Media release – People whose asylum application has been rejected often live in precarious conditions. The Swiss emergency aid system is not working, criticizes terre des hommes schweiz. The development organization has commissioned a study that examines the situation in the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft in particular. It will be presented at a prominent panel event with video live streaming.
People with a negative asylum decision and a legally valid removal order must leave Switzerland. Many do not and some cannot, for example if their country of origin does not issue them with the necessary documents for their return. In 2019, 6784 people with a negative asylum decision received emergency assistance in Switzerland. In the fourth quarter of 2019, 2272 people were long-term recipients (LAB).
“The Swiss emergency aid regime is not working,” criticizes Sylvia Valentin, head of migration issues at terre des hommes schweiz. Not only are more and more people staying in this system for longer and longer, “sometimes under precarious conditions”, she explains. The system also makes integration impossible, she says: “Asylum seekers who receive emergency aid are ‘parked’ for years. This endangers their mental health.”
Since 2008, rejected asylum seekers with an expulsion decision have only received emergency aid and no longer any social welfare assistance (social welfare freeze). According to emergency assistance, enshrined in Art. 12 of the Swiss Federal Constitution, every person in Switzerland is entitled to subsistence assistance if they are in need and unable to provide for themselves. Food, clothing, hygiene articles, basic medical care or shelter are considered to be a means of subsistence. “We need solutions that enable these people to live a dignified existence,” says Sylvia Valentin from terre des hommes schweiz. There are migrants with a removal order who remain in Switzerland for the long term, she says. Whether with or without a regular residence status, the new asylum procedure for a shorter process time or not.
On November 11, 2020 in Basel, five experts from politics, authorities and civil society will discuss possible solutions that make sense and are also feasible from a socio-political and economic perspective beyond the fate of the individual. An exploratory study on the situation of rejected asylum seekers in Basel-Stadt (BS) and Baselland (BL) who receive emergency aid will be presented at the event at terre des hommes schweiz in the Markthalle with live video transmission.
terre des hommes schweiz demands: The emergency aid system must do justice to the reality of the people receiving it, the measures in favor of their minimum livelihood must be improved and the basic attitude towards rejected asylum seekers in emergency aid must change. Sylvia Valentin: “It makes no sense to force people to remain precariously dependent on the state. Asylum seekers receiving emergency assistance should be able to work, attend school or do an apprenticeship and live in decent accommodation.”
People are fleeing war, violence and poverty. For terre des hommes schweiz, their search for a life of well-being, protection and safety must neither be criminalized nor politically instrumentalized. People with a refugee background, especially children and young people, are particularly vulnerable. terre des hommes schweiz is therefore committed to the rights and protection of children and young people with a refugee background, including the popular initiative “Stop administrative detention for children!”, which was recently adopted by a majority of the National Council.
Link: https://www.terredeshommesschweiz.ch/podium-asyl-2020/
