While Switzerland has taken an increasingly hard line on those Eritreans who have failed in their bid to be granted asylum in Switzerland, the United Nations are condemning such a policy for failing to properly investigate the situation of a torture survivor from Eritrea before deporting him to Italy.
Switzerland’s tough stance on migrants criticised by Amnesty International, the NGO condemned the European country for its decision to send out the Eritrean victim. Swiss immigration authorities are currently conducting a review of Eritreans granted temporary residence in Switzerland.The Eritrean applied for asylum in Switzerland in 2015 but the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) sent the man back to Italy under the Dublin Regulation.
But in a new ruling, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) said Swiss immigration authorities had not properly investigated the situation and that had failed to respect human rights.
“The UN has made it clear that the Dublin Regulation must always be applied in accordance with human rights,”
asylum expert Muriel Trummer, was quoted as saying in a press release put out by Amnesty International. Expert added that Swiss decision is non-binding but authoritative. the point is the Eritrean had been undergoing treatment at a Geneva clinic specialising in the treatment of war and torture victims when he was deported
Up to 3,200 people could be affected although a recent pilot project involving a review of 250 cases found that only around 20 people could lose their right to reside in Switzerland. Amnesty International is now calling on Switzerland to rethink its approach to application of the Dublin Regulation for at-risk asylum seekers.
The United Nations has taken Switzerland to task for failing to properly investigate the situation of a torture survivor from Eritrea before deporting him to Italy. According to the rights groups, around 60 pending cases involving torture sufferers and victims of people smuggling while Switzerland ramps up pressure on Eritreans.
