Switzerland "can do better" on refugees, according to the organizations EPER and OSAR which have launched an online petition to create safe and legal passage to the country for 10,000 refugees.
The aid organization of the Swiss Protestant Churches EPER and the Swiss Organization for Aid to Refugees (OSAR) have launched an online petition addressed to the government calling for the creation of humanitarian corridors to ensure safe and legal passage to 10,000 refugees per year.
"People fleeing from war and persecution have the right to protection of their life and physical integrity," said the organizations. They added that opening legal channels of entry means giving those people safe refuge for leading a dignified life.
Safe pathways for the refugees
"Globally, 84 percent of the 66 million refugees live in developing countries close to crisis areas. These countries are massively overwhelmed by this phenomenon and are unable to offer acceptable living conditions. For a large number of refugees, the only way out is via illegal channels, putting their own lives at risk," the organizations explained.
"This situation has a dramatic impact on the more vulnerable: women with small children, unaccompanied foreign minors, the sick, the elderly and the disabled." In this respect Switzerland "can do better", wrote EPER and OSAR, launching the joint petition under the title "Safe and legal pathways for refugees".
They are calling on the Swiss Federal Council to use the country's current juridical tools to allow the most vulnerable people to arrive safely in Switzerland and to raise the refugee quota to 10,000 a year.
More support for integration programmes
EPER and OSAR are also requesting the creation of the necessary legal basis for supporting civil society and church initiatives in accommodating, accompanying and training refugees in Switzerland. Last but not least, they are calling for greater support for integration programmes run by the country's cantons, NGOs and businesses. "It is a humanitarian duty to offer protection to refugees. Switzerland, in particular, must be a role model. We can do much more for refugees," said EPER director Peter Merz.
"Switzerland needs a clear resettlement strategy developed with the participation of all interested parties. The federal council and the cantons need to focus on the long-term and increase the number of refugees. This is the simplest, safest and cheapest way of offering protection," said OSAR director Miriam Behrens.