Only two years after its last revision, the Swiss Asylum Act is about to be 'reformed' again. The changes include a gag order on political activism for asylum-seekers and a modification of the concept of a refugee.
By Ray Smith
Ever since Switzerland adopted the Asylum Act in
1981, it has constantly
been tightened, largely at the expense of the refugees, as in most
European
countries.
In 2007 and 2008, Switzerland implemented a harshly criticised reform of
the
Asylum Act. Soon after, in spring 2008, Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-
Schlumpf announced new measures to "reduce the attractiveness of
Switzerland as a target country for asylum-seekers."
The latest reform proposals have now passed the consultation procedures
and
have been submitted to parliament for approval.
During the consultation procedure, 45 non-governmental organisations
responded with a detailed statement slamming the proposed law revision
as
"unnecessary" and "baseless". Denise Graf, refugee coordinator of
Amnesty
International (AI), says the reform is unnecessary. "The annual number
of
asylum requests has in the last three years constantly been between
10,000
and 16,000. We're far from the record highs in the end of the nineties,
when
more than 40,000 applications per year were filed."
A highly controversial part of the revision is the plan to punish
"abusive
political activism" by asylum-seekers. The Federal Council argues that a
number of asylum-seekers engage in exile politics only for the purpose
of
fabricating new reasons to be granted asylum.
Graf says the offence is insufficiently defined. Balthasar Glättli,
secretary-
general of the migrants' rights organisation Solidarité sans frontières
(Sosf)
says the provisions are "elastic", as it is up to the court to judge in
particular
cases. Adrian Hauser, spokesperson for the Swiss Refugee Council (SFH),
says
authorities would face serious difficulties proving that someone's
political
activities in exile are motivated by abusive motives.
Amnesty International's refugee coordinator points out that in their
home
countries, refugees often operate underground, as their activism is
considered
illegal. "Once in Switzerland," Graf says, "many asylum-seekers keep up
opposition politics, but undercover. After a while, an exiled refugee
may start
to uncover his political activities, which could then be seen by the
authorities
as 'abusive'."
All three organisations regard the proposed measure as an attack on
freedom
of speech. "It's a totally unacceptable attempt to silence
asylum-seekers,"
says Glättli. SFH's Hauser stresses that the European Convention on
Human
Rights only allows for restrictions of fundamental rights if national
security,
territorial integrity or public safety are in danger or to prevent
disorder or
crime. "Here and now, this is not the case."
Berhanu for instance had his asylum request rejected a few years ago.
Having
studied agricultural economics and development sciences, he once worked
as
an official in a regional administration in his home country Ethiopia.
On a
study visit to Europe in 1989 he learnt about ethnic unrest in his home
region,
and was warned that he'd be arrested if he were to return.
Berhanu, now staying illegally in an emergency centre near Zurich, says
his
political work ultimately aims at improving conditions in Ethiopia, that
could
enable him to return. His party, the Ginbot 7 Movement for Peace and
Justice,
opposes the authoritarian regime of the People's Revolutionary
Democratic
Front.
"Exile politics is about trying to voice out the situation and human
rights
abuses in our country to the rest of the world," says Berhanu. "At the
same
time, it's also a transfer of ideas and procedures aiming at the
democratisation of Ethiopia and an attempt to strengthen home-grown
opposition parties."
At a demonstration for the liberation of an imprisoned opposition leader
in
Geneva, Berhanu learnt about Switzerland's plans to sanction political
activism
of asylum-seekers. The gag order is "a law aligning with dictatorial
regimes,"
he says. Even though open protest activities in the future may not be
possible
any more, Berhanu is optimistic that the Internet will allow him and his
fellows
to continuously mobilise to reach their objectives.
Switzerland is trying to modify the concept of a refugee. Until now, the
country's asylum law has mostly targeted "untrue refugees", a
distinction
made to define people who migrate mainly for economic reasons. Under the
new law proposal, people so far considered "true refugees" are being
targeted, too.
This revision is a reaction to a decision by the former Asylum Recourse
Commission (now the Federal Administrative Court) in 2005. The
Commission
had decided then that conscientious objectors and deserters from Eritrea
would be granted asylum because their potential punishment in their home
country would be politically motivated.
Fearing a rising number of asylum-seekers from Eritrea, the former
right-
wing justice minister Christoph Blocher and his successor Eveline
Widmer-
Schlumpf worked on measures to prevent the influx of Eritrean refugees.
The
number of asylum-seekers now seems to have become the decisive criteria.
Ray Smith is a freelance journalist and activist with the anarchist media collective 'a-films', which has documented asylum issues in Switzerland for the past year.