Traveller communities continue to face difficulties in finding camp grounds in Switzerland according to a government report.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
The lack of designated areas for communities which maintain an itinerant lifestyle remains a subject of concern for the authorities.
The number of special sites for gypsies increased from 11 to14 over the past decade, providing room for just about half the itinerant population. The cabinet also notes that the ethnic minority groups of Jenish, Roma and Sinti are frequently subject to prejudices.
However, the review says a law on national languages in force since 2010 has had a favourable impact on linguistic minorities in Switzerland.
The report, published by the foreign ministry on Wednesday, was drafted after consultation with federal offices, cantons and organisations representing minority groups.
Switzerland ratified a convention of the Council of Europe convention for the protection of national minorities in 1998.
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.
Read more
More
Discrimination a problem in Switzerland, says UN
This content was published on
Particularly affected are women, immigrants, gypsies and poor people, according to the committee. It criticised wage inequality between men and women, pointing out that the gap had increased recently. It also noted that women made up 68.8 per cent of the people doing low-wage work. The committee recommended that women be better protected from domestic…
This content was published on
While the government has no global figure for the number of this ethnic group in Switzerland, the Rroma foundation in Zurich estimates it to be around 50,000 to 60,000. As Cristina Kruck of the Rroma Foundation in Zurich explains, the Roma suffer from a poor image in Switzerland, as in France. “For the Swiss, to…
This content was published on
Gülcan Akkaya, vice president of the Federal Commission against Racism, says Switzerland needs a policy that includes and recognises everyone living here. Her comments come after the population voted in favour of a controversial anti-minaret building initiative in November 2009 and prepares to vote on a people’s initiative to deport foreign criminals. Another issue making…
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.