BERN, SWITZERLAND – The number of asylum seekers in Switzerland grew strongly, 19.8 percent, in November, with 2,142 requests, following a similar increase in October, according to the Federal Migration Office.
The largest numbers were from Tunisians (+163 percent), Eritreans (+16.1 percent) and Serbs. The latter group was mainly from the Roma population and most of the requests were turned down, says Bern.
The number of asylum seekers whose cases are handled in a year reached its peak in 1999, with over 100,000 cases, then fell steadily until 2010 when it was down to some 37,000 persons before rising to 40,000 this year.
Part of the ballooning number in 1999 was due to a massive backlog, which was gradually reduced following heated political debates over the need to act more quickly but also to get the numbers down. The number of cases accepted for consideration and the number of new cases today shows a very different situation from that 12 years ago: in 1999 there were 47,513 new requests; in 2011 there have been just over 20,000.
In 1999, more than 17,000 were provisionally accepted, less than one-fifth of all cases, and more than 35,000, or about one-third, were in the process of being sent back. Today fully half of all cases treated are new requests in 2011: just over 20,000 people. And the number of those returned has fallen dramatically, to 377, with 23,335 people temporarily accepted (the number includes some cases from previous years).
In the end, the total number given asylum in 1999 was 627 and this year it is 1,855 (to end November).
Large numbers of people from Nigeria, Afghanistan and Syria also applied for asylum this year.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) in Geneva has asked the Italian government for an explanation of how refugees who are returned to Libya are handled, following an incident that took place 1 July in the Mediterranean, about 30 km from the island of Lampedusa.
The Italian Navy intercepted a group of 82 people, 76 of them Eritreans, who were heading to Italy from Libya. The Italian ship transferred them to a Libyan ship, and they were returned to Libya and placed in detention. The UNHCR says that given the seriousness of allegations of mistreatment by Italian personnel during the transfer, Italy is being asked to respect international norms.
