For the dignity of refugees

Swiss people will go to the polls next June 9th to approve or repeal the amendments to the law on asylum which the Federal Council and Parliament have voted in September last year and which are now in force. According to information from the Federal Department of Justice and Police it deals with “urgent amendments to the Asylum Act”, taking a “step towards a fundamental reform of the asylum process” to “speed up asylum procedures,” and to promote “research by the Confederation of new housing for asylum seekers” while limiting the asylum process “only to persons whose lives and personal integrity are directly threatened”, thus excluding from now on conscientious objectors and deserters unless “they risk a disproportionately high penalty or persecution in their country of origin”. Under the revised law it will no longer be possible to file an application for asylum through a Swiss representation abroad.What the Churches say. But Swiss Churches say ‘no’ to these proposals. In an ecumenical press conference which was held in Bern Thursday May 2nd, the Churches said they “refuse these urgent changes regarding asylum rights, because it is inconsistent with the fundamental objective of asylum, namely the protection of persecuted people. The churches see the need to ensure fair procedures for asylum for humans on the run”. They also complain that the constant changes and tightening of the Asylum Act of 1981 “cannot change the reality that there are human beings who need to flee their countries,” but the result is that “the fate of individual applicants’ asylum is barely considered and all applicants are suspected of being criminals who are just looking to take advantage of our welfare state”. Specifically, there is opposition the amendment that eliminates the possibility of applying for asylum in a Swiss embassy abroad: “The consequences of this suppression are dramatic: women, children, the elderly and the sick are particularly penalized. For the poor this last chance to escape will become impossible”.In defense of the dignity of the human person. According to the Catholic Commission Justitia et Pax it is clear that “foreigners and refugees deserve protection in the name of human dignity. An asylum policy that seeks to discard people does not take into account the needs and sometimes the misery in which refugees live and closes its eyes to the malfunctioning of this world”. Abbot Martin Werlen, Chairman of the Committee, acknowledged the positive nature of a law that intends to speed up the procedures for the granting of asylum status, but he complained that “this law expresses the tendency to consider more and more foreigners as a threat and as a problem and not as people in need”. The Federation of Protestant Churches in Switzerland has also prepared a document entitled “10 Questions – 10 answers about the 9th June 2013 referendum on urgent changes of the Asylum Act”: “A fair asylum policy creates rules and legal procedures which conform to the human dignity and the particular situation of the persons concerned. The fundamental right to seek asylum is born from this fairness. Placing a request for asylum is not an abuse, but a right”.Do not exaggerate the problem. The Swiss section of Amnesty International also launched its campaign in recent days, urging for a “no” vote in the 9th June referendum”.We are not in a state of emergency” and that is why we need to oppose this review and the nationalist parties’ intimidation campaign”.In 2012 there were more than 42 million people worldwide fleeing war and persecution. In Switzerland, asylum seekers numbered 44,863, which is 0.5% of the resident population,” the Swiss NGO said in order to help citizens not to overstate the problem”.Refugees need our protection. The rights of refugees apply all over the world and cannot be questioned,” Amnesty added”.The continued tightening of asylum laws does not solve any problem but it creates new ones instead. Deterrence and harshness do not limit the flights but complicate integration and create unnecessary suffering for asylum seekers”.Amnesty says it is “time for a fair, credible and effective asylum procedure and which includes speedy procedures and legal protection, a decent living arrangement, counseling and assistance in cases of repatriation and the elimination of forced repatriations”.