The National Council accepted on Tuesday a motion from Petra Gössi (PLR/SZ), who calls for rejected Eritrean asylum seekers to be sent back to a third country, following the example of the United Kingdom which has concluded an agreement of this type with Rwanda. The right voted for this motion by 120 votes to 75.
Federal Councilor Beat Jans was opposed to this: “If we have to conclude such a transit agreement with a country, we should put additional money into the balance and ensure that Eritrea is ready to take care of people from this country. So far, no one has managed to do it.”
“This decision is a dead end, because Eritrea does not accept the forced return of its nationals. Recourse to a third state would not favor their readmission,” criticized Jean Tschopp (PS/VD). He specified that this solution would only concern 260 rejected people.
The socialists note that during this session, the UDC and the PLR tried, in vain, to prevent Afghan women from benefiting from protection in Switzerland while they are persecuted by the Taliban. “The PLR must find the path to reason and stop imitating the UDC,” concludes Jean Tschopp.
The National Council accepted another motion, by 131 votes to 63, which calls for sanctions “against foreigners who commit violence in Switzerland to defend the regime they claim to have fled.” This motion particularly targets Eritreans recently engaged in fights, which required strong police intervention. The target is “those who commit violence in support of a regime which is supposed to persecute them”.
