Switzerland has suspended repatriations to Afghanistan “until further notice owing to the changed situation in the country”, according to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).
No new deportations of rejected asylum-seekers will be ordered, it said on Wednesday. Preparations for repatriation would only be continued in the case of people who had committed a criminal offence.
Afghanistan had asked Switzerland at the beginning of July to postpone the repatriation of rejected asylum-seekers for three months due to the advance of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban and the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, Bern continued with forced repatriations to the war-torn country.
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Swiss asked to halt deportations to war-torn Afghanistan
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Pressure is growing on the Swiss government to halt deportations of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan.
Aid organisations had long demanded that Switzerland stop repatriations to Afghanistan – as did Swiss Refugee Aid (SFH) earlier on Wednesday after Germany and the Netherlands said they would suspend repatriations.
Taliban surge
The security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated dramatically since the decision to withdraw international troops from the country in mid-April. The Taliban have captured five of the country’s 34 provincial capitals in less than a week.
Afghan security forces, which have been backed, trained and financed with billions of dollars in a 20-year-long Western military effort that included many EU countries, appear unable to cope with the Taliban offensive.
On Thursday Afghan government forces battled Taliban fighters in and around several cities, officials said, as the militants pressed on with their offensive that US intelligence believes could see them take over the capital, Kabul, within 90 days.
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Switzerland to return rejected asylum-seekers to Afghanistan
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Switzerland has decided to resume the deportation of rejected asylum-seekers to Afghanistan, it has been confirmed.
Swiss football boss wants crackdown on individual hooligans
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The head of the Swiss Football League says he prefers a harsher approach to individual hooligans rather than collective punishment measures affecting all fans.
Amherd: Council of Europe is ‘as urgently needed as ever’
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The Swiss government emphasised on Sunday the vital role of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, 75 years after it was founded.
Swiss minister: Italy will back Switzerland in EU talks
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Bern can count on the backing of Italy as it re-enters talks with the European Union on future relations, Viola Amherd says.
Student protestors at University of Lausanne continue pro-Palestine sit-in
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Since Thursday, a hall on campus has been occupied by students calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions and a ceasefire in Gaza.
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Swiss public broadcasters RTS and SRF are drastically reducing their communications via the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Israel: president of Swiss universities rejects academic boycott
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Luciana Vaccaro, president of Swissuniversities, the umbrella group of Swiss universities, is not in favour of an academic boycott of Israeli universities.
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Switzerland urged to take in more resettlement refugees
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The UNHCR says war, violence, persecution and human rights violations caused nearly three million people to flee their homes last year.
Switzerland among best countries for children’s rights
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A new ranking of states’ compliance with the international Convention on the Rights of the Child puts Switzerland in second place.
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