People from Western Sahara deemed stateless in Switzerland
The Algeria-backed Polisario Front proclaimed Western Sahara as a separate state and is in conflict with Morocco.
Keystone / Arturo Rodriguez
The Federal Court has upheld a move by Swiss authorities to designate a refugee from Western Sahara as “without nationality”.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/jc
The man, who arrived in Switzerland in 1998, had been registered for 20 years as being from “Western Sahara”, but in spring 2019 he noticed that letters from the migration service in canton Fribourg designated him and his family as Moroccan.
He then asked the State Secretariat for Migration to correct this. The SEM decided to review its practice and enter him as “without nationality”, although it did not dispute he was from Western Sahara. As this country is not recognised by Switzerland, SEM said its nationals were registered as Moroccans because Morocco claims this territory. However, Switzerland does not recognise Morocco’s claim either, so it was decided to designate Sahrawis as “without nationality”.
The refugee appealed. But on Friday, the Federal Court confirmed a decision that the SEM practice was admissible. The judges said was in Switzerland’s interest that its position on the international scene be taken up at all levels of the administration and thus be consistent.
Western Sahara has seen a long running conflict between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks Western Sahara’s independence from Morocco. The Polisario proclaimed an independent Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976 but controls only part of the territory. As of July 2021, the SADR is recognized by 39out of a total of 193 UN member states. These do not include Switzerland, but the neutral Alpine country has been involved in mediation efforts.
This content was published on
Nemo brought the Eurovision Song Contest to Switzerland with a victory on Saturday evening in Malmö, Sweden. It is Switzerland's third victory in the history of the music contest.
Switzerland abstains from vote on Palestinian bid for full UN membership
This content was published on
On Friday, Switzerland abstained from the vote at the General Assembly on granting the Palestinians new rights at the United Nations (UN).
Protein in abdominal fat could help shape obesity treatment
This content was published on
The study analysed fat cells from different locations in the body, and found that those in the abdomen have unique properties.
North African asylum claims fall after rapid Swiss processing
This content was published on
The accelerated procedure, now out of its test phase, has resulted in a significant drop in applications from North African countries.
This content was published on
The artist's song "The Code" focuses on their journey as a nonbinary individual. It is one of the favourites to win this year's contest.
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.