The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Switzerland outlines ‘responsible’ approach to repatriating Eritreans

A group of seated Eritrean asylum seekers are watched over by a security guard
A group of Eritrean aslyum seekers is watched over by a security guard. © KEYSTONE / TI-PRESS / GABRIELE PUTZU

The head of Switzerland’s migration office has defended the country’s right to send failed asylum seekers back to Eritrea, saying that people will not be repatriated if there is any evident risk to life or limb.

Two court rulings in as many years have cleared the way for Switzerland to repatriate failed asylum seekers to the African state. The verdicts dismissed claims that Eritrea is too dangerous to send anyone back or that enforced military service would necessarily result in abuse.

Speaking to the Blick newspaper on Wednesday, the head of the State Secretariat for Migration Mario Gattiker said Switzerland would not take advantage of the rulings to arbitrarily send back all failed asylum seekers. “Anyone who could face persecution in Eritrea would receive protection from Switzerland.”

But where no evidence of imminent danger exists, the migration office would expect people to return to Eritrea. “We would demand that people return to their homeland if they faced no danger as a consequence and if it is reasonable to do so,” Gattiker told the daily newspaper.

No cooperation

It is estimated that the court rulings could have a direct impact on just over 100 of the nearly 3,000 cases currently under review.

However, Gattiker confirmed that the Eritrean authorities are still not cooperating with either Switzerland or other European countries that want to repatriate failed asylum seekers. This is in contrast to neighbouring country Ethiopia that has agreed to facilitate the return of its citizens.

So far, only around 20 Eritreans have returned to their homeland from Switzerland, having voluntarily agreed to do so.

Since 2017, Switzerland has steadily tightened its admission criteria for Eritrean asylum seekers, who have represented the largest foreign community seeking asylum in the alpine country in recent years. Eritreans accounted for 3,375 asylum requests in 2017, nevertheless a decline of nearly 35% compared to 2016.  

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Porrentruy swimming pool: the town's mayor was not expecting such controversy

More

Porrentruy mayor comments on Swiss pool ban controversy

This content was published on The mayor of the Swiss town of Porrentruy, which has been in the headlines in neighbouring France after restricting access to a pool to locals after a spate of anti-social behaviour, says he has received much support in recent days.

Read more: Porrentruy mayor comments on Swiss pool ban controversy
Trained on the “Alps” supercomputer at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) in Lugano, the new LLM marks a milestone in open-source AI and multilingual excellence, according to its developers.

More

Swiss universities to release multilingual AI programme

This content was published on This summer researchers at Swiss universities will make available a large language model (LLM), an AI programme trained on vast amounts of data, developed on public infrastructure.

Read more: Swiss universities to release multilingual AI programme
Zurich cantonal police introduce fixed online police stations

More

Zurich introduces online police station

This content was published on After a one-year test phase, Zurich's cantonal police are introducing an online police station. Demand is high and the response from the public has been positive.

Read more: Zurich introduces online police station
St. Moritz registers the summer as a brand

More

St Moritz registers ‘summer’ as trademark

This content was published on The chic resort of St Moritz in southeastern Switzerland has registered "summer" as a trademark under the name "St Summer". The resort in canton Graubünden is launching a campaign to strengthen its summer business.

Read more: St Moritz registers ‘summer’ as trademark
House prices rose sharply in June

More

Swiss house prices rose sharply in June

This content was published on The prices of homes and apartments in Switzerland rose again in June. In the Lake Geneva region, prices of detached houses rose sharply. Meanwhile, in Zurich and its surrounding region the opposite trend was observed.

Read more: Swiss house prices rose sharply in June
Heavy crowds expected at Swiss airports

More

Crowded airports expected in Switzerland this summer

This content was published on Switzerland's main airports are preparing for a busy summer holiday period. A number of changes have been introduced to improve passenger flows that are expected to be well above average in July and August.

Read more: Crowded airports expected in Switzerland this summer

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR