The cabinet has decided to sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.
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The foreign ministry on Friday said Switzerland would have to adapt several of its laws to meet the treaty’s requirements, but it already satisfied the central point of the convention: zero tolerance towards cases of enforced disappearance.
The move follows pressure from parliament and non-governmental organisations demanding immediate accession to the latest central United Nations human rights treaty.
It was drawn up in 2006 and will enter into force before the end of December.
In total, more than 52,000 individual cases from more than 90 countries have been referred to the UN since 1980, of which some 42,000 remain unresolved.
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ICRC highlights plight of missing people
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On the eve of Thursday’s International Day of the Disappeared, the Swiss-run organisation accused the international community of ignoring the tragedy and lacking the political will to do something about it. “The issue of missing persons in armed conflict and situations of violence is a global one and a deeply unsettling one from a humanitarian…
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They say the government’s decision not to attend the official signing ceremony in Paris on Tuesday cannot be justified and smacks of a lack of political will. “We hope Switzerland will sign it in the coming months and will then send the bill to parliament for ratification. But if we don’t keep up the pressure,…
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The coalition’s comments come as Switzerland prepares the first ever account of its domestic human rights policy for the UN. The NGOs’ report, released on Tuesday, pointed in particular to the lack of institutional mechanisms to ensure the effective implementation of human rights conventions already ratified by Switzerland. “Switzerland has not yet established a national…
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