asylum seekers in the canton of Bern.

Switzerland is still on its own with its intensified pace internationally, and even today Switzerland is considerably more restrictive in terms of Eritrea than other EU states. The fact is, Switzerland can not carry out any forced evictions to Eritrea at present.

The air for Eritreans is getting thinner: the federal government is tightening its asylum practice. What applies to new applicants since 2016 is now also being felt by people who have been living in Switzerland for some years. 3200 provisional Eritreans were recently mailed by the authorities, as SRF's "Rundschau" publicized.

In the letter of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), which is the "Northwestern Switzerland", it says: "The Federal Administrative Court considers the execution of the routing to Eritrea basically reasonable. The SEM therefore intends to suspend your provisional admission and order the execution of the removal order. "The persons concerned will have the opportunity to be heard.

The basis for this stricter regime is provided by findings from a fact-finding mission, which the SEM published at the end of June 2016. In its report, the Confederation cites that illegally exiled people can return without penalty if they meet demands such as paying a two percent tax.

This raises Eritrea with compatriots abroad. For those affected there is no justified fear of persecution more, it is said. The federal government changed his practice and no longer granted asylum to Eritreans for the illegal departure alone. In addition, Eritreans who have been exempted from national service or rendered it, a return is basically reasonable.

Hardly any access to information

The SEM justifies the review of the provisional admission with the judgment of the Federal Administrative Court of August 2017. This supported the assessment of the SEM. "The practice change of the SEM is based on insecure information", criticizes Michael Flückiger of the refugee aid. The situation in Eritrea has not changed fundamentally. Access to information is difficult.

The fact is: Switzerland is currently unable to carry out any forced evictions to Eritrea. The East African country refuses to resume his compatriots. At the same time, there is no readmission agreement with Switzerland. If those affected are denied status, they will be given emergency aid.

According to the UN refugee agency, this situation must be avoided: "What we do not want is a situation in which people can not find a permanent solution because they are not allowed to stay legally in Switzerland, nor return home safely and dignified can, »says Anja Klug from UNHCR.

With regard to Eritrea, Switzerland is already much more restrictive than other EU states. The protection rate has dropped from 95.5 percent in 2015 to 83 percent last year. Reason: the practice change. In European terms, the recognition rate in 2017 was 90 percent.

Others were in Eritrea

Even countries that, like Switzerland, have taken on a particularly large number of Eritreans in the past, treat asylum applications more generously: in Germany only 2.4 percent are rejected, in the Netherlands 11.5 percent and in Sweden 4.8 percent.

"No other country knows such rigid regulations as Switzerland," says Michael Flückiger. Elsewhere, an Eritrean, who could prove that he was of legal age and illegally left the country, is considered a refugee and accepted.

In addition, countries such as Denmark and Norway would have carried out fact-finding missions to Eritrea. And none of these countries has tightened his practice afterwards. "Our situation analysis from Eritrea is shared by the EU states," emphasizes Lukas Rieder from the SEM. But even the SEM are no known tightening in other countries.

(Software translation)