An appeal not to “restrict the right of asylum any further” was made in the last days in a joint communiqué issued by the three main Christian Churches in Switzerland (Federation of the Protestant Churches, Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Christian-Catholic Church) and by the Federation of Jewish communities. The Council of States of the Swiss Parliament is due to discuss a reform of the law that regulates asylum, in the course of its spring session. “Our country write the religious representatives is faced today as never before by a situation of emergency in terms of asylum. That’s why the religious communities are asking the members of the Council not to “restrict the right of asylum any further”. In the view of the religious leaders, replacing the term “humanitarian admission” with “provisional admission” means shifting “the admission of the right of asylum to the right of foreigners, which contradicts the already acquired concept of refugee status and isolates Switzerland from the European context”. The representatives of the religious communities in Switzerland also note that “emergency aid” cannot “be reduced or refused without violating fundamental rights” and article 12 of the Federal Constitution, according to which “every human being in a situation of difficulty has a right to assistance”. Lastly, the communiqué emphasises that the procedure for right to asylum cannot be refused to persons without documents since “those who are really persecuted often cannot present travelling documents within 48 hours of the presentation of their application”.
