With “great relief” the Swiss bishops heard the news of the defeat of the popular referendum asking for further restrictions on the right to asylum. In a statement issued after the results were announced, the bishops reaffirmed “their support for a policy of solidarity towards foreigners and refugees”. On Sunday 24th, the Swiss people were called to vote in a referendum with the title “popular initiative against abuses of the right to asylum”. The referendum, which asked for further restrictions on the granting of the right of asylum to foreigners, was opposed by all country’s Christian churches and humanitarian agencies. The victory of the “no” vote was by a narrow margin: 50.1 percent of the population voted against the referendum, with a margin of only some 3,000 votes. “If the initiative had been accepted by the people write the Swiss bishops solidarity would have suffered a grievous blow and Swiss legislation would have been stripped of a good part of its humanitarian substance. But reason prevailed and the right to find refuge will continue to guide the asylum policy of our country”. The bishops, however, invite the authorities to take into account the 50% of the population who voted in favour of the referendum, and emphasize that it is “legitimate to adopt measures to curb abuses but the responses to be given to the population must never be to the detriment of the dignity of asylum-seekers and foreigners in general”.
