On Wednesday, government ministers said they were concentrating on evacuating Swiss nationals and around 230 locals who worked on Swiss projects in Afghanistan, together with their relatives.
Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter did not rule out accepting more refugees in future but said there are no immediate plans to loosen normal asylum procedures for Afghan refugees.
This policy has already been criticised by refugee groups and left-leaning political parties. Now the cities of Geneva, Zurich and Bern have called on the government to re-think its stance.
“Switzerland cannot stand by. We should take in more refugees directly from Afghanistan,” Geneva city president Frédérique Perler told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
“We all see the pictures, we hear the news from Afghanistan, and we are very worried. We think it is time for the Federal Council to act,” said Alec von Graffenried, mayor of the Swiss capital, Bern.
“This is specifically about maintaining Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition,” added Zurich city councillor Raphael Golta.
Earlier this year, eight Swiss cities joined calls to accept refugees from Greece following a fire that tore through the Moria camp on the island of Lesbos in September. This demand was rejected at the time by the federal migration office.
The unexpected speed of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has left many countries grappling with how to deal with an expected flood of refugees from the war-torn country.
In Europe, the initial response has been mixed. For example, Britain says it will accept up to 20,000 refugees, while Greece fears it may be overwhelmed by large numbers of people migrating through Turkey.
Macron will attend Swiss summit on Ukraine, says Zelensky
This content was published on
French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the peace conference on Ukraine at the Swiss Bürgenstock resort next month, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
Top politician tells ‘corrupt’ Eurovision to stay away from Bern
This content was published on
A social media post by the president of Bern’s cantonal government critical of the Eurovision Song Contest has created waves and will be discussed in the cantonal parliament.
Swiss centre records over 200 victims of human trafficking
This content was published on
Last year 317 people took part in a protection programme run by the Specialist Unit for Trafficking in Women and Women’s Migration (FIZ) in German-speaking Switzerland.
This content was published on
The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and partners are opening a field hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
Lack of smartphone sustainability in Switzerland hits environment
This content was published on
Almost half of all Swiss citizens hang on to their old smartphones, tablets and laptops, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Police clear out pro-Palestinian students protesting in Geneva
This content was published on
The police intervened early on Tuesday to dislodge pro-Palestinian students who had been occupying the University of Geneva for almost a week.
New gel developed in Zurich renders alcohol harmless
This content was published on
A newly developed gel composed of whey proteins breaks down alcohol in the body and could reduce its harmful and intoxicating effects in humans.
Pro-Palestine protests extend to Basel and Fribourg universities
This content was published on
Demonstrators called for an academic boycott of all Israeli institutions and disassociation with Chaim Weizmann, the first Israeli president.
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
Swiss hesitate to offer shelter to large numbers of Afghan refugees
This content was published on
The government has agreed to take in about 230 people from war-torn Afghanistan but has no plans for now to accept larger groups of refugees.
This content was published on
The three remaining Swiss employees at the cooperation office in Kabul have been evacuated, the foreign minister has confirmed.
This content was published on
There are still 28 registered Swiss nationals in Afghanistan, where the situation remains uncertain after the Taliban seized control of capital Kabul.
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.