Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

International observers are typically inclined to think of Switzerland as a leader among nations in the humanitarian field. Underscoring this tendency is a sense of appreciation for that country's historical role in developing the International Committee of the Red Cross,1 its multilingual, multi-cultural traditions,2 and its status as a base of United Nations organizational activity.3 Over the past decade, however, Switzerland's actions in the political asylum domain have seriously undermined its continuing claims to global humanitarian leadership. During this period, as Switzerland has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of asylum status applicants seeking protection in its territory,4 Swiss federal lawmakers" have systematically closed doors of opportunity previously opened to such individuals. They have adopted several increasingly restrictive modifications to the basic legal instruments governing asylum-seeker standing and rights in Switzerland.6 In addition, they have proposed still further restrictive modifications to these instruments for introduction during the current legislative session.

Switzerland's recent actions in the asylum domain reflect concerns in that country and in other nations throughout Western Europe about the economic and social consequences of absorbing additional newcomers from abroad.8 Fueling these concerns are increasing backlogs of pending asylum applications, 9 rising public costs of administering applicant review and assistance programs, 10 and heightening cultural tensions between citizens and resident alien populations.

While such phenomena are clearly legitimate bases of governmental intervention, official response to their particular applications in Switzerland, and other Western European countries, has weighed heavily on the interests of asylum-seekers.' 2 Substantively, this response has dramatically expanded the domestic legal grounds for regulating and denying asylum applications, and for repatriating unsuccessful applicants."3 Procedurally, it has significantly reduced the opportunities available to asylum-seekers to obtain fair hearings and to appeal decisions affecting their fundamental rights before independent review bodies.1 4 Resort to policies of this nature by Switzerland can only suggest an ominous future for refugee status applicants in nations with less rich humanitarian traditions.

This article examines the various measures that Switzerland has recently employed to regulate activity in the asylum domain, and evaluates their impact on that country's international legal obligations to asylum-seekers. The international legal authorities considered in this regard are Article 33 of the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (and its 1967 Protocol),16 and Articles 3 and 5 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

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