Human rights in Switzerland
[1] Switzerland places human rights at the core of the nation's value system, as represented in its Federal Constitution.
It is also the depositary state of the Geneva Conventions and the place where several human rights-related NGOs have been established or headquartered, including the Red Cross.
The United Nations Human Rights Council, of which Switzerland is a member and which it was instrumental in establishing,[3] has its seat in Geneva.
[4] Switzerland is party to and has significant influence in a number of international mechanisms that promote human rights.
[5] Switzerland's third period of membership has recently been approved, following improvements recommended as in the 2012 Universal Periodic Review[6] (UPR), which included improving gender equality, youth justice provisions, minimizing racial discrimination[7] and combatting excessive use of force by law enforcement.
[8] In this most recent application to the United Nations, Switzerland deemed protection of human rights on an international level to be one of three main voluntary pledges.
[9] Expanding and strengthening the HRC and its powers is a high priority for Switzerland, with the promotion of universal respect for all human rights being embedded in the nation's constitution.
A parliamentary initiative aimed at introducing the right to digital integrity into the Federal Constitution submitted on 29 September 2022 by the member of parliament Samuel Bendahan.
[7] Regardless of the structural mechanisms in place, human rights reports still document high rates of child abuse in Switzerland.
[21] Switzerland is taking an active role in the abolishment, working closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and introducing a World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October every year.
Prohibition on ethnic and race-based discrimination is codified in the Swiss Criminal Code, and the nation was involved in, and party to, the resulting document from the Durban Review Conference in Geneva in 2009.
[27] Switzerland has also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and made several other nationwide legal provisions to ensure equality of gender is achieved.
These include the Victims of Crime (Assistance) Act and establishing a Federal Office for Equality between Women and Men for training of public workers in relation to domestic violence incidents.
[28] The Swiss Criminal Code also has specific provisions that prohibit certain gender discriminatory acts, such as female genital mutilation and forced marriage.
[8] The nation has been active under the Dublin 2 Regulation since 2008, allowing transfers of asylum seekers to and from other states that are signatory to the agreement.
